A city starting to like ADUs

A City Starting to Like ADUs

     Problem number one in building an ADU is getting the community to let you do it. Community building codes are still typically ignorant of or unfriendly to the idea. “Not in My Back Yard” for these little structures can be a common response, as people can find the idea of ADUs off-putting, possibly neighborhood-changing, too rental-friendly (Heaven forbid!), etc.

     But that’s slowly changing, as communities throughout the United States are revising or developing their codes to allow construction of ADUs in some way, shape or form for particular reasons. As noted elsewhere in this blog, Portland, Oregon has been a bellwether city in this development, but recently one of the country’s three major cities weighed in four-square with one of the most creative and encouraging new codes out there.

     Early this year Los Angeles introduced its Accessory Dwelling Unit Standard Plan Program, opening up creation of these new units to multiple designers and developers working in multiple neighborhoods. Under the auspices of the city’s Chief Design Director (a landmark new title in itself and occupied by former architecture critic Christopher Hawthorne), the city offers more than a dozen pre-approved designs to choose from.

     Pre-approval of the designs not only offers people considerable choice, but saves the builder time and money from the often slow-moving code clearance process. In California, the program is an outgrowth of the state’s liberalizing state-wide codes that have been more ADU-friendly over the past few years.

     The resulting spurt of ADU development has expanded the rental market in several communities. Most ADUs have gone this way, providing ongoing rental income for their developers. Use by family members, including the elderly, is still relatively unusual.

     But the potential for that use is there, and readily so, for families starting to see the need for an in-law suite, but not necessarily an in-house one. As caregiving technology and interior design ingenuity become more accommodating for aging seniors, this ADU senior housing alternative will grow, all the more rapidly in areas like Los Angeles.