Wesley Yu had a plan to create multigenerational housing on his residential property in East Palo Alto. But after getting hit with a nearly $55,000 fee from the city, the small-scale project devolved into a legal fight — one that was eventually settled in his favor.
The case underscores a broader tension in California’s efforts to ease its severe housing crisis, and how it can wind up impacting homeowners.
Many local governments are struggling to meet the state’s ambitious mandates to build new affordable housing. The boom in accessory dwelling unit construction has been a bright spot: ADUs accounted for 37.7% of the state’s new single-family housing and 21.3% of total new housing in 2024, according to the Department of Finance…