Column: Love for added backyard homes rises above larger housing disputes [The San Diego Union-Tribune]
Amid the housing wars at the state and local level, one concept has not only survived but thrived and with little controversy.
It’s certainly not new and it’s hardly a secret: the increasingly popular, if poorly named, accessory dwelling unit.
For decades they had been known as “granny flats,” but the term has fallen out of fashion among policymakers, planners and housing analysts.
That may be because there’s a broader vision for the backyard cottages. Accessory homes have gained favor as one of the strategies to tackle California’s affordable housing crisis.
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Amid the housing wars at the state and local level, one concept has not only survived but thrived and with little controversy.
It’s certainly not new and it’s hardly a secret: the increasingly popular, if poorly named, accessory dwelling unit.
For decades they had been known as “granny flats,” but the term has fallen out of fashion among policymakers, planners and housing analysts.
That may be because there’s a broader vision for the backyard cottages. Accessory homes have gained favor as one of the strategies to tackle California’s affordable housing crisis.
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The coronavirus pandemic appears to have sparked additional interest in adding a small unit to single-family-home lots. The evidence is mostly anecdotal, but companies that build the small dwellings say homeowners have inquired about them as housing for returning adult children or aging parents.