This is pretty specific to my recent experience in Jackson, but probably applies to a lot of places. Whatcha think?
I am a new homeowner in the valley who is trying to help out with the housing situation. A long time buddy is renting a room in my family's house but would like his own space. It is very difficult to find, especially for a single person with one income who wants to live alone. I have researched various ways to put an Accessory Rental Unit ( Teton County for second house) on my property and it is complicated/expensive. At $500 a foot it will cost me half a million bucks to put a 2 bedroom 1000 sq ft guest house up. Even if I can come up with this money, I'll need to charge high rent to cover it. Tiny houses are an option but only if a local engineer approves the design for snow load and the thing sits on an approved foundation. Mobile homes and campers are technically not allowed for occupation in residential zoning.
The ARU rules seem well intentioned; to have a guest house it must be under 1000 sq ft and one must either allow friends/family to stay for free or to rent it out you must have a tenant who works in Teton County. I know a number of properties do have ARU's but there be plenty that do not yet. How do people here feel about this as a potential (partial solution):
1. County streamlines the process for permitting and building an ARU by partnering with local architects and contractors to offer several standardized unit types that homeowners can choose (with some options on exteriors perhaps). Offer this service at a lower cost than is available currently.
2. County partners with a financial institution to offer home owners loans (potentially subsidized) to complete the work. The county ends up with a bunch of loans that can be packaged as a larger commercial real estate loan at lower rates than retail borrowers get
3. To participate in the new expanded ARU Construction program, homeowners must commit to placing their unit in the existing affordable housing rental program for a minimum period of 10 years or so.
What I like about this is it uses existing programs that may be less controversial to implement. It does not change the character of the town as much as a bunch of big buildings would. It creates more designing, building, etc for local companies. Renters find a growing supply of rental options. Homeowners have a way to access the building market and as value to their properties.
A couple questions:
Does this exist already and I have missed it?
Has it been discussed?
Who would this plan make worse off?
What do you think?
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