Unfortunately, current ordinances do not allow home owners to rent out independent housing units within their own home. This unfairly limits homeowners from creating an additional source of income and also limits the affordable housing situation for many local residents. How can we fix this problem? Changing this ordinance would provide a number of benefits to our community. It is estimated that an additional 200 units of affordable housing would be created over the next few years. This would provide housing options for the elderly and many young people, including graduate students and other young professionals that have to commute from nearby cities because of the high rent within Ann Arbor. This small step in improving population density is also beneficial to the environment as it shows a commitment towards slowing sprawl and for the successful implementation of the Greenbelt. The opponents of accessory dwelling units believe that this change would lead to an invasion of students into and a loss of character within their neighborhoods. This fear is unfounded for a number of reasons. First, the owner of the unit would be able to rent to whomever at his/her discretion. Second, the vast majority of accessory dwelling residents would be grad students that would not "trash" the neighborhood Since the benefits outweigh the potential costs, we hope you will support legalizing accessory dwelling units and encourage city council to do the same. |