SUNNYVALE – For months, Hulita Inukihaangana and her family struggled to search out inexpensive housing within the South Bay, often searching for refuge in local homeless shelters or temporary stays in hotels.
Then she was finally given a lifebuoy.
The family moved right into a Sunnyvale apartment owned by Aresa Properties in 2020. The company is committed to providing housing for low-income families on its properties and builds inexpensive ADUs, also called granny flats or backyard homes, in the town and elsewhere.
“It’s important to be able to give people a place to call home,” Inukihaangana said Friday, surrounded by Aresa Properties owners, their supporters and native leaders to have fun the opening of their first ADU on Helen Avenue, north of El Camino Real.
Three more ADUs are planned at Aresa's existing properties across the town, and one other is slated to open in West San Jose in 2025, in accordance with Teresa Augstin, principal partner at the corporate. They work with local housing authorities — including the Santa Clara County Housing Authority, Life Moves and Sunnyvale Community Services — to search out families in need for his or her units. The company has a specific heart for single moms with young children.
“We believe that a stable housing situation can help minimize trauma in children and young people,” said Augstin. “They can focus on their education and ultimately have a positive impact on their future.”
The market price for a Sunnyvale duplex just like the one on Helen Avenue, a one-bedroom apartment for 2 to a few people, is about $2,600. Aresa works with the agencies and individual families to barter a price that works for them, Augstin said.
The units have gotten popular constructing options for Californians. According to recently released state data, one in five homes inbuilt the state by 2023 was an ADU. Just three years ago, they accounted for one in 10 recent units.
Arman Bashi, CEO of Aresa Properties, said he encourages other landlords to construct ADUs locally for low-income families to handle the growing housing crisis in the world.
“We want people to see that this is doable and that it can be successful for both sides,” Bashi said on Friday.
The California state legislature has previously passed several laws lowering the hurdles to constructing ADUs, encouraging more residential projects. AB 68, passed in 2019, sped up the permitting process from 120 to 60 days and prohibited local authorities from imposing lot size and parking requirements. AB 881 was passed the next yr and prohibited cities from requiring owners to live to tell the tale the property, opening the door for landlords to construct ADUs for rent.
Nearby, the town of Milpitas has also launched a program to expedite the approval process for ADUs. In Walnut Creek, the City Council approved changes to the town's ADU ordinance. Enabling religious leaders to supply assistance to residents struggle to search out inexpensive housing.
“There is no magic bullet to solve the problem,” Lee said Friday. “But ADUs can help us.”
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