Belvedere to allow larger second units with affordable-rent rules

Belvedere is creating a new housing incentive that will grant homeowners streamlined approval of larger second units if their rents are restricted for lower-income residents.

The code amendments, unanimously approved during the City Council’s Jan. 13 meeting, will allow studio and one-bedroom accessory dwelling units of up to 1,000 square feet, 1,200 square feet if the unit’s both detached and has two or more bedrooms. That’s up from the 800-square-foot maximum for units otherwise eligible for ministerial approval, or by checklist approval by city staff without a public hearing or Planning Commission review.

In exchange, the homeowner will have to enter into an agreement with the city that restricts rent on the unit to levels that are affordable to low- and very-low-income households under guidelines issued annually by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development for the San Francisco metro fair-market-rent area, which includes Marin, San Francisco and San Mateo counties.

With a median family income of $186,600 for the area, low income is less than $109,700 for a single person, $156,650 for a four-person household. Very-low income is below $68,550 per year for one person, or below $97,900 for a four-person household. Affordable housing is about 30% of gross income including rent and utilities, or about $1,250 a month for person making $50,000 a year.

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