Vote could allow 'granny flats' throughout Raleigh

A Raleigh City Council committee on Wednesday is expected to vote on whether or not to allow granny flats throughout the city of Raleigh.

Posted 4:29 p.m. Jun 13, 2018 — Updated 7:41 p.m. Jun 13, 2018

Adam Owens

, WRAL reporter

RALEIGH, N.C. — A Raleigh City Council committee on Wednesday is expected to vote on whether or not to allow granny flats throughout the city of Raleigh.

Some say granny flats, backyard cottages where aging parents, grandparents or other renters can live, could be an answer to the housing crisis. Others, however, worry about the potential problems they could cause in existing neighborhoods.

Some structures within the city are grandfathered into law because they were built long ago, but there is a movement to allow them all over the city.

Matt Bullard has a 600-square foot granny flat that is grandfathered under the law. It's home to a local graduate student who he describes as a "good neighbor."

"This is very much in keeping with the nature of this neighborhood," Bullard said of the dwelling.

Those in favor say allowing the backyard cottages would help to mitigate affordable housing issues in Raleigh and would allow people to live in neighborhoods they would otherwise not be able to afford.

"The advantage, I think, to the neighborhood, is we have people living here that, I don't think, would be living here otherwise," Bullard said.

But, there are concerns from some who worry about the effects on neighborhoods, including the potential for crowding and parking issues, when a number of new residents are added.

"I am not against accessory dwellings. I am for capacity, adequate capacity of our infrastructures," resident Marsha Presnell-Jennette said.

Presnell-Jennette believes the granny flats should be integrated with care. Her particular concern is storm water runoff from added new structures. On her property, a creek continues to eat away at her backyard.

"There is less land for the water to perch down," she said.

One proposal is to allow granny flats using an overlay district, which would require the majority of the people in a neighborhood to allow a cottage to be built in the area.

Granny flat proponents say that option will serve as a barrier that would discourage the use of the cottages.

Those who support granny flats point out that Raleigh is the only major city in North Carolina that does not allow them.

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