Palo Alto’s city council is divided over whether homeowners should be allowed to sell backyard cottages as standalone homes, voting 4-3 this month to send the idea to a city commission for further study rather than acting immediately. The proposal would let residents build accessory dwelling units up to 1,200 square feet and sell them separately from the main house, a move some council members see as a fast track to entry-level homeownership in one of the country’s most expensive housing markets.
The council’s vote directs the Planning and Transportation Commission to vet the proposal and report back, according to the Palo Alto Daily Post. Council member Pat Burt argued for caution, saying that rushing through substantive changes from the dais without having the commission’s more thoughtful input is unnecessary. He was joined in seeking slower action by council members George Lu, Ed Lauing and Keith Reckdahl, per the same report.
Not everyone on the council wanted to wait. Council member Julie Lythcott-Haims, who was ready to allow ADUs to be sold separately, pushed back on the go-slow approach, asking why not be a little bit braver and a little bit bolder when it comes to experimenting with ADUs as a path to home ownership. Lu ultimately conditioned his vote on the commission’s recommendation returning to council by the end of 2026, according to the outlet’s account of the meeting. Palo Alto Vice Mayor Greer Stone and Mayor Vicki Veenker round out the council weighing the proposal.
Why Backyard Cottages Could Become For-Sale Homes
Accessory dwelling units, also known as backyard cottages, have typically been built as rentals or space for extended family. But California Assembly Bill 1033, signed into law in October 2023 and effective January 1, 2024, opened the door for local governments to pass ordinances allowing homeowners to convert ADUs into condominiums and sell them separately from the primary home, according to Consumer’s Title Company. Before that statute, state law banned selling ADUs apart from the main single-family lot…