Building More ADUs Could Add Affordable Homes in California

The California State Senate last week unanimously approved legislation sponsored by Tri-Valley Senator Jerry McNerney intended to streamline construction of accessory dwelling units (ADUs) in an effort to alleviate the state’s affordable housing crisis.

With the State Assembly’s approval of the bill last month, Senate Bill (SB) 543 now heads to Gov. Gavin Newsom for consideration.

ADUs offer independent homes complete with spaces for cooking, eating, sleeping and other activities on the same property as an existing primary home. Dublin and Livermore limit ADU sizes to 1,200 square feet, while Pleasanton limits them to 1,000 square feet. All of the cities limit junior ADUs (JADUs), the smaller, accessory apartments contained within a main house, to 500 square feet.

“California needs to build housing to help make our state more affordable,” McNerney said. “And one of the most effective ways to address our housing affordability crisis is to accelerate the construction of low-cost housing, like ADUs and junior ADUs. SB 543 will make it easier to build ADUs and JADUs and help California meet its goal of building over 2.5 million homes by 2031.”

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