[jiggliemon]

I looked into building an adu a few years back, and I can backup most of what you said. At least in California, in an incorporated city.

We worked out that it would cost us $30k in fees, and required spending before we could even dig the footers. Things like a soil test, inspections, variance’s etc.

You can always build an ADU, but it’s a rich mans game. And not really accessible to most people. We calculated our unit to cost roughly $80-90k, and would be almost 2x $/sqft of our home. A remodel made more financial sense, but the above problems still persist.

[throwaway0a5e]

>We worked out that it would cost us $30k in fees

This is a feature not a bug.

They don't want people who can't writing a 30k check doing development.

They want the old elderly couple of limited means to move out and make way for some yuppie who will pay big taxes, not slap a bottom dollar ADU up so that they can be cared for by live-in relatives.

[thatfrenchguy]

Please, in California, that “old elderly couple” pays no property taxes and can spend their life blocking housing for new middle class families (and they do, all the time).

[throwaway0a5e]

>Please, in California, that “old elderly couple” pays no property taxes

That's why they want them out. To replace them with someone who pays big $$$$. What's so hard to get about this?

They don't want them moving their caregiver into an ADU. They don't want them renting their ADU to supplement a fixed income. They want them gone. Since they can't tax them out they just prevent them from making money on their land value (via zoning) and let the COL do the rest.

>and can spend their life blocking housing for new middle class families (and they do, all the time).

The elderly sometimes do this but they are mostly scapegoats. The primary culprits are the 30-something on up through middle aged crowd who still need to work and need property values to remain high long enough that they can cash out of the ponzi scheme and retire to elsewhere.

[scotuswroteus]

You know the council doesn't directly receive the tax dollars, right? This is a conspiracy theory.

[spothedog1]

It's literally the opposite. Old people are way richer and have the time and money to go through the bureaucracy. Also old people are much better connected to local politicians. Yuppies are who they're trying to repel, that's why they make it so hard. Its much more like a college student or yuppie would move into the ADU.

[nine_k]

Not all of them are rich, unless you count the value of their 80-years old home. They may have a high net worth but be cash-strapped.

[jonfw]

A house is much more liquid of an asset than most people make it out to be. Old folks qualify for reverse mortgages

[wbl]

There are no variances for ADUs. The town is breaking state law. Talk to CaRLA about your options.