A statewide boom in Auxillary Dwelling Units (ADU) approvals started up roughly five years ago when California legislators required local municipalities to relax their regulations on ADUs approvals. They are the small self-contained housing units usually found in the backyards of many existing homes.
Abodu, a company focused on building prefabricated Accessory Dwelling Units, installed its first North Bay unit in unincorporated Sonoma County roughly two weeks ago. The company says more units will be coming to both Sonoma and Napa counties in the coming months.
Abodu designed its business around taking the stress out of the process by handling most of the work themselves but similar options are offered by several other prefab ADU companies.
The speed of building ADUs depends on whether homeowners buy in-production units or wish to design various aspects of the unit. Geary said the organization has installed more than 100 units in California over the past two years and has several hundred in production behind that. This is a sales approach used by manufactured housing factories for decades. Buy the home on the dealer’s lot or order one from the dealer’s factory.
Manufactured housing is certified and regulated on the federal level through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development while modular, housing — which is what Abodu builds — must be built to state building code standards.
The total number of ADUs being set in place in CA is minuscule compared to the number of affordable houses needed. As more homeowners decide to try putting an ADU in their backyard, it could help the affordable housing market but is never intended as a viable solution for the homeless.
The state-sponsored ADU center recently launched a “Standard Plans Program” which features a gallery of plans that at least some of 16 Napa and Sonoma county jurisdictions have pre-approved. That allows for a diversity of options for interested buyers and helps the center pursue a goal of saving homeowners and cities time and money on the design and permitting process for ADUs.
Look for ADUs to continue to grow in popularity, not only in CA but across the country.
Related Articles:
Portland, Oregon Promotes ADUs With Tour Of 15 Homes
Are ADUs About To Become Mainstream?
DC Rewrites The ADU And Backyard Cottage Handbook
Gary Fleisher is the Editor in Chief of Modular Home Source and Offsite Builder. Email at [email protected]
To learn more about the Offsite Construction Industry, visit: Offsite Builder, the Construction Magazine for Builders and Developers
