California’s housing supply shortage is among the worst in the USA. One strategy that has been consistently promoted by housing advocates to address this challenges is to increase the supply of accessory dwelling units (ADUs).

Key insights:

California grapples with one of the most acute housing shortages in the USA. Advocates propose a solution: boosting the supply of accessory dwelling units (ADUs). These standalone residences, either attached or detached from the main dwelling, reside on the same lot. Despite state law granting ADU permission since 1982, cities constrained their development, citing concerns about parking, neighborhood dynamics, and property values.

This Small Housing Case Study explores the work undertaken by the Casita Coalition – a state-wide, multi-sector organization committed to increasing the supply of small-scale, affordable housing options – in their advocacy for a bill to eliminate barriers to ADU development, enabling cities to decide on ADU sales. Passed in fall 2023, the law takes effect in 2024, allowing California cities and counties to “opt in” for ADU sales.

Key insights:

Like many other cities in California, Encinitas has been challenged to meet the demand for diverse and affordable housing. Very little undeveloped land remains in the city, so it is difficult for new construction to keep pace with increasing housing needs. Housing prices are high, as are rents. Infill housing, including accessory dwelling units (ADUs), is a crucial element in the City’s plan to boost supply and provide a diverse range of housing types.

This Small Housing Case study explores how the state and city have responded to the housing crisis by passing new laws and ordinances to encourage the construction of ADUs.

The City of South Bend, Indiana has created a set of pre-approved plans for small to medium density building types (carriage house – sixplex apartment) to help foster infill development and to offer a vehicle for local residents to earn income.

Key insights:

• A pre-approved plans catalog
• Building plan and building permit applications
• Iinfill process and property inspection checklist for prospective developers.
• Detailed steps including obtaining a property survey, preparing a site plan, requesting design deviations, procuring technical contractors, and preparing a cost estimate for a prospective development project.
• The pre-approved catalog provides context on the initiative, the infill process checklist, and 9 sample designs for developers.

This report from the Terner Center for Housing Innovation, part of UC Berkeley, highlights barriers faced by developers working in states that have enabled multiple units to be built on traditionally single-family zoned lots.

Key insights:

The report details that Middle Housing delivers many benefits to communities:

• Increases racial equity in housing and neighbourhood access
• Providesentry-level homeownership opportunities
• Creates lower greenhouse gas emissions per household).

The following developer challenges are highlighted:

• Design requirements need to be flexible/supportive of missing middle housing;
• Larger projects of 8-12 units need to be permitted to make projects financially viable; that complicated utility and subdivision rules deter small-scale development;
• Approval timelines need to be more efficient; and that there is currently a lack of traditional financing tools to create a funding package for projects.

Key recommendations:

• Introducing development code changes beyond zoning reforms, including updating design requirements and assessing current impact fees and utility requirements
• Allocate dedicated resources to streamline permitting and approval processes
• Considering more ambitious land use changes, such as increasing the maximum units that can be developed per lot, to help foster increased missing middle housing development.

A growth management strategy that relies on extensive urban infill requires major changes from past industry and regulatory practice. For the strategy to succeed, builders and local governments must change the way they operate and work more closely together to further each others’ goals.

Key insights:

This report from the Housing Partnership discusses ten essentials for advancing gentle density infill development, including:

• Building political will
• Making infill attractive and profitable to developers
• Planning development based on market demand
• Ensuring new housing preserves existing neighbourhood character
• Promoting livable designs
• Providing a supportive regulatory process.

For each essential, a section is provided to discuss the topic’s importance, highlight the changes that must be made, and denote the roles that developers, local organizations, municipalities, and provincial governments must uptake to successfully deliver each initiative.

An emphasis is placed on municipalities working closely with developers to ensure that regulatory environments work to support development and vice versa.

This publication was prepared by The Housing Partnership, through a contribution from
the Washington Association of Realtors.

This Terner Center Brief reflects on municipal planner’s experience with the new suite of laws that have been enacted since 2016 to spur housing development in California.

Key insights:

The brief provides an overview of new planning, zoning and permitting legislation in the State of California since 2017, including:

• The introduction of higher municipal housing targets
• Requirements to rezone exclusionary neighbourhoods
• Infill supportive legislation including density bonuses and policies enabling ADU development.

This insightful brief from the Terner Center for Housing Innovation was crafted by Bill Fulton, Terner Fellow; David Garcia, Policy Director; Ben Metcalf, Managing Director; Carolina Reid, Faculty Research Advisor; and Truman Braslaw, Graduate Student Researcher.

This report from Casita Coalition delves into key strategies and insights from both developer and municipal planner perspectives in advancing equity strategies as ADUs gain popularity and ease of construction across California.

Exploring Promising Practices for Equality in Housing Development

In the effort to promote equality and increase accessibility to housing options, municipal workers and housing developers are turning to Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) as a potential solution. This report from Casita Coalition delves into key strategies and insights from both developer and municipal planner perspectives to advance equity as ADUs gain popularity and ease of construction across California.

Overcoming Challenges & Equity Barriers to Ensure Equal Access to ADUs

Addressing equity barriers is crucial to fostering inclusivity in ADU development. This section examines the common hurdles, including a lack of reliable information, permitting challenges, upfront costs, and homeowner concerns about assuming the role of landlord.

Written for Casita Coalition by Lin Chin of Ground Works Consulting, with support from Jennifer Duffy of Hello Housing, Renee Schomp of Napa Sonoma ADU Center, and Miriam Zuk and Saneta deVuono-powell of Ground Works Consulting.