This 👏🏿 is 👍🏼 a 🙌🏽 great 👐🏻 idea
One of the most popular articles on the Chicago Cityscape blog was when I described the process during which rear houses and coach houses (an apartment above a garage) became banned in Chicago.
Now, Mayor Rahm Emanuel has proposed legalizing new Accessory Dwelling Units (the broad category that includes coach and rear houses) in the upcoming Five Year Housing Plan for 2019–2023.
The City will identify options to leverage building codes or zoning to create affordability through accessory dwelling units (ADU), which is an additional housing unit added to an existing property such as basement or attic conversions, “in-law” apartment units, garage or coach house conversions, or new construction. ADUs can offer relatively affordable housing for tenants and can help moderate-income families become homeowners with the additional income. The permitting for an ADU could also be contingent on affordability requirements for renters. The City will work with partners to explore cost-effective, safe strategies or policy adjustments to increase this supply of housing, including new mandated and natural occurring affordable units.
The plan was introduced to City Council on November 14, 2018.
It’s really hard to count these as there’s no database. One method I created estimated there are between 1,000 and 2,000 coach and rear houses in Chicago.
The last time anyone tried to legalize ADUs was in 2003
Using the data and criteria in the housing study I created for 47th Ward aldermanic candidates, there could about 3,600 new accessory dwelling units. I purposefully devised a conservative criteria of “One ADU is allowed at each detached single-family house” to show that even with a limited regulation, thousands of new, mostly affordable homes could be built.
The last time anyone tried to legalize ADUs in Chicago was Metropolitan Planning Council’s draft legislation, written before the last zoning rewrite (adopted in 2004). Imagine how much gentle density we could have restored to our neighborhoods if there wasn’t a multi-decade gap in the ADUs’ legality.
MPC’s draft legislation would have been too restrictive, specifying that ADUs would only be allowed on lots that are at least 30 feet wide and 150 feet deep (4,500 square feet). But at least it doesn’t suggest homeowners should also find space for a new parking space to serve the new home.
There are ~78,286 house lots in current (October 2018) RS zoning districts that meet that criteria, whereas there are ~187,735 house lots in the same zoning districts that have a lot area smaller than 4,500 s.f.
The State of California has a group of statewide ADU laws, allowing them in all single-family and multi-family areas. The same group also allows “junior accessory dwelling units”, or JADUs, which are completely enclosed within the primary residence. I referred to these as “lock off units” in a post, and they’re essentially mini apartments in a single-family house that have separate entrance to the outside. They also exist inside condos and have a separate entrance to the corridor. The California JADU requires a kitchenette but disallows gas and 220 volt electrical services. It doesn’t require a bathroom.