Two things will be accomplished if Salt Lake City makes it easier to build ADUs within city limits. First, it will help with their affordable housing crisis. That is if the Airbnb people are excluded from the new law. And secondly, ADUs are what most Gen Z’ers are looking at.
Cutting red tape on detached accessory dwellings is aimed at boosting the construction of more affordable homes but some raise concerns over parking, and short-term rentals.
Opening another line of attack on its affordable housing crisis, Salt Lake City plans to wipe away current rules on new accessory dwelling units in favor of a more streamlined design and approval process.
State law already makes ADUs a permitted use inside single-family homes, but a series of reforms afoot in Utah’s capital would lower barriers for property owners who want to add detached dwellings such as backyard cottages and granny flats.
Under the changes vetted at City Hall for almost a year, building add-on homes would be permitted automatically instead of requiring a public hearing before the city’s planning commission and months of delay. Where ADUs are allowed also would greatly expand under the proposed ordinance, which is heading to its first public airing in early February.
But the idea of lowering barriers and allowing new living units in more neighborhoods isn’t as simple as it might seem, especially in light of concerns from residents.
Major differences are already surfacing among council members over the proposal’s relaxed parking requirements per unit and mandate that new dwellings be owner-occupied and barred from use as short-term rentals.
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Gary Fleisher is the Editor in Chief of Modular Home Source and Offsite Builder magazine. Email at [email protected]
Gary Fleisher, the Modcoach
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