Juneau Assembly is considering updating a grant program. Juneau Assembly is looking at updating the grant program to help Juneau residents construct additional dwelling units – new homes like mother-in law apartments, constructed on lots which already have houses. If the proposal is approved, the amount of the grants could almost double.
The city define accessory apartments as less that 1,000 square feet, or half as big as the primary house occupying the lotwhich ever is less. They could be standalone structures or as part of a home.
It was the prior scheme, which ran out on June 30. It granted grants of $6,000. Applicant had to wait for three years after building their new residence to make use of it as a rental for short-term use. Since July 2016 the city has given 41 of the grants.
Joseph Meyers, the city’s expert in land and housing who was the city’s housing and land use specialist, told Assembly the members of April, that $6,000 wasn’t enough of an incentive for residents of Juneau to construct additional apartment. At the beginning of the program, it would be enough to cover nearly a quarter of the cost of construction. In 2022, the program covered around 10% of the construction cost. %.
“While the funds have been disbursed and ADUs constructed but the $6,000 grant in a lot of cases hasn’t been the primary element in the development of an ADU but rather a modest reward after the decision to develop is made” He said in an email .
The new program, if approved, will offer grants of $13,500. As with the previous program, the recipients could not rent the unit as a rental during the three-year period. The applicants must be Juneau residents in order to qualify, and the units will need to be occupied in the space of two years.
Assembly members are currently contemplating adding a second stage with more substantial grants and will continue to discuss the issue in the committee. The recipients of Tier 2 would receive the sum of $50,000 and the short-term rental would be prohibited for a period of 10 years.
The homes constructed using Tier 2 grants will also need be affordable to those who earn 60percent of local median income. In the present it would mean that rents would be limited to $1,284 for an efficiency apartment and $1,375 for a one-bedroom and $1,650 for two bedrooms.
At a meeting of the committee on Monday evening city manager Rorie Watt suggested that it would take a lot of time for city officials to keep track of things such as the cost of renting property owners as well as the rent their tenants pay.
He also said that staff were worried that property owners might lease affordable units to friends and family, instead of making them accessible to the wider community.
It’s a style=”font-weight 400 ;”>”We haven’t been able to come up with how to make sure this kind of program won’t be used in a way that was illegal,” he said. “If one of the participants added an affordability component, may not be open to the public, or even offer an insider deal .”
It is expected that the Assembly Committee of the Whole will continue to debate the possibility of a second level. The updated grant program of $13,500 will be presented to the full Assembly to take a final vote.
