Much ado about ADUs

 

A two-story detached Accessory Dwelling Unit in Portland, OR. Image by Jordan Palmeri, Oregon Dept. of Environmental Quality.

Tonight at 7pm the Ann Arbor Planning Commission is going to be discussing Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs). Specifically, they are going to be looking at changing the rules around ADUs to allow them in more residential zones. Here's the agenda. 

I think making it easier to build ADUs is good. I think we should make it easier to build many more types of housing in Ann Arbor's residential areas and that ADUs should play a part in this. (For a more indepth look at my thoughts on housing, check out this article I wrote last June: Ann Arbor for the many, not the few.) 

Let's talk about ADUs specifically and why they are good. I have two main reasons that I think we should allow ADUs in all residential zones. First, ADUs provide more housing and Ann Arbor desperately needs more housing. ADUs are, on average, less expensive per unit to build than many other forms of housing. A study in Portland, OR found the average cost to build an ADU was about $75,000. The study also found that the average rent of an ADU was lower than other housing options. 

Second, ADUs will help Ann Arbor meet its ambitious climate goals. ADUs, on average, have lower lifetime carbon emissions than larger houses (Slide 5). They also allow more dwellings to be built on residential lots, saving greenfields outside of the city. Finally, by allowing more people to live closer to where they work, ADUs allow people to dramatically reduce their transportation emissions. 

ADUs are not going to solve all of Ann Arbor's housing problems. The city needs more subsidized housing and more market rate housing of all types. Still, if Ann Arbor is going to solve its housing crisis and meet its ambitious housing goals, it is important to make it easier to build ADUs. If you support this, make sure you drop the planning commission an email (planning@a2gov.org) or call into Planning Commission tonight. At the last meeting, a ton of homeowners called in to oppose allowing more ADUs. I think it would be nice for the Planning Commission to hear from people who support ADUs in addition to those that oppose them.