With the passage of a state law on July 1, 2003, a doorway has opened to increase affordable housing without increasing sprawl.

Laurel Prevetti, San Jose acting deputy planning director, said San Jose's housing-affordability crisis has been worsening and the city is reexamining the ordinance.

"This is another way to increase the housing supply," Prevetti said. "We're giving it a serious look."

Beyond Homes broker David Conca thinks the city should take a more proactive approach and follow the example set by other cities such as Saratoga, Palo Alto and Santa Cruz in allowing granny units.

"San Jose is behind the times," said Conca said. "The real estate community is behind it."

San Jose senior planner of zoning ordinance John Davidson added that the city is researching under what parameters to recommend legalizing granny units. The city council's Driving a Strong Economy Committee plans to review the issue in March and later present it to the city council for a vote.

San Jose banned granny units in 1984 because the city "didn't have the infrastructure capacity" to deal with the issue, Prevetti said. Units' safety and the overburdening of code enforcement were issues being weighed then as now; today the lack of affordable housing is added onto those, she said.

Even as the ordinance is debated, code enforcement continues its policy of investigating reported cases that violate the existing ordinance.

"It's a simple issue," said San Jose zoning administrator Jamie Matthews. "Without permits, the granny units are not designed for human habitation."

Matthews said he's seen illegal granny units with hazardous wiring, plumbing, and heating and no secondary exits.

He added that if city council reverses the ordinance, owners of converted garages, basements, sheds and attics might have difficulty updating those buildings to standard building codes because it can be more expensive to change electrical and plumbing installations, raise low ceilings, check firebreaks, earthquake-proof the foundation and increase the setback than it would be to build another building. Sometimes it is easier to simply tear down the old building and start fresh.

San Jose code enforcement inspector Bruce Kalin said the city knows there are "hundreds, if not thousands" of granny units, which do not conform to the city's current zoning code, but will only investigate violations if a neighbor complains.

The Willow Glen Resident spoke with three individuals who have code-enforcement problems with illegal units. But the newspaper is not naming them because these homeowners are concerned they will be singled out by the city. Although these residents said code enforcement might be doing its job, they feel discriminated against.

One Willow Glen resident, who lives on Milton Way, said there are eight other granny units on her street, and hers is the only one investigated because a neighbor reported it. Yet the resident said she has no idea why she was singled out. There are no parking problems or issues with her tenant, she said.

"My neighbors were happy that someone was watching the property," she added.

When she bought her home 30 years ago, there was a multiroom building with a laundry facility in her backyard. She remodeled it and a city building inspector approved it as a workshop 21 years ago. Now code enforcement is requiring that she do one of three things: tear down the building, bring it back into compliance as a workshop/garage or apply for a permit to alter its use to that of a recreation or accessory building.

She said the code enforcement inspector "stalked her tenant" and "stuck cards in her door" and told her she "would be charged thousands [of dollars] a day" if she did not comply.

"I am scared to death," she said, adding that destroying her granny unit would be devastating.

During an onsite inspection, Kalin told her that the main issue with the property was that the second unit violated the city's zoning and housing code. However, if the city council decides to allow new second units and to allow existing ones through a grandfather clause, the property on Milton Way would no longer be in violation, provided some additional changes in lighting and ventilation were made, according to Kalin. But in this particular situation the timing is problematic. With code enforcement following her case, she would probably have to return her unit to its former condition without a kitchen or a full bathroom before the city actually adopts a new ordinance.

And she's not the only person who has been faced with this type of decision.

Another Willow Glen resident who lives on Ramona Avenue said when he built a brand-new garage five years ago, he received permits to add a toilet, sink and washing machine. After he complained about his neighbors' dogs barking, the neighbors reported him to code enforcement.

"[The planning department] turned on me because there was a complaint," he said. "I tried to work to get it up to code, but they were so uncooperative and threatened to fine me a few thousand dollars."

After two years of trying to reach an agreement with the San Jose Planning Department, he decided to give up and remove the shower and the wall.

"It was a nightmare to go through it," he said. "It's like losing a house to a fire."

Like the resident on Milton Way, what upset the Ramona Avenue homeowner was that eight other residents on his street also had granny units and he was the only one who had to tear down part of his structure.

"It seems like discrimination," he said.

A third resident bought his Willow Glen home off of Bird Avenue 2¹/2 years ago with living quarters already built in over the garage and didn't know it was illegal. So he rented the space to help cover his monthly house payments. When his tenants wanted to break their lease, they reported him to code enforcement.

"I felt really alone; I was freaking out," he said, when the code enforcement inspector told him it would cost $50,000 to tear down the garage to comply with the city ordinance.

He said, "They power trip you." And added that when he told code enforcement representatives he would work with them to get the permits, they backed down. But they kept calling him once a month to check up.

"There were a lot of sleepless nights," he said. "It was very challenging."

The Bird Avenue resident said if he could do it over again, he would not have bought the house and would have spent time educating himself online about codes and permits.

Davidson said the decision is ultimately up to the city council, so for now residents have to conform to the ordinance that is in effect.

District 6 Councilman Ken Yeager has not yet taken a position on the granny-unit issue and is waiting to see the city's proposal on zoning changes, setbacks and parking.

But Yeager said, "We don't want our city to turn into a police state, and that's why code [enforcement] only responds when a call is initiated."

He added that code enforcement generally receives a call when someone in a neighborhood is concerned about turning "a wrong into a right."

He also reiterated that the city doesn't have the manpower to drive through neighborhoods looking for violators and it's not the city's policy to do so.

"Clearly there are probably illegal units in communities, but if the neighbors aren't concerned and are not making a fuss, then code is not going to come calling, " Yeager said.

And he said when the city reviews how these units can be incorporated into the affordable-housing criteria, issues such as increased traffic will also be reexamined.

Prevetti said that the planning department would post the proposed ordinance on its website for public review in early to mid-March.