VENTURA : Granny Flats May Receive Exemption

A proposal to exempt granny flats from the city’s stringent housing allocation process is scheduled to be considered today by the Ventura Planning Commission.

Under the housing plan adopted in November by the slow-growth council, only single family houses on vacant lots are exempt from the allocation process. The plan limits the amount of new housing allowed to 185 units per year.

The proposal before the Planning Commission would extend the allocation exemption to so-called granny flats, which are guest house-type units in back yards of single family houses.

It would also allow homeowners to split their lots and build a house on the empty parcel without having to apply for an allocation.

The proposed changes to the housing plan have been endorsed by the city planning staff.

The city Housing Committee will consider the changes on Jan. 28, and the City Council will vote on them in February.

If approved, the new exemptions will become effective as soon as the council lifts the building moratorium that was imposed last March in response to the water shortage emergency.