The City of Seattle and its residents have long been at odds over the value of accessory dwelling units (ADUs), as one side seeks to meet demand, while the other worries about neighborhood changes.
The city released its final review of how loosening regulation on ADUs would impact its communities, finding that there would be no major impacts on neighborhoods' parking, utilities, public services, or aesthetics, compounding the city's findings from 2016 when ADU changes were first proposed by councilmember Mike O’Brien, Crosscut reports. At that time, Marty Kaplan of the Queen Anne Community Council and other homeowners appealed the decision, leading to further review.
ADUs are already legal. But current regulations can make them prohibitively expensive — cottages can cost upwards of $250,000. The city says looser regulations that allow larger ADUs, don’t require off-street parking, allow them to be built on smaller lots, and don’t require the homeowner to live onsite will lower the cost of construction and result in twice as many ADUs getting built in the next decade.