— The Raleigh City Council is once again weighing whether to allow people to build and rent out small homes on their properties, a proposal that some local officials say could put a dent in the area's growing need for affordable housing.

Almost five years ago, the council nixed allowing such accessory dwelling units, also known as backyard cottages or "granny flats," saying city leaders needed more research on the issue.

Since then, the lack of affordable housing in Raleigh and Wake County has reached a crisis. The county needs 56,000 more affordable housing units than it has, and that shortfall is expected to balloon to 150,000 units over the next two decades, said Sig Hutchinson, chairman of the Wake County Board of Commissioners.

"This is such a no brainer for all municipalities," Hutchison said Monday of allowing backyard cottages. "All large municipalities in North Carolina have got the ability to do [accessory dwelling units] or granny flats. Raleigh is one of the few cities that still have restrictions."

Judy Christopher and her husband renovated the garage of their century-old home in the Cameron Park neighborhood, near Cameron Village, into a granny flat after buying the property in the 1980s. Because the garage is attached to the home, city regulations allowed them to do that.

Christopher said she would prefer that more local property owners be allowed to do likewise, even if the rental housing isn't attached to the main house.

"It is a great idea to have affordable housing not just in one area, but there’s affordable housing throughout the city. I’m very supportive of that thought," she said.

Critics worry the plan could create overcrowding and traffic problems or could drive down property values by introducing shoddy, poorly maintained structures into a neighborhood.

"It would have to be controlled in such a way that it wouldn't become Airbnb or anything like that," Gordon Folger said.