Granny flats, also known as mother-in-law units or accessory dwelling units, are a hot button item in most cities. A county court recently took the city of Los Angeles' finger off the button, so to speak.
"Los Angeles has stopped issuing building permits for small backyard apartments after a judge ruled that the city has improperly approved potentially hundreds of 'granny flats' in recent years," reports Josie Huang.
The Los Angeles Neighbors in Action filed the lawsuit as a hyper-local reaction to a decision by the city "allowing their neighbor to build a second home behind his house in Cheviot Hills," according to Huang. The ruling comes down to the city's practice of following more lenient state standards in approving granny flats, rather than the city ordinance.
That single example, therefore, will have implications for more of the 379 granny flats approved by the city since 2010. City Councilmember Gil Cedillo, who chairs the council's housing committee, has recommended that the city repeal the local ordinance in favor of the state regulations.
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