Councilmember proposes model ADU and recovery cafe grant applications; staff to return with cost estimates

A councilmember asked the City Council for support to pursue two grant opportunities during the June 18 meeting: (1) a county community investment/affordable housing grant (SEA funds) to fund up to $250,000 toward a model two‑bedroom accessory dwelling unit (ADU) sited on city property to demonstrate affordable ADU construction and stimulate private uptake; and (2) a county mental‑health/chemical‑dependency fund grant to support staffing at a local recovery resource center and café.

The speaker said the model ADU would be permanently affordable and that the $250,000 county grant would likely be insufficient to cover full construction costs; the councilmember asked for staff help identifying city property sites and potential city match funding if the grant is awarded. Councilmembers asked staff to provide construction cost estimates and a proposed site before the application is finalized. City staff recommended returning the item to a workshop with a more accurate cost estimate; councilmember Kim (as recorded in minutes) and the mayor said staff would return at the July 2 meeting with cost estimates and a workshop if necessary.

Council did not make a formal fiscal commitment at the June 18 meeting. Staff said the builders association and local contractors were working on preliminary cost estimates and that staff would assemble budgetary information and a proposed site option for council review before any grant acceptance or funding commitment.

If fund awards are made, the council must still decide whether to accept and match grants and to designate a site for a permanently affordable ADU if that is the intended outcome.