Dear City Council members, Mayor Hendricks,
We are writing you today to urge you to support more measures to facilitate the creation of Accessory Dwelling Units (ADU's) here in Sunnyvale. This can be done by waving all lot size minimums and keeping permit fees low.
There are several cities near us that have waved all lot minimums in an effort to alleviate some of the need for affordable housing that has people living out of their cars, living about 3 to a bedroom, students “couch surfing” and a surge in young and old homeless populations.
At both our Planning Commission hearing on Accessory Dwelling Units (ADU’s) and Housing and Human Services Commission meeting, we are astounded by the lack of urgency and the lack of a solid basis for their decisions. Sunnyvale deliberations don't have to look farther than our neighbors in Mountain View, Palo Alto, Redwood City and others for the waving of lot minimums.
At these Commission hearings, testimony from individuals have asked that lot size minimums be done away with, a majority saying they would like to have the opportunity to build an ADU if the lot size was reduced enough. They did not say they WOULD build an ADU but they can’t even consider it with such a small percentage of lots in Sunnyvale qualifying. Unfortunately, the Planning Commission recommended sizes that would only raise the total qualifying lots in the entire City by 32%.
With the region's unprecedented affordable housing shortage, we find it unconscionable to take an incremental, “wait and see” approach where we only drop R1 to 8,000sf and R0 to 7,000sf.
For those who have the unfounded fears that their neighborhood would be overrun with permitted ADU’s, we point no further than to the staff report which shows that in 20 years, only 93 total building permits were issued and unknown how many of these were actually completed. Over those twenty years, building did not ever inundate neighborhoods.
For any unpermitted structures are already in place,we think removing lot minimums would be a very good reason to permit without restriction the building of permitted - meaning safe, secure structures that meet the building codes we already have on the books including for setbacks and height limits.
If the fear of too many new units is behind some of our actions, then the fear of unpermitted shacks, home made structures, and perhaps very unhealthful conditions should motivate us in the opposition direction to allow more permitted dwelling space! Let Sunnyvale protect its citizens from ramshackle building and more people living on the streets by facilitating the creation of safe tiny homes, ADU conversions and ADU’s.
Finally, the public should be made aware of their rights in regard to conversion ADU’s as well as ADU’s and tiny homes. There is much confusion around these definitions and if homeowners know what they can legally do, what their choices are, and the reason why we desperately need more rental and affordable homes, they might step up.
Thank you for your leadership on this important issue.
For your consideration,
Livable Sunnyvale Steering Committee
