New Report on ADU Best Practices

A new guide to best practices for jurisdictions increasing Accessory Dwelling Units has been released. After a year of conversations with local governments, development professionals, nonprofit organizations and small housing experts, the Casita Coalition produced the ADU Best Practices Guidebook, which details best practices for jurisdictions looking to increase the supply of housing by spurring ADU construction. The Casita Coalition, formed in 2019, is a statewide, multi-sector organization working to remove policy barriers to development of small homes, including ADUs, duplexes, and cottage clusters. The report divides the best practices into sections regarding policy, public-facing, and process. Policy recommendations include such items as waiving or reducing fees; creating clear and simple development standards; mapping ADU opportunities; and creating a vendor registry to connect homeowners with ADU professionals. Public-facing practice recommendations include such items as creating checklists and one-page explanations; targeted outreach raising awareness of ADU benefits; building websites to guide people through the process; and providing financing. Process recommendations include creating an ADU-specific team at the city level; concurrent and electronic review of plans; and expanding hours and access to permits.

The report is available here: ADU Best Practices Guidebook