San Antonio considers ADUs in face of housing affordability crunch

Accessory dwelling units —secondary homes on a property, which can include casitas, garage units and basement apartments— are on the agenda for the San Antonio City Council.

Potential changes include increasing the maximum size of an ADU from 800 to 1,600 square feet; allowing different construction materials between the primary residence on a property and the ADU; and allowing ADUs to have their own separate meters for utilities. Council members are set to vote on November 3, the San Antonio Business Journal.

The hope is that ADUs will help solve housing affordability issues by easing regulations for building them on a property.

“There is some precedent for ADUs increasing the supply of affordable housing,” said Adam Wayne Perdue, a research economist with the Texas A&M Real Estate Research Center.

Perdue said an increase in affordable housing could potentially relieve pressure from other segments of the market, including short-term rentals and single family home rentals, especially around the downtown area.

On the other hand, Perdue also said the ADU measure does little to address the heart of the affordability issue. One report from July indicated San Antonio needed 65,000 more homes to have a healthy housing market. Perdue suggests that zoning codes should allow homeowners to build townhomes or duplexes on a property.

“I would have entertained the idea,” said John Bustamante, chair of the city’s zoning commission, which revised and passed the amendment before it heads to the City Council. Bustamante said he was the one who proposed the idea of removing owner-occupancy requirements for property owners who want to build ADUs, though he admits this is a short-term fix.

— Maddy Sperling