Long Strides for Small Houses: The ADU Advantage
Every day, newspaper headlines point to the challenges of meeting the need for affordable housing. These concerns resonate in suburban towns and rural areas as well as in large cities. In response, the design of tiny homes, the antithesis of mega-mansions, creates interest, excitement, and potential for affordable home ownership. Some forward-looking towns such as Montclair, Maplewood, South Orange and Princeton, NJ are making their own contribution to addressing housing needs by passing ordinances allowing Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) on existing properties.
Essentially, an ADU is a small residence that shares a single family lot with a larger primary dwelling. The ADU can be attached, free-standing, or contained within the main house. For example, it is now possible, to transform an existing garage or carriage house into an ADU, build a new structure, or create a private wing within a home, in conformance with design and zoning regulations. Town ordinances have been revised to allow accessory dwellings in single family zones, where previously they would have been out of compliance. In many instances, garages and carriage houses located in the corner of their lots can become the perfect space, with built-in privacy for an ADU adaptation.
Like a tiny house, the design of an ADU includes a kitchenette, sleeping area, and bathroom. Guidelines recommend that an ADU should conform to a square footage of 300 to 800 square feet and harmonize with the architecture of the main house. For aesthetic reasons and for privacy, entrance doors should face the garden, not the street, and windows, double glazed for acoustics, should be placed at least six feet away from the property lines. Plumbing lines must be trenched to connect to the main house. Town zoning also requires an additional parking space on the property for the ADU. The configuration of an ADU can readily incorporate advances in green design and accessibility features. A cost estimate for a garage conversion to an ADU, for example, would range from $120-$180K.
As personal and family needs change over time, so can the use of an ADU. For every demographic, there is a need that an ADU can fulfill. The extra dwelling can serve as an ideal space for visiting family members, child-care providers, young adults at home, older people aging-in-place, or caretakers. Each town has different requirements. In Montclair an ADU can be rented to a family member.
