I love living in Los Altos. If you’re a Los Altos homeowner, you probably do, too – that’s why we’re here! But as we get older and our families change, we sometimes find out our house isn’t serving our needs, even as we love our neighborhood. Maybe your empty nest is too big. Maybe you no longer can deal with stairs, or you see that day coming. Maybe your aging parents need a place to live, and you’d like to have them near you but not too near. Maybe your house is valuable and you need some income, but you don’t want to sell and move. Maybe your child or grandchild needs a place to live.
You don’t have to move. You can change your home to make it work for you and your family. You have choices. Here are some things you can do.
• Want to make a cottage for yourself after retirement? Build a detached ADU.
If you think your house is just too big for you now that your children are grown and on their own, but you don’t want to move out of your friendly neighborhood, you can build yourself a little house, an ADU, in your backyard, and then let one of your children use the main house, or rent it out for extra income. Or you can stay in your home and use your new ADU for family or for rental income.
If you suddenly discover you need more space because your aging parents will soon be unable to live alone, or your adult child needs some parental help, Los Altos has made it easy to build a detached ADU for your relatives (or anyone else). The city now offers free pre-approved ADU plans for studio, one-bedroom and two-bedroom ADUs. With the pre-approved plans, you don’t have to pay an architect, you don’t have to pay for the plans; you just need to submit a survey of your property and a site plan of where you’ll put your new ADU, and the city will quickly approve it. They don’t need to review your plans, because they already have reviewed them. No permit fees either.
• Want to renovate to make a home for your daughter and grandson? Build an interior ADU. You can turn an existing part of your house into a separate home, by making an attached ADU out of existing space. You could, for example, take a couple of unused bedrooms, build in a small kitchen, build in a bathroom or include an existing one, and have a separate home. You’re allowed a little bit of extra space outside for an entry, so you could build a little entryway, even if it intruded into the house’s otherwise required setback from the lot line. If the ADU is upstairs, you can build an outside stairway and entry.
• Want to make a studio apartment for your caretaker? Turn your garage into a JADU.
In addition to an attached ADU, you can also build a Junior ADU, a JADU, out of existing space. You can turn your garage, or any part of your house that’s 500 square feet or less, into a JADU by adding a minimal kitchen and an outside entry. As with the attached ADU made out of existing space, you’re also allowed to add a little entryway outside. You don’t even have to add a bathroom (but come on, a house needs a bathroom – you should add a bathroom).
• Want all three of an attached ADU, a detached ADU and a JADU? Go for it.
In Los Altos, homeowners are allowed one JADU, one attached ADU and one detached ADU. Any combination of the three types is allowed.
• Want to raise cash? Sell part of your yard with an SB 9 lot split.
If you’ve got a big yard, maybe it’s getting too much for you, and you need money to support you in your retirement. You can sell half (or a little less than half) of your property to someone else, and they can build their dream house.
Los Altos homeowners have many options. Plan ahead to get your perfect living arrangement.
Anne Paulson is a member of the Los Altos Affordable Housing Alliance. For more information, visit losaltosaffordablehousing.org.
