Want to build a backyard cottage in Raleigh? The city has an affordable design for you.
The city of Raleigh has launched a first-of-its-kind program to make it easier to build backyard cottages.
A new gallery gives people a menu of pre-designed cottage plans available for purchase directly from developers. Each meets the city’s building codes and costs less than what it would normally cost for a custom backyard cottage design. It’s a first in the state, according to the city.
“We think that using this fast-track process will really make it easier and more accessible for not just builders and developers, but homeowners to take advantage of these provisions and provide housing opportunities for their elderly parents or adult children, for neighbors that are struggling to stay in the neighborhood because of costs” said Pat Young, the city’s director for planning and development.
“The beauty of ADUs (accessory dwelling units) is that it really can be a great solution for folks at all different points of the lifecycle,” Young said.
ADUs, sometimes called granny flats, have a contentious history in Raleigh.
There are many such units across the city but, at some point in the 1970s, changes in local zoning laws made it illegal to build new ones.
The debate has spanned at least four Raleigh City councils.
Mayor Mary-Ann Baldwin tried to get ADUs approved again during her last term as an at-large City Council member in 2017 but was unsuccessful.
In the summer of 2019, the Raleigh City Council voted to allow ADUs through a process that required residents to apply for a special district supported by a majority of 10 acres worth of the applicant’s neighbors. Those rules were tossed out when a new council majority took office later that year.
Then in 2020, the City Council voted to allow ADUs by-right and without going through a rezoning process or requiring a special district.
It was at that time that Baldwin, by then mayor, asked for the city to incentivize building ADUs. The city has received 90 applications to build ADUs since they were made legal.
“I think we are somewhere in the 45 units a year range,” Young said. “That is what we’ve been seeing. And we’d like to see that maybe double within the next five years.”
The city received 46 submissions for various ADU designs from architects and builders, and accepted 11 into their gallery. The price for purchasing the plans range from $400 to $1,700.
“The ADUs are a really modest but important part of the affordable housing solutions we’re trying to bring to bear,” Young said. “Because of their small size, they are often being able to be rented for much lower cost than traditional housing units.”
Dan Nicely, owner of Dakota Architecture, is one of the developers with a design plan picked for the gallery. His ADU plan, called Adieu, costs $400 and is for a 432-square-foot unit.
“With a lot of the aging in place, we’re usually talking about people with limited resources,” he said. “You know, either caring for an aging loved one, or somebody growing old who doesn’t necessarily want to leave their neighborhood or their house. So I didn’t want to have that price out of reach for people.”
Zahra Ali-Shapiro, owner and lead architect of Atmos Arc, has worked in large-scale commercial architecture but recently decided to include residential architecture. Two of her designs were accepted into the gallery.
“There seems to be a perception that architecture is reserved for the elite and the ultra wealthy,” Ali-Shapiro said. “And I think that’s a wrong perception. And I want to help change that.”
Since the program started this week Ali-Shapiro said she has already gotten a call from a man who owns several lots throughout the city.
“He says he gets inquiries from developers all the time that are wanting to build like a McMansion on his site,” she said. “But he has seen a lot of the rental demographics change, and there are a lot of younger people that are moving into Raleigh and they need affordable rentals.”
People can visit the online gallery at bit.ly/ADUGallery and learn more about building ADUs on the city’s website: raleighnc.gov/permits/building-accessory-dwelling-unit-adu
This story was originally published December 15, 2022 at 12:06 PM.
