5.2 Auxiliary Dwelling Units - Mark Jurchen

Home Browse Search

ADUs Are an American Tradition While today's interest in ADUs may be new,the housing type is centuries old Early settlers often built a small home to live in while converted into rental homes. By becoming landlords, constructing their larger, primary house nearby. the owners gained income from their often unused When farming was a source of survival for most of the outbuildings. nation's households,families routinely constructed Automobile garages have a similar history.Some were additional homes on their land when needed. originally built with a housing unit upstairs. Over time, People with wealth and acreage regularly populated many garages were converted (often illegally or under their lands with secondary mansions and ancillary zoning codes no longer applicable today) into small buildings independent of the main estate house. homes when the spaces became more valuable for housing people than vehicles. In fact,until the 20th century, people who owned land With the rise of suburban single-family home built as many homes as they wished,often for extended family or workers.There were few or no developments following World War II,ADUs zoning rules, municipal services or infrastructure practically ceased to be built legally in the United States.Then as now,residential zoning codes typically needs (utilities,roads,schools,trash collection, allowed only one home per lot, regardless of the first-responders) to consider. acreage and with no exceptions.Attached and A historic precedent for the modern day accessory detached garages occupied yard space that might dwelling unit is the"carriage house,"or"coach otherwise have been available for ADUs. house."Originally built for horse-drawn carriages,the Some cities, including Chicago,grandfathered in structures associated with grander homes were pre-existing"coach house"ADU5—but only if they frequently large enough to double as living quarters for workers such as stable hands. remained consistently occupied. In Houston,s historic and trendy Heights neighborhood,old and new Decades later, in response to housing shortages and garage apartments are common and desired. economic needs, many surviving carriage houses were Many communities don't allow new ADUs,even if they did in the past. Even in rural areas with ample land, ♦ This carriage house containing a one-bedroom,one-bath property owners are often prohibited from creating ADU above a two-car garage sits behind a six-level,Gilded Age, Hoboken,New Jersey,townhome that was built in 1883.The secondary dwellings or continuing to live in preexisting dual residence property was on the market in 2018 for$5 million. ones. Countless units in single-family homes or yards are technically illegal simply because they date from T when such units were not allowed. v `�� „. ADUs began making a comeback in the 1980s as cities ► ';ice_ , - - explored ways to support smaller and more affordable housing options within single-dwelling neighborhoods. l .-' '., , In 2000,in response to a growing demand for ADU- fir� -14,/ -.__ supportive guidelines,AARP and the American :.' l Planning Association partnered to release a model ;ZIAS11,1// j/ state act and local code for ADUs.An updated NI I`,' resource was published by AARP in 2021. (See an o i_ V: image of it on the inside front cover of this guide.) I �/ Many state and local governments are legalizing and p '° 1, i encouraging the creation of ADU5 (see page 8), rr^ �.* driven by high housing costs and, in some cases,the Hbelief that homeowners with suitable space shouldn't 7, be so restricted in the use of their property. .