The best hope of solving Southern California’s housing crunch is in the backyard, if current trends continue.
That’s the takeaway from data that shows Los Angeles County leading the nation in “accessory dwelling units” — the backyard bungalows often referred to as “granny flats” — with 45,732 permits issued last year.
The data isn’t sufficient to tell whether the development of ADUs, which have been aided by a state law that allows single-family homeowners to subdivide lots to accommodate such development, has had an effect on housing prices in California, the Los Angeles Times reported. It does, however, point to a correlation between stable populations in cities that approved the most ADUs.
The effect on population is a key point against the backdrop of recent losses in population for California statewide — the first in its recorded history.
Among the 88 Los Angeles County cities that granted the most permits for ADUs are suburbs in the San Fernando and San Gabriel valleys, including San Fernando, Rosemead, Temple City, Sierra Madre and Hidden Hills.
San Fernando has 70 ADUs for every 1,000 existing housing units since 2018. The rate for Los Angeles County overall is about 22 per 1,000 over the same period.
The City of Los Angeles, with about 40 percent of the county’s total population of 10 million or so, ranked ninth, with about 28 permits for ADUs per 1,000 existing homes.
The laggards were spread from the South Bay to the Ventura County line, with Hawthorne, Commerce, Cudahy, Cerritos and Westlake Village at the bottom of the list.
Permitting processes likely have a significant effect on the numbers, some sources told the Times. Other factors include standard lot sizes, which vary from city to city.
Wealth is another factor, according to ADU builders, who reported a trend toward more units in middle- and lower-middle class residential areas and few in rich enclaves.
San Fernando’s total includes “either converting existing structures like garages” or “putting an addition on a house,” said City Manager Nick Kimball. He noted the state data reflect “people legalizing what were formerly not conforming ADUs.”