What does the new Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) bill mean - or not? Why do we have it? What technical and community challenges might be faced in implementing it? This two-hour workshop will raise awareness of the importance of this bill and what communities might consider in preparing for it. Intended for anyone interested in the topic.
This is the first in a quarterly series of workshops we are calling Home, Sweet Home.
Our demographics are changing, and our world is changing. College grads are faced with lower-paying jobs and high student loan debt. Non-professional positions, for the most part, do not pay a “living wage,” so affordable places to live that are safe and decent and not too far from work can be hard to find. Empty-nesters want smaller homes. And because of an aging population (and indeed, the increased numbers of returning wounded from recent wars), the number of those with mobility, sensory and cognitive challenges is growing. Affordability is a common theme, accessibility is a common need.
With all this, the demand for a greater variety of choices in home type, design and location is growing. Millennials (those born, roughly, in the 1980’sand 1990’s) and Boomers (those born between 1946 and 1964) alike want to live in smaller, affordable homes in neighborhoods where they can walk safely and easily to where they need to go. But often what is wanted or needed is not available – often because of zoning and other regulations in the community, whether intentional or not.
Most recognize that economic development, community stability, and supporting an aging population all include the critical component of an availability of options for places to live.
From the series, attendees will come away with
Part One: Accessory Dwelling Units
SB 146, which would allow an Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) on a single-family home as a matter of right, through a conditional use permit or by special exception, passed the House on Jan. 7 by a vote of 188-93. The bill has cleared the legislature and as of January 25, is awaiting the Governor’s response. This bill was the focus of extensive deliberation in legislative hearings, and the Legislature worked on it for over a year before finally passing it.
At this workshop Ben Frost, from New Hampshire Housing, will discuss the changing housing needs of our population statewide and he will present an overview of the bill and what it means (and does not) for communities.
Then Jonathan Edwards, a planning consultant for more than forty years, and Arthur Rugg, Chair of the Londonderry, NH Planning Board, will talk about their recently-completed undertaking of creating and/or re-writing their zoning laws in order to offer a broader range of housing options, including ADU’s. They will talk about the technical challenges as well as community challenges they faced, and how they addressed them.
Attendees will come away with:
Thursday, March 17, 2016 at The Audubon Center, Concord.
Doors open at 8:00 AM for registration and breakfast, program starts promptly at 8:30.
Please register no later than March 15, 2016. Space is limited.
Program:
8:30 Welcome and series overview
8:40 - 9:20 The Accessory Dwelling Unit bill: what is its intent, what does it mean (or not) for your community?
Presented by Ben Frost, Esq., AICP, New Hampshire Housing Finance Authority
Break
9:30 - 10:10 Changing housing zoning (including ADUs) in the Town of Londonderry - the technical and community challenges and opportunities.
Presented by Jonathan Edwards, planning consultant, and John Vogl of Londonderry.
1.5 AIA credits have been approved for this workshop.
2 AICP CM credits have been approved, including 1.5 Law credits.
SAVE THESE DATES FOR THE OTHER SERIES WORKSHOPS:
June 15 : workforce housing, tiny homes, co-living, manufactured homes, micro-apartments
September 15: Getting older doesn't have to mean "senior housing" - what to consider to support aging in place
December 14: You want to move forward - now what?