Louisville, KY

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2021

Project Category: Accessory dwelling units, tiny homes and manufactured housing

Description: After the City of Louisville updated its zoning code to allow accessory dwelling units, Planning Design Services set out to inform homeowners about their options. ADUs -- or smaller, second homes constructed on preexisting residential lots -- offer an accessible and affordable housing option. Working with a consultant, PDS collected stories about ADUs from residents, including homeowners building ADUs. They also held listening sessions with community leaders, advocates and influences. A community-wide survey helped City staff understand local attitudes about ADUs, including perceived barriers to constructing them. Based on this research, PDS created a public service announcement commercial, as well as a social media ad campaign. Additionally, they created a how-to guide and list of resources to guide homeowners through the process of constructing an ADU. Planners hope the effort leads to more ADU permitting, which will help fill the community's need for missing middle housing.

Santa Cruz, CA

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2017

Project Category: Accessory dwelling units, tiny homes and manufactured housing

Description: An increasing number of older adults are at risk of losing their homes. Common reasons include rising housing costs or homes that are unsuitable for aging in place. According to David Foster, executive director of Habitat for Humanity Monterey Bay, 300 families in the high-cost Santa Cruz area are income-burdened. To address this, Habitat for Humanity's My House My Home program builds aging-friendly accessory dwelling units. This project involved building an ADU attachment onto an older couple's home. That allowed the couple to rent out the unit, providing them with rental income that allowed them to remain in their home of 50 years. Grant funding also supported accessibility to the main house, including a new walkway and ramp, as well as low-water landscaping. They have the option to move into the ADU - which also includes accessibility features - if they choose to downsize in the future.

Conway, NH

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2017

Project Category: Accessory dwelling units, tiny homes and manufactured housing

Description: In 2017, the New Hampshire legislature legalized the construction of accessory dwelling units throughout the state. To promote this age-friendly housing option, the Mount Washington Valley Housing Coalition created information about the benefits of ADUs. This included print resources, videos and in-person presentations, which they distributed throughout the 10 towns encompassing the Mount Washington Valley. What was most gratifying were the responses from everyone who heard the multiple benefits of ADUs, realized their own properties could qualify, saw the possibilities for elderly parents, learned that the old regulations no longer applied and felt empowered to talk to their own planning board members to advocate for flexible and permissive interpretations of the law, a representative of the coalition said. Since launching the initiative, the coalition has worked to educate real estate agents about ADUs. The organization has since added a town-by-town guide to local ADU ordinances.