Santa Fe City Council adopts lifting casita restrictions

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About 10:30 p.m. and after about three hours of debate and public comment, almost all of the city governing body — the council and Mayor Alan Webber — backed the proposal. Only Councilor Carol Romero-Wirth voted no.

The amendments change the code allow two rental homes on single-family lots — effectively creating duplex lots — and also reduce parking requirements, change construction rules of ADUs. The most controversial change drops an existing requirement that a property owner must reside on the lot before a second unit like a casita can be rented out.

The issue has been illustrated in recent months when Jamie Durfee, who lives in a rental casita in the South Capitol neightborhood, faced eviction after several residents of Don Cubero Avenue complained that Durfee’s absentee landlords — attorneys Jeffrey Haas and Mariel Nanasi —were renting out two residences on one lot in violation of the city code.

Those opposed to dropping the owner-occupancy requirement for two rentals on a lot argued that the change will lead to the commercialization of residential neighborhoods — sometimes by out-of-state speculators — increase traffic and create parking issues, infringe on privacy and dramatically alter the character of neighborhoods.

Those in favor of relaxing regulations on ADUs said adopting the amendments would address the city’s housing shortage by increasing the housing inventory and gives homeowners the ability to supplement their incomes by renting out ADUs to long-term tenants. They maintain homeowners opposed to the changes are anti-renter or even racist.

Durfee, a recruiter for Descartes Labs, was one of about dozens of people who spoke before a huge crowd in favor of the amendments during a public hearing Wednesday night.

“People shouldn’t have the privilege to select who and who cannot live in their neighborhood,” she said, adding that she had been bullied by neighbors from an older generation.

Durfee, and others said, the city needs to do more to make room for the younger generation.

Sophia Howard, who noted she was one of few people in the room under the age of 25, complained about the number of second homes in town that are vacant.

“There are no young people here and the reason is we don’t have housing we can afford,” she said tearfully.

Several opponents of the proposal urged the council to delay a decision to allow for more discussion, including former city councilor Karen Heldmeyer.

“We shouldn’t be here right now,” she said, adding that the amendments had been fast tracked without much community discussion. “I hope we can have a real discussion.”

Barbara Frick said she thought it was ironic that the city was going adopt new regulations when it couldn’t enforce existing regulations, a common complaint by those opposed to the changes.

Council Romero-Wirth agreed. She was the one councilor who advocated delaying action because the item had only been heard by the Public Works Committee.

“And as a result, this is the first time I’ve heard this bill and the first time I could make changes,” she said. She wanted changes to help prevent speculators from buying up houses and adding casitas to have two rentals.

She said wanted the council to limit permits for two rentals on a single lot to one per property owner, instituting a trial period and revisit how the changes were working in six months to a year, and include in the ordinance occupancy standards that would limit the number of people living in an ADU.

But the rest of the council and Mayor Alan Webber were ready to move forward.

Councilor Peter Ives called it a “modest proposal to try to solve some of the issues we have. It really is a first step.” He added, “Rather than pause, let’s move forward and see what happens.” The amendments were approved with a proviso that they be reviewed in two years.

Mayor Webber also urged the council to move forward. He also said it was a first step to a larger undertaking.

“This is not a single item; this is a strategy,” he said, adding that the goal was to provide options for housing. “This expands the options.

The city’s Planning Commission and Land Use Department staff recommended the City Council adopt the amendments. Mayor Alan Webber, who made addressing Santa Fe’s housing issue a priority when he took office last year, has also been outspoken about his support of the changes. The mayor’s task force on affordable housing only went so far as to say that the city should take steps to make it easier to build ADUs, but didn’t address the owner-occupancy provision.

A previous report by the Santa Fe Housing Action Coalition recommends eliminating the owner-occupancy requirement for ADUs, but to keep it in place for dwellings that are rented on a short-term basis.

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