Accessory dwelling units

the ADU is one of them but that might be historic district in general

and things like the ADU, um, uh, size, and then zoning

No. An ADU is accessory to the primary dwelling.

backyard cottages, ADUs, and multi-unit buildings in areas like neighborhood one

major update of the ADU uh regulations in 2018 where we removed an explicit requirement that was in the land use code

the omnibus amendment includes clarifying a requirement for accessory dwelling unit or ADU utilities

incorporating ADUs, attached, or excuse me, accessory dwelling units, as these could add to the mix

if a lot of those units had ADUs, that would enable more families to live there

you mentioned that ADUs could be a part of this. Were you thinking attached ADUs that are internal to these units

I have an outbuilding and ADU. You like people developing ADUs? Well, I'm waiting for GEO.

the metal material choices on the ADU to complement the new gabled structure

is there any, definition of the usage of this ADU as

the type of housing that we see the greatest increase in terms of those other types like ADUs and live work units

the amount of single unit attached and other types like ADUs, live work units, and others is greater under the new proposed

small units such as ADUs are going to be uh less expensive than three-bedroom apartments or or single family homes

But I'm going to come to the April meeting, because I want to hear the AEU presentation

When are we getting the data for ADUs again?

One is the ADU, the, utility metering. Yes, we… it's important that ADUs be accessory, but we enforce the fact

Accessory dwelling units, by definition, are an accessory. They're not, they are not a dwelling unit.

Second one related to use table and standards is just to clarify a requirement for accessory dwelling unit utilities

you might be able to build a single-family house, a duplex, a triplex, ADUs, things like that

to live with them, co-house, do co-housing, do ADUs, you

I was hoping I would see the updated stats on ADUs.

Several waves of ADU deregulation over the years.

Then, April Boulder Housing Partners Overview and ADU update.

the community did seem to be really interested in the town home, cottage court, ADU housing type

the first round of, like, the co-op ordinance, and ADUs, and all these things

well, ADUs, attached dwelling units, so we're creating a unit type that's got

Uh, Portland did this with ADUs and it actually would have been a good program except that the ADUs

not just the duplexes and the ADUs that zoning in those areas currently allows

We ought to be facilitating the development of ADUs andor back or call them backyard cottages

I need to explain to this client, you know, why they can't have an ADU, unless it's

Before, at first, it was just for ADUs, then it was kind of changed a little bit.

I think in the past, it's been the ADUs, which it took a long time to get.

to give variances and allowances or incentives to people who might want to put these properties as ADUs in their backyard

She was also a strong advocate for changing regulations concerning ADUs

Just to name a few things, ADUs, occupancy reform, minimum wage, coralia network, embodied carbon building codes

You've made building ADUs in Boulder a real option across the city.

ADUs are unaffordable unless you have money. But because they can be sold.

We also have, potentially, in February or March, an ADU update.

We did a bunch of code updates in 2023 for affordable housing and ADUs.

ADUs accessory dwelling units are absolutely um part of the analysis.

we're granting a lot of exemptions uh in terms of size, in terms of ADUs.

with the state, the ADUs are allowed everywhere

I believe that actually for the purposes of rentals, um the ADU is considered its own structure

how that an ADU would play into this because say you have a primary residence

she has a house, like it's an ADU, that is labeled as a shed

is, are accessory commercial units going to be specified in the plan? Like, is there an opportunity for accessory commercial units and not just accessory dwelling units?

if you are actually creating an ADU and renting it out

But in general, there was support for exemptions for small additions, modest-sized homes, ADUs

So, on that topic, we wouldn't consider an ADU a new dwelling unit, nor would we consider it a new principal building.

how you call out the exemptions for ADUs and for multiple units, because I think that would be a really big selling point

nobody can afford an ADU at these kinds of

The area of an accessory dwelling unit would be exempt regardless of size, and it wouldn't apply to renovations.

For example, new opportunities, new typologies in neighborhoods, such as instead of an ADU at a corner house

I think council's um leaning into zoning allowances for uh ADUs and for uh duplexes and quadplexes

looking at ADUs, there's some um recommendations around like pre-approved high performing ADU designs.

we have to abide by the 20 foot, and we all know that it's measured 25 feet out

So we did get 6 accessory dwelling units that are required to be constructed

We also, as I mentioned, previously, required the construction of 6 accessory dwelling units.

that was the whole thing with revising the adu Regs, and all that is that they, in fact, create another housing pathway

Do you want to add an adu update to a other items to explore

to get the moves that happened in our adu realm.

we've gone back every three years and looked at how many permits did we get

for some of the changes that we've made like our ADU changes for accessory dwelling

you're gonna have to upgrade the rest of your house to to the energy standards of the adu

in order to maintain an existing building and turn it into an ADU, we would have to allow ADUs

if it is an ADU, that's a house that's rented and an ADU that's rented

the reason for this proposal is due to the recent adoption of the ADU ordinance which removes the owner occupancy requirement

of attached accessory dwelling units are done within existing buildings. They're either attics or basements

requirement for attached accessory dwelling units when removing that exception from the smart Regs

Exception of attached accessory dwelling units as detailed in section 9, 6, 3

what would allowing ADUs across area 2 look like and what what would be the infrastructure and services needed

And if the county were interested in allowing ADUs, which if they annexed, they'd be able to have them too

And so I would be very cautious about for example allowing ADUs wholesale in area 2

I believe they could do an adu. not a duplex or a no, not in this particular zone.

this is something we did for the accessory dwelling unit ordinance as we made incremental changes

Add an ADU to one of these properties and your entire backyard comes under restrictions.

in potentially exempting ADUs entirely if that's possible

it also overlaps with the size of a ADU typically

we have a legal process for establishing accessory dwelling units, which is what the property owners

and then also, at some point, an adu, a small adu was added to the back of the garage

in order to permit an accessory dwelling unit adu within it

I think it's a really good example of new construction in a historic district, and how to add an adu in a historic context.

relative to accessory dwelling units where we're updating the code to conform to um state law

I think that some thought should be put against collapsing the adu and 500 square foot exemption into one.

because a lot of adus are not used as adus. They're just used as parts of a house.

a lot of them are developing adus, those adus may or may not be rental.

my advocacy for adus is like they solve a number of problems

But adus, and it's like the majority of work that I do, for adus in my neighborhood

The adu ordinance was just passed by council.

accessory dwelling units garages studios are totally exempt from this requirement

concerns about the impacts of the new uh imaginary lot line Provisions that are in the IRC regarding adus

these triplexes, quadplexes adus. And I want an adu in my place

in the land use definitions of accessory dwelling units, it clarifies that you cannot have separate utilities

This would impact adus in the city, but thankfully, this only applies to totally separate dwelling units

as people might switch their um garages into adus but still want to have an EV

So there's 1 for the adus, and there's 1 for the occupancy of the staff

I'm also really excited about the adus. I I also would love to see the data on how that

I'd love to see the city keep track of the the benefits of adding more adus

I know we're pushing adus um in the urban centers but what is it that these people with a small lot

look at your rules regarding adus and affordability as a hint on how you could amend this proposal

I know that we need to put up all the adus in this town that we possibly can.

adu garages whatever that dot this alley in this block, and even going further east

we're always excited to see a proposal of an adu even in one of Boulder's most beloved

this is one I could see it used more like a studio perhaps an Adu

well is that because of the Adu changes is there some like Market forces

So the adu standards, as they've been since 1983, when they were 1st adopted in Boulder, are only an accessory use

The 1st is allowing adus in more zoning districts.

cities would have to or subject jurisdictions would have to have an administrative approval process for accessory dwelling units or adus in any location

So basically, we have to update the land use code to allow adus in all the zones that allow detached dwelling units.

You also have to not have design restrictions that go beyond a a detached dwelling unit.

So with respect to the adu Bill. habs, probably aware that we've recently made updates to the adus through the last several years.

some of the compliance changes we need to do for state law regarding um adus

Does this bring us in line with the adu changes with the State?

the proponent of allowing duplexes versus an adu is that you have more flexibility on the size

Why aren't we incentivizing those by allowing adus to be condominiumized.

Adu reform took us three years in Boulder occupancy reform took eight years

Boulders experience with relaxing Adu restrictions for instance has led to

we do something similar to this now with an Adu where there's a declaration of use that gets recorded

as well as uh accessory dwelling units um these are uh ordinance that we're drafting now

make the door in. Revise the door into something that could be an entrance, and like, have an adu in there

We convert the same space to an adu with its own entrance, and 7 years we've loved our tenants great.

Boulder's experience with relaxing adu. Restrictions, for instance, has not led to a sudden proliferation of adus.

There's a bill on accessory dwelling units that says that they should be required in each single family house

It's related to what happens with adus under the current or past occupancy requirements for adus.

Besides the adus, the family, friendly, vibrant neighborhoods.

About occupancy. Adus, you know, fast tracking, affordable housing to be built.

the parking requirements basically make many adu and duplex and unit additions impossible

I want to bring the adu in, and I think it's great.

my other feeling of mass to scale is the adu in the back

And so, in regards to the adu again, we essentially modified everything as requested by the landmarks board.

Accessory dwelling units. You know that we've passed some ordinances to make them more allowable throughout the city.

the adus used to be regulated by a rental license, but they're not regulated by a rental license anymore.

this is something that we do now with accessory dwelling units, except the State law is actually impacting that

one example that we did recently was the updates to the accessory dwelling unit process

the improvements to the accessory dwelling unit process making that much simpler

Yeah, so I don't wanna shrink the ADU, I think that you, you could.

The design has a height of 20 feet, which provides for an interior.

because of the policies that are changing for accessory dwelling units

actually builds single family homes to 1,000 square ft so really that was aimed at accessory dwelling units

the first owner has to own the property to build an adu. Subsequent owners do not.

somebody comes into the plan department with they wanna build an adu

We did that for the accessory dwelling unit changes kind of incremental changes

like I was trying to get my my adu on at my place, and I got a spigot

it's pretty common for owner occupancy requirements to be applied to adus

there's one on Accessory dwelling units allowing them more broadly

and just like the issues with the adu. I think that adu. I don't think the design that we submitted was in its final form

some pretty strong zoning restrictions on what that accessory structure can be

So we were. We did have some criteria and constraints in regards to the the adu.

Is a bill around accessory dwelling units. So in communities within metropolitan planning organizations.

The saturation limit for the adu is one thing. What is limiting adus in reality is any home in a pud cannot increase floor.

they're actually incentivizing him to build the adu like Denver is on this right now.

So even if you but allow them to build an adu, they might only be able to add 90 square feet of floor area to the lot.

they just changed all the adu stuff to where you can park if it's specific to an adu which makes it very hard for us to enforce.

we got our answer around. Adu. Is that got taken care of?

and more recently, we've had a lot of significant adu. Standard changes to the point where we're not even seeing those variances come in.

It's a accessory dwelling unit. It's in a great location.

I'm really excited that they're adding an adu.

so that it reads as a secondary structure, but still indicates where the entrances to the adu

Here in City of Boulder anyone can build an adu in the Hi. Maybe you'll see 1% of single family home properties

You have 60 days as a jurisdiction to review and approve an 80 application and starting January of next year.

They're really aimed at accessory dwelling units. So you might have noticed we allow a prescriptive pathway for units, a thousand square feet or less.

you know, directly impacted our work with adu. Regulations

Then you, we get into the whole adu saturation limit.

consistent with our current standards it would prohibit local governance from requiring owner occupancy or additional parking

it requires that adus be permitted by administrative approval so again no discretionary review

modifications to the required Adu or accessory dwelling unit roof pitches to allow for slightly lower pitches than the code requires

they're saying don't require owner occupancy because they just want to have build as many adus

our city may still want to incentivize it so an amendment that would clarify

reduce the barriers to development of accessory dwelling units

We had the accessory dwelling unit update which turned it into a one step process and created a much simpler approval process.

the theme this year was adus and more specifically adaptive reuse of these Carriage Houses

For example, there was one A to you on Bluff Street that was sort of grandfather

if we could replicate for a few hours on a Saturday or Sunday in May, some of the ADUs because people are hungry for information.

is that We need to work. However we can to have a variety. Of living sizes and price points for people to live and work in Boulder.

I don't think it's correct to say that if it's not rented It's not providing community benefit.

We've got all these ADUs. There is no guarantee that the ADUs will be actually rented.

In the ADU world, it's usually a deed restricted, affordable.

we made it easier for homeowners to host accessory dwelling units

distinguishing the proposed ADU from the original house

One mechanism that we have used. That's part of the preservation program and broader to our community is accessory dwelling units.

Could it be used as an accessory dwelling unit?

those core components being uh something around uh adus accessory dwelling units I think a focus on strategic growth

that we've passed recently like adus and occupancy to address this issue

adus relaxing occupancy regulations it didn't pass but it's something that could come back

I don't know if it would draw in things like adus as well but if I'm reading that right

are adus implicated at all in this discussion thank you no

with 80 use it allows an accessory dwelling unit on a lot. That's, you know, 5,000 square feet and up

but as part of this project and the Occupancy project and the Adu project.

Maybe it's like an adu that you can burn into the duplex by doing the the the work with the city.

for each unit had an avu. I mean. you're kind of getting to a bigger scale of housing.

affordable adus that was 73 new units of housing that are contractually guaranteed to be affordable to renters

the second type of accessory dwelling unit that we planned in 2018 was guaranteed to be affordable

we could have simply done with occupancy what we've already done for accessory dwelling units also referred to as adus

we already do that with the adus we require one unit to be owner occupied

we did this with adus we started small we had a limited rollout of adus we looked at it

that doing this along with you know allowing more adus allowing more housing can affect the housing but it has to all be done together

You might remember I was here back in February to talk about some proposed changes to the adu or accessory dwelling unit regulations.

and I asked for a couple of questions, clarifying questions about the new ad regulations when they would go into effect

So there is a saturation limit under the current accessory dwelling unit regulations for historic properties

I was truly shocked when I saw the size and height of this proposed a to you

the saturation limit has been in place since Boulder's first adoption of Adu regulations in 1983

the evaluation helped reveal the changes that had had shown to reduce the barriers to adus in Boulder

looking forward to going through ordinance 8571 with you tonight on the accessory dwelling unit regulation updates

if there's not an accessory dwelling unit within a single family unit up there, there could be a family

adus doesn't really matter so much because they aren't going to get built all that much because they're expensive

started locally on occupancy adus and middle housing the housing crisis requires all hands on deck

the bill as introduced would allow adus within to be built as a use by right and existing residential areas

But what an Edu really is is a small residence that's sharing a lot with a larger main house

public hearing and recommendation of City Council regarding proposed ordinance. 8 5 7, one amending section 4 to 218 rental license, fee.

it doesn't right now qualify under the current rules. and I think it would be pretty close under the modified rules

we've already gotten feedback from them on adus and that there is a positive feedback

with addressing adu's occupancy changes to zoning to allow more housing

How we use it in folder accessory dwelling unit is a small residence that's sharing a lot with the larger main house in Boulder.

We're up to the Edu code update, and we're gonna start.

And then the other area is the southeast corner, where the Adu was approved in 2,001, and when that detach.

we tried to write something in the code that was a little bit more family friendly uh for the adus

the Adu definition basically says or on occupancy that the occupancy like should be the same as a single family house

the Adu regulation updates uh following the study session that we had on January 26th

the accessory dwelling unit updates so we'll be considering or you'll be considering an ordinance to remove saturation limits

I'm looking forward to chatting with you today about accessory dwelling units

It caps the number of properties that can have an 80 t0 20.

it's actually something that's been in place in the 80 regulations since they were first adopted in 1,983

allowing adus co-ops duplexes commercial linkage fees and a long-standing inclusion inclusionary housing program

right now adus plexus parking reform neighborhoods that actually support the transit

most cities will use their typical zoning standards either specific to adus or general to all structures

none of these 34 cities have a saturation limit for adus in the same way that Boulder does

increasing the size limit of adus they thought would make it more suitable for families to be able to use adus

so the saturation limit has been in place since 1983.

they have to attest to it, being affordable in the declaration of use, with the accessory dwelling unit

that's if we're really clear about exactly what is required. Of the accessory dwelling unit.

they include things like the accessory dwelling unit

I am really looking forward to this discussion about accessory dwelling units, or you'll hear the acronym

So now we'll move ahead to our our next item tonight, which is a information item and and hopefully a discussion of of the access accessory dwelling unit updates.

It's a part of the code that has been in place since 1983, and so from the onset

to to brief the board on the adu project

allowing adus and multi-family dwellings in all residential zoning these would be high impact

and there is an active application. Convert this into a detached accessory dwelling unit 80.

the applicant would then need to move forward with finalizing that a you are, or the Edu permit.

An arp is a huge advocate of accessory dwelling units and lots of other land use reforms

more changes that are leading to significant amounts of construction is with statewide accessory dwelling unit laws

Well, it does not apply to the accessory dwelling units because they're not the principal dwelling

the reduction of the size the Adu. We we had originally proposed

how would any new accessory dwelling unit meet the Criteria of Preserving Enhancing

It was for a garage office. Adu, we had originally proposed a building

I think that public process model was employed on prior adu uh subjects

and adu regulations also include occupancy regulations and zoning for uh housing affordability

one of the housing advisory boards recommendations was to eliminate parking requirements for adus

has been in place since that original ordinance for adus in 1983

removing the saturation limit and also allowing both attached and detached adus on one lot

whether we're talking about um uh inclusionary housing or adus the other types of uh zoning changes

between uh related priorities of adus and occupancies and some of those things

the idea of condominiumizing home and an adu, I can say from a planning board perspective is a very complicated, decision

we recognize that there's a bunch of simple. Changes that we can make to liberalize and encourage more adus

I'm gonna suggest that we discuss these additional recommendations when we get to our adu portion of the agenda quite soon.

they're mostly around eight hundred square feet, or they've set a limit of the percentage of the principal structure

they identify the city council early this year identified updates to the accessory joining unit regulations as one of their main priorities.

The person who occupies that home has to go for their permit to rent the a tou

does that have a ripple effect on other Council priorities such as occupancy say or adus

we would anticipate initiating the Adu code update work during that period

a teacher who's eager to be involved in and ah adu uh development

Although our adu is not officially classified as affordable, We have limited the rent to an affordable rate

I appeared before the Housing Advisory committee advocating for a dus at one of your earliest meetings years ago

obviously we'll be talking about the adus and kind of the direction of that ordinance as well

it has specific language about the affordable EDU what those right restrictions are as well as penalties for not renting at or below those limits

there were lots of design standards in the. accessory dwelling unit regulations, and it was super complicated for Homeowners

We could move on to item be under six review of accessory dwelling unit regulations with Jay

i propose that we do something informational on adus in june and then have a discussion

so what i have in the work plan that i sent out was um to talk about adus

along uh planning and development services is also going to council for a study session to talk about adus

So basically the accessory dwelling unit is. It needs to go through permitting process

and a lack of accessory dwelling units doesn't help either diversified housing options beyond a single family home

when you kind of look at adus and you say well if you were to say to me

I think we have ideas on how that could be done

and every year I know that it's a priority for him to want to do adus

the next one is removing barriers to formation of adus and co-ops

Okay, I got I got one more to this would be about removing barriers on accessory dwelling units and some on co OPS as well.

revisiting Adu ordinance reviewing requirements that incentivize developers to build large units

we've been through having the Adu as a constant source of income and have had wonderful wonderful experiences

we bought our house in uh Table Mesa that had an Adu in place and we did that in order to afford the rent

include mobile ad us. In the category of accessory dwelling units and then they would be accepted and allowed

the benefit specifically a movable at us is that there's also an ownership component to it

the challenges of permitting adus within our town we have every intent of making adus more accessible

don't don't think that you have to wait for the adu update

then the homes what was it the mobile homes the adus on wheels or the adus you know those people are real passionate

how adus are reviewed and approved by staff without public comment or public notice is a concern

discuss a couple items related to detached accessory dwelling units it has come to my attention

whether through area plans or Adu reform or by means of specific projects like Alpine Balsam or the Armory site is occurring at a slow and very costly Pace

it is one of housing and human services top five priorities to look at adus again

the adu process has pluses and minuses and issues that are coming up the expenses are very high

all this is in the adu memo and it might be better if offline

there are organizations out there that fund the production or the building of adus

this will require some work with the city on approved pre-approved plan sets for adus

the Adu zoning um adjustments that were fought so hard against on the previous Council

accessory dwelling units just last year and earlier this year in 2018 earlier this year council amended the adu requirements to open it up

without putting some sort of an affordability um cap on it or an affordability restriction on it somehow similar to how the adus were done

as I read it you could have four unrelated people in a 500 foot Adu

to look in the neighborhood see how many adus are in my radius

there needs to be some kind of supplementation for individuals that are trying to make adus

the Adu map is incorrect and does not account for compatible development or solar Shadow ordinance

we still have the most arduous Adu guidelines in the country so one thing we could consider

in the boulder context mostly what you're gonna see is a tiny home as an accessory dwelling unit

many of them are truly being used as granny flats or caregiver facilities or to put a family member through college

how does it make sense to include legal non-conforming and Adu saturation calculations and more sense

quick question could could he build two homes and an Adu if based on the parcel size

offer recommendation on compatible development for Adu the only variance allowed for ad you are demons is floor area

collecting data around the accessory dwelling units unit application and review processes in order to understand barriers

I really want to encourage you to adopt and look at the planning board recommendations

I strongly recommend that Council heeds the concerns of the community to remove the provision requiring that new adus be architecturally consistent

particularly with respect to attached adus or internal adus all it requires is basically like a stove and a refrigerator

are we talking about an Adu are we talking about a two family building

it's about um accessory dwelling units and public RightWay and Rental licenses

we had only received nine Adu applications and the re in our our maybe we're up to ten or eleven but I guess the point is

we looked at this with staff and I think we broke a discussion about Adu density and duplexes and triplexes and some other things

YOU WENT THROUGH THAT VERY LONG EXERCISE REGARDING ACCESSORY DWELLING UNITS WITH THE SAME IDEAS AND I THINK THAT THEY VERY MUCH APPLY

FOR EVERY TWO TOWN HOUSES YOU COULD HAVE WON TWO CAR GARAGE WITH A GRANNY FLAT ON TOP OF THAT

I don't know how that would you know work in terms of who owns the Adu

those could be not only garages but those could be granny flats or they would be garages with Granny Flats

we instructed staff to go and evaluate the possibility of doubling the number of adus in our e and r r districts

regarding the sprinkling of the um adu unit and the possibility of having to enlarge one's water lines

i noticed that the adu regulations were eased to allow for less parking and larger square footage

i've recently applied to the city to turn a 350 square foot portion of my garage into a licensed adu

allowing additional square footage above that cap to be used in the form of accessory dwelling units

so in this case we're suggesting accessory dwelling units so this example shows a house capped

then D looks at going beyond the cap and using that extra square footage for accessory dwelling units

one Adu per lot right now would be out of compliance with the saturation level

today under the current zoning you can only do one additional accessory dueling unit per property this would enable more than that

so an attached accessory dwelling unit can be up to one thousand square feet in size

was to track Adu inquiries as well as applications and I thought that was

they applaud the new Adu ordinance changes enacted by council and recognize that

if an applicant comes in and the saturation limit has been reached they're placed on a wait list

on adus when when it gets to when we're talking about saturation what is our process if in a particular area that saturation has been achieved

we completed this compliance process from that moment onwards we are effectively completely compliant on our adu

if people are building adus we want them to be rented for long term

and I thought we grandfathered or at least at one point we had grandfathered the existing

I'm in favor of the adus generally speaking I think it limits the ability of people it's too prescriptive and too restrictive

if you were to for example allow a second Adu on a property you would probably add an exception to the occupancy

WITHIN THREE HUNDRED FEET MAY HAVE AN ACCESSORY DWELLING UNIT

AN ACCESSORY DWELLING UNIT THAT DOESN'T MEAN SOME OF THE OTHER CRITERIA

THEY DO APPLY TO ACCESSORY DWELLING UNIT WHO MAYBE SHOULD CHANGE THAT

WITH THE HOUSES AND GRANNY FLATS OR WHATEVER THEY'D USE

how many people are currently on the waiting list for ad use due to the concentration limit

whether any of the many other Adu programs across the country include an affordability component and if so what that looks like

first reading of our accessory dwelling unit ordinance and we're not going to discuss it tonight

the difference between an Adu and a single-family home a home with an Adu and a home with that

you just add an kitchen essentially and you occupy it in the same way

I'll be doing the first one on building height and then the accessory dwelling units

in the the original ordinance in 963b it includes adus and boarding houses I think uh and Council said take those out