At 220 square feet, you could almost fit three of Pasadena’s micro-unit apartments into one large studio apartment.

Sure, it’s tight quarters, but the less expensive rent attracts tenants who are already prone to counting coins. The trick is getting developers to build the units, Pasadena officials say. But they’ve got a plan to entice them.

The city’s planning commission voted 6-2 on Nov. 13 to recommend the City Council loosen restrictions and streamline the permitting process for those looking to build these one-room, dorm-like apartments.

They could be a good deal for developers, according to city staffer Andre Sahakian, who presented during the meeting. With smaller units, developers can fit more people into one building. That could mean 40% more profit for property owners, he said, and 20-30% less rent for market-rate tenants.

But if developers build them, will the residents come?

The units are seldom equipped with full kitchens, often only a sink and a countertop — sometimes a kitchenette. Although many do, the units aren’t required to have private showers or bathtubs, just a private toilet. In some floor plans submitted to the city, there’s enough space for these requirements, plus a bed, a small couch and a tiny closet.

It’s not going to fit a family very comfortably, but that’s not the target market or the appeal.

These buildings offer dorm-life for adults with communal living rooms and kitchens. Some properties have such amenities as an onsite gym, pool, laundry machines and other niceties, according to a study conducted by the Washington D.C.-based Urban Land Institute.

While they’re definitely not for everyone, getting more of these properties is part of Pasadena’s plan to build more “inclusive housing,” Planning Director David Reyes said.

“This is a majority single-family zoned city,” he said. “That’s for families. Let’s plan for others too.”

The most likely person to rent one of these units is under 34 years old and isn’t in a relationship, the Urban Land Institute study found.

Pasadena-based developer Ken McCormick was skeptical until he saw similar units on a trip to Colorado. He’s not personally working on any projects like this, but said he “became a believer” after seeing one in person.

It’s a win-win, officials say: Renters can save, living in slightly more affordable apartments — ones developers don’t have to be strong-armed into building — and it just might help fill a gap in Pasadena’s affordable housing supply. One teeny, tiny small apartment at a time.

But there’s a problem. Three, actually.

Parking

Right now, Pasadena’s laws require one parking spot for every unit built. That’s a major issue, McCormick said in an interview.

Limited parking is key to keeping the rents down, he said. If a developer is forced to build an underground garage or any other kind of large-scale parking facility, it “sends the price right back up.”

Members of the Planning Commission picked up on the same problem.

“When we allow the developer to decide what is marketable for their unit, they reach an appropriate level of parking,” Commissioner Blair Miller said. She pushed her colleagues to suggest eliminating the existing parking requirement, which ultimately resonated with most when it came time to vote.

Only two commissioners disagreed, voting against the measure exclusively because of the parking requirements.

Because micro-unit apartments are only allowed in the city’s mostly commercial areas, which weren’t intended for large residential populations, McCormick believes forcing developers like him to build more onsite parking would add “enormous environmental stress on the neighborhoods,” he said.

It’s critical that the apartments are only allowed in the city’s epicenter with access to jobs and transit, he said.

That’s where these apartments are the most attractive: urban areas with easy, walkable access to shopping, entertainment, jobs and transit options, according to the Urban Land Institute. And that’s where the city has already carved out spots for them.

But not all of Pasadena’s commercial zones are designated equally.

Zoning

Developers aren’t required to get a conditional use permit to build micro-unit apartments in some of the city’s smaller commercial areas; they just have to abide by a set of pre-existing requirements. But in Pasadena’s Central District, the heart of its bustling downtown, right now developers have to go through the case-by-case process of getting a conditional use permit.

The Planning Commission suggested eliminating that requirement to streamline the construction process. They believe developers in the city’s Central District should be able to build micro-unit apartments under the same requirements that apply in other parts of Pasadena.

Any justification for the existing discrepancy is unclear, according to a city staff report. More micro-unit apartments won’t “result in greater impact … in the Central District than they would be in the other zones,” it says.

Eventually, the city might allow the units in other parts of town, particularly neighborhoods built around transit stations, but that’s not on the table just yet, according to the staff report.

However, zoning and parking are only one side of the equation. For these to be profitable for developers, people still have to want to live in them. And that might mean bigger units.

Sizing

Right now, only apartments that are between 150 and 220 square feet qualify as micro-units in Pasadena. That includes a kitchen sink and a countertop, as well as an enclosed toilet; showers and full kitchens are often in shared spaces.

The maximum sizing is much more restrictive than other cities, according to a staff report.

Depending on the location, units in Santa Monica and Boston max out at 375 square feet and 450 square feet, respectively. The New York City equivalent runs a little smaller at 300 square feet. Meanwhile, San Francisco has the same 220 square foot requirement as Pasadena.

Pasadena’s requirement may soon change if the City Council takes up the Planning Commission’s recommendation to increase the max size to 375 square feet.

It’s more in line with projects recently proposed to staff, according to the report.

Closing the gap

There are only two micro-unit apartment buildings in the city right now, both critical pieces of the city’s affordable housing supply:

Centennial Place is a converted YMCA building near City Hall, according to the staff report. It has 144 units of permanent supportive housing for very-low income households. In Pasadena, that’s specifically households making about $38,000 a year or less, according to the 2018 American Community Survey.

Ten minutes away are the Aqua Courtyard Suites on the corner of East Green Street and South Holliston Avenue, offering 89 units split between low-income households — folks making between $38,000 and $62,000 — and moderate-income households that bring in between $62,000 and $93,000.

Pasadena currently misses the mark on most of the state’s housing goals, which are broken down by these same income level measurements. The city has more than enough housing for above moderate households, which is anyone making more than $93,000. Although the city falls short on very low-income housing, it still has significantly more units for those individuals than anyone who falls into the low and moderate-income levels.

“We have a huge gap there because no one wants to build them,” Planning Director David Reyes said in an interview.

That’s where these micro-unit apartments like the Aqua Courtyard Suites fit in. And there could more coming soon, Sahakian said in an email.

At 231 N. Hill Ave., Brea-based developer Hill & Hollison LLC is planning a 57-unit building. Sixteen of those 220-square-foot apartments will be specifically designated for moderate-income households; the rest will be market rate.

One mile away, Miami-based developer CrossBridge Global is planning a 185-unit building at 274-284 N. Oakland Ave. Nine out of 10 of those units fall into the moderate-income level. The remaining 10% will be designated for low-income households.

The Salvation Army is also getting on board with Pasadena’s soon-to-be burgeoning micro-unit market, planning 65 units of “affordable, permanent supportive housing studios for the homeless,” Sahakian says. It’s slated for 1000 E. Walnut Ave.

All three of these projects are in the early planning phases. Only the 231 N. Hill Ave. developer has submitted drawings to the city.

Like the rest of Pasadena’s apartment complexes, these will be subjected to Pasadena’s inclusionary ordinance, which requires a certain number of units to be set aside for affordable housing.

The Planning Commission’s recommendations are headed to the City Council, which can approve, modify or outright reject the suggestions sometime in the next few months.