Erica C. BarnettA compromise in the works would bring back the requirement that property owners who build backyard cottages or basement apartments must live in one of the units for at least one year after construction.
The proposal, which comes from city council member Mike O’Brien, is intended to appease homeowners who’ve complained that eliminating the owner-occupancy requirement would encourage speculators to buy up houses, build ugly, imposing backyard apartments, and skip town, leaving neighbors to deal with the consequences.
However, there’s no evidence that this has ever occurred or that it would even make sense financially, making this new restriction on property owners a solution in search of a problem.
City council member Mike O’Brien is proposing, and the city’s Office of Community Planning and Development is drafting, a change to the Housing Affordability and…
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