3 ms·

In Chicago we're fighting just to get ADU's built period. A handful of them exist in the city that have been grandfathered in and can be rented/lived in legally

In Chicago we're fighting just to get ADU's built period. A handful of them exist in the city that have been grandfathered in and can be rented/lived in legally, but no new ones may be created. It's a shame, really; they can provide affordable housing in "safe" neighborhoods or be used to keep family members together as an alternative to the so-called "Mother In-Law" basement apartments that pepper the city. I hope they do it right, though; if they put the same height restrictions on them as they do (new) garages in the city, unless you have a double-lot it'll be impossible to have an ADU above your garage.

jackcosgrove 7y ago
I'm new to the term "ADU", but if you're referring to coach houses those are some of the most desirable apartments in the city, and you can't build more of them. The most egregious zoning ordinance in Chicago is that in many residential districts an existing structure cannot be subdivided into multiple units, but multiple units can be combined into a larger unit. This is a legal bias in favor of rising prices and falling access.
FireBeyond 7y ago
Same even in Olympia WA. A project called the Missing Middle (to increase the viability of medium density housing)... Many property owners were irate, screaming that people would be demolishing their homes to put up fourplexes in every street, etc. But the most heinous venom was reserved for the study that showed that with the increase in housing volume and availability that their homes would go from an expected 9% year over year increase to 4.8%, and that somehow infringed on their rights as property owners (I'm still confused as to which clause of the Constitution relates to your rights to have your property value exceed inflation by a certain value). There was no prediction that it'd depress home values - they'd still appreciate. Just not as fast. But you'd think the government was asking them to turn off life support on their children.

jackcosgrove 7y ago

I'm new to the term "ADU", but if you're referring to coach houses those are some of the most desirable apartments in the city, and you can't build more of them. The most egregious zoning ordinance in Chicago is that in many residential districts an existing structure cannot be subdivided into multiple units, but multiple units can be combined into a larger unit. This is a legal bias in favor of rising prices and falling access.

FireBeyond 7y ago

Same even in Olympia WA. A project called the Missing Middle (to increase the viability of medium density housing)... Many property owners were irate, screaming that people would be demolishing their homes to put up fourplexes in every street, etc. But the most heinous venom was reserved for the study that showed that with the increase in housing volume and availability that their homes would go from an expected 9% year over year increase to 4.8%, and that somehow infringed on their rights as property owners (I'm still confused as to which clause of the Constitution relates to your rights to have your property value exceed inflation by a certain value). There was no prediction that it'd depress home values - they'd still appreciate. Just not as fast. But you'd think the government was asking them to turn off life support on their children.