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On today\\u2019s show we\\u2019re talking about an innovation in creating more affordable housing. The city of Los Angeles has amended their definition of an accessory dwelling unit. The history of an accessory dwelling unit has has be the traditional in-law suite, or the nanny suite. This is sometimes an attic apartment, or a basement apartment. It\\u2019s usually attached to the principal home and forms part of the home, but is a separate unit. In these secondary units, the utilities come from the main house and they\\u2019re really considered to be part of the main house.
\\nUnder the latest change, the city of Los Angeles is adding movable tiny houses to the definition of ADU. I\\u2019m going to read the definition directly from the text of the municipal ordinance.
\\nMOVABLE TINY HOUSE.
\\nAn enclosed space intended for separate, independent living quarters of one Family as defined in Section 12.03 of this Code and that meets all of the following:
\\nSo these are truly tiny houses.
\\nThere are a few restrictions. For example, No ADU is permitted on any lot that is located in a Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone designated by the Los Angeles Fire Department.
\\nOne parking space is required for an ADU, except that no parking is required for an ADU that is: (i) Located within one-half mile walking distance of a public transit.
\\nAll exterior walls and roof of a moveable any tiny house used as an ADU have to be fixed with no bump outs, slide-outs, 7 tip-outs, nor other forms of mechanically moving room area extensions.
\\nEven if your lot is large, you\\u2019re only allowed one of these on the property. If the tiny house has wheels, they have to be covered and hidden. The house has to sit on a paved surface. You can\\u2019t just put down some gravel and bring in a trailer.
\\nThe question is why would the city of Los Angeles want to bring movable tiny houses into the city? Who is it helping? Is it creating more affordable housing?
\\nThe fact is, it is creating a small amount of affordable housing for those who reside in the tiny homes. Equally important, it\\u2019s making home ownership more affordable for those who wish to purchase a single family home, but can\\u2019t quite afford it.
\\nThe city is also putting restriction on the types of homes. It\\u2019s pretty clear that you can\\u2019t just by an RV and hope that it will qualify as a tiny home. They have put rules in place to make it extremely difficult to use an RV for this purpose, without coming out and explicitly saying that they\\u2019re outlawing RV\\u2019s.
\\nFor example, the home must have square cornered windows. You\\u2019re not allowed to have radius corners on the windows.
\\nMaterials used on the exterior of a moveable tiny house shall exclude single piece composite, laminates, or interlocked metal sheathing.
\\nThe home can\\u2019t be more than two stories and you\\u2019re not allowed to place the tiny home between the main house and the street.
\\nThose who live in tiny homes have given mixed reviews on the experience. On the plus side, you save money because your property is small. Equally important, you have so little space, that you tend to not buy stuff. There\\u2019s no point purchasing consumer items that you have no space to store.
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