Lexington, KY

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2018

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

Description: An anticipated change in Lexington's zoning laws to permit accessory dwelling units inspired the creation of a Homeowner's Guide to Accessory Dwelling Units. To build interest in ADUs and provide examples for the publication, the University of Kentucky School of Design hosted a design competition for students and alumni. Cash prizes were awarded to the first, second and third place winners from each group. The ADU manual that came out of the grant -- a tangible document that people can have in their hands to understand what we're talking about -- was crucial to helping us convey the message we needed in order to bring about change, said Chris Woodall, manager of long-range planning for the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government.

Atlanta, GA

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2018

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

Description: To educate the public about options to age in place, MicroLife Institute created a 4-minute informational video on accessory dwelling units -- small dwellings built on a property alongside a preexisting single-family home. The video features firsthand accounts of what it's like to live in or build an ADU. For Katharine Connell, a young Atlanta mother and homeowner, an ADU means multi-generational housing for her aging mother. My mom and I have always been very close, she tells viewers. For others in the video, renting out an ADU led to supplemental income or provided tenants with more affordable option, helping them remain in their neighborhood. Organizers say they hope the video serves as a tool to mobilize residents to demand their local commissions permit more housing options, including ADUs.

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.