Accessory Dwelling Units, or ADUs, are a hot topic across the nation as cities and towns struggle to meet affordable housing supply demands of the current market. To citizens, they are often a more palatable idea for increasing housing supply than multifamily buildings because the density is low and they can increase monthly income and property value for homeowners. AARP advocates for ADU-friendly legislation in order to increase the supply of affordable, accessible housing for seniors in the walkable community environment they prefer. But many neighborhood residents worry about the potential for parking problems and attracting more investor purchases of single-family homes for this purpose.
Setting the table for our webinar will be the Joint Center for Housing Studies’ Ellie Sheild, who recently concluded research on the state of ADU legislation and production across the nation. Sheild found that significantly increasing the production of ADUs almost certainly requires the passage of statewide legislation mandating by-right, local approval of ADUs that meet meaningful state standards related to their size, design, and use. However, getting legislatures to pass such measures is a complicated and difficult undertaking that requires the active support of a broad and diverse statewide coalition.
Lori Gay is the CEO of NHS of Los Angeles County, an organization that is “all in” on ADUs as a strategy to increase housing supply and will talk about the supportive regulatory environment in California as well as her strategies for lending and construction of ADUs. Our other panelist will be Dover, New Hampshire City Manager Chris Parker, who has managed to assist in the permitting of more ADUs than much larger NH cities, despite the much less supportive regulatory environment created by state government there.
Join us for this useful introduction to the ins and outs of ADUs, and to discuss with our panelists the conditions under which ADUs can be a useful tool for increasing housing supply in middle neighborhoods.
Panelists
Ellie Sheild, Research Assistant and Author
Joint Center for Housing Studies
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Lori Gay, CEO
Neighborhood Housing Services of Los Angeles County
Los Angeles, California
Chris Parker, City Manager
City of Dover, New Hampshire
Dover, New Hampshire
Moderator:
Marcia Nedland, Organizer
Middle Neighborhoods Community of Practice