Affording a home is more out of reach than it’s ever been. But research at Miami University shows that accessory dwelling units, or ADUs, can lessen the housing crisis. WYSO’s Mike Frazier spoke with Jeff Kruth, assistant professor of architecture, about this research.
Jeff Kruth: What myself and my colleague Murali Paranandi are kind of looking at is this idea of what are called accessory dwelling units or ADUs, and their relationship potentially to addressing the affordability crisis that is sort of present across the country and in particular maybe looking at our region here in not just southwest Ohio, but even sort of statewide, looking at what implications might be for that.
Mike Frazier: How would that work? Is their property co-owned? Is it split? How does that work?
Kruth: It can work a couple of ways and this goes back to a little bit of the kind of the history of ADUs. And typically you might hear of them also as granny flats or in-law suites, sometimes back door cottages, these kinds of things. And a lot of what they were originally for was intergenerational living, which is also seeing a big push. AARP is actually very much in favor of putting forward ADUs because you can have this kind of intergenerational living. And so you can kind of have this close knit relationship as well as health care opportunities and all these kinds of things. So it makes sense from a couple of perspectives — socially, economically, sustainability, these kinds of things.
Frazier: The ADU would be a self-contained home, almost like a mini home, but with full amenities: a kitchen, bathroom, plumbing, electricity, utilities and such?
Kruth: So basically an extension on the house or even a basement apartment or these kinds of things, but they also can be standalone or detached units. So sort of a standalone structure as well. So ADUs applies to both of those situations.
Frazier: Are there any examples like that in this part of the country that may not be as progressive as, say, California or other places on the West Coast?
Kruth: Montana is actually very interesting. They've passed a series of legislation that they're calling YIMBY legislation, which stands for Yes in My Backyard. So typically, you might hear the phrase NIMBY, which is Not In My Backyard. Montana is typically a Republican-run state at the state legislature, and they have a supermajority. But they've actually found a lot of bipartisan support to pass not only ADUs, but sort of a series of densifying kinds of housing, housing types. Similarly, in Cincinnati, there's a push for legislation right now to get them approved because it is currently illegal to build them.
So there has been kind of more of a discussion in Cincinnati and in fact, actually in Yellow Springs and in Dayton, they are legal to build through a conditional use permit. So you do have to go through the board of zoning appeals to get these approved. But they are technically legal in both Dayton and in Yellow Springs.
Frazier: Now, in a place like Dayton or Yellow Springs, do they still have to go to the city planning department and say, "I want to do an add-on to my home, I want to build a separate structure for the purposes of an ADU?"
Kruth: Yes, you would still have to go through that process and get a building permit, get those things inspected and also go through the board of zoning appeals. Yes.
Frazier: Suburban communities say surrounding Dayton, up between Dayton and Cincinnati, going to their local Board of Zoning appeals or their planning commission, they would have to get approval in that respect if somebody wants to build on their property?
Kruth: That's correct. You'd have to go through a process, through the board of zoning appeals. And typically that involves...you kind of have a panel of people who will kind of look at your proposal. And then there's also opportunity for public input. And often at the local level, that's where things can become contentious and or pushed against. And so people will shut those down, conceivably. But it certainly is possible to get them approved. And many localities and municipalities are very much in favor of them as a tool for density and sustainability.
Frazier: It's an interesting concept...not solving the housing crisis, but just giving an opportunity for some people to have a firm roof over their head that can allow them to live more affordably than they would otherwise.
Kruth: I will say flat out this isn't going to solve the housing crisis. But really, I think as a tool for affordability, what it's going to hit on probably the most is what is often referred to as missing middle housing. And so this missing middle is typically thought of as a diversity of housing types of not just the single family house and not just kind of multifamily housing, but things that are more in between duplexes, triplexes, ADUs, but also from the perspective of affordability.
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