Berkeley, California – Senator Nancy Skinner (D-Berkeley) and Assemblymember Phil Ting (D-San Francisco) held a press conference this morning to show how one solution to the California housing crisis is available in our own homes and backyards. Standing in front of a backyard cottage in Berkeley, Skinner and Ting presented their respective bills, SB 1469 and AB 2890, to encourage the creation of Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADUs) and Junior ADUs (JADUs) as a cost-effective and efficient way to expand housing supply.
“Our neighborhoods are full of empty-nesters with room to spare and families for whom a little rental income could help make ends meet,” said Senator Skinner. “My bill, SB 1469, makes it even easier for those households to add a second or third small unit.”
“ADUs are one of the fastest ways to increase our housing supply here in the Bay Area where the rental market is tight,” said Assemblyman Phil Ting (D-San Francisco), author of AB 2890. “We need to eliminate as much of the remaining red tape as possible to spur widespread adoption.”
Taken together, Senator Skinner’s and Assemblymember Ting’s bills would further encourage ADUs and JADUs on single- and multi-family properties; foster development of clear building standards ADUs/JADUs; increase flexibility for parking; streamline approvals for ADUs/JADUs; and reduce the cost to build ADUs/JADUs by capping certain fees.
Dan McDunn, an ADU builder, shared his experience of the obstacles to creating ADUs, and expressed hope that the pending legislation could remove those obstacles. “As someone who has worked on seven ADU projects over the past year, I know first-hand how tough and expensive it still is to get units like this approved and built,” said Mr. McDunn. “I'm really glad that Senator Skinner and Assemblymember Ting are pushing additional legislation make ADUs even cheaper and easier to build.”
CONTACT: Eric Panzer, Communications Director, Senator Skinner – (510) 286-1333
Nannette Miranda, Communication’s Director, Asm. Ting – (916) 319-2019