ADUs:

The Durango Experience VICKI VANDEGRIFT, AICP

SCOTT L. SHINE, AICP

ADUs:

The Durango Experience

1. INTRODUCTIONS

2. SETTING THE STAGE

3. PROCESS

4. IMPLEMENTATION

5. HOW’S IT GOING?

6. LESSONS LEARNED

7. Q & A

A

Great

Place

to Live!

Located in the Animas River Valley

Setting the Stage

Surrounded by hills &

mountains (limited flat sites for development)

Setting the Stage

Historic Downtown

Setting the Stage

College town

Housing Issues

Many second homes

48% of Durango’s housing units are rentals

Strong tourism market = Lots of service industry jobs

Projected to grow 52% over the next 20 years =

demand for 15,700 housing units in La Plata County

Neighborhood Preservation

With this growth

pressure, how will

we preserve the

character of our

existing

neighborhood?

What’s an ADU?

An Accessory Dwelling Unit is a small dwelling unit which is located on the same lot as a

principal home.

Attached (Integrated) ADUs

Attached (Integrated) ADUs

Detached ADU - Cottage

Detached ADU - Garage

Isn’t it a Duplex?

ADU

Clearly subordinate to

principal unit

Building appears as single-

family residence

Generally, unified ownership

A “single-family” use –

occupancy of lot is limited to

one “family”

Parking for 1 unit + ADU

Detached Duplex

Units may be equal in size

Building may appear as a two-

family residence

Units may be separately owned

A “two-family” use – occupancy

of lot is limited to two “families”

Parking for two units

Usually requires a larger lot

PROCESS

Previous ADU-Related Efforts

1988-1989: Old Code adoption process and discussion on residential sub-units

Duplexes became a Special Use on 7,500 SF lots or larger.

1998-2000: ADU public process with multiple meetings. No agreement.

2005: Residential Infill Development Standards. Bulk and mass are reduced, strong design guidelines are developed. Detached duplexes allowed on 7,500 SF lots or larger.

2009-2013: New Code review and adoption with ADUs allowed in two neighborhoods.

Why ADUs This Time?

2007 Comprehensive Plan

Emphasized sustainability including infill and smart growth strategies.

Implementation Program – Establish criteria for ADUs.

City Council

One newly elected member ran on a pro-ADU platform. All Council

Members supported ADUs.

Property Owners

Extremely vocal call for ADUs to be allowed in our existing neighborhoods.

Housing Market

Rewriting the Land Use and Development Code

WE HAVE TO DO SOMETHING WITH ALL OF THESE ILLEGAL UNITS!!!

Illegal ADUs

How Many?

No idea…but a lot!

The Process Begins…

LUDC Update process begins

in 2009.

Citizen Advisory Committee

formed.

Public Meetings: mostly

attended by pro-ADU

Supporters.

Realtor’s interest in clearing

up uncertainty.

ADU Love Fest!

ADUs are the answer to all of our housing problems:

Affordability

Aging parents or college kids

Allows a couple looking for a second home in Durango to have a caretaker

on site (yea!)

ADUs should be allowed in all zone districts.

Allow ADUs on any size lot.

Staff Rebellion

No way to administer this wide open of a program.

Broader process and participation needed: Persons in single-family

neighborhoods didn’t know about the proposed changes.

Dealing with all of the illegal ADUs was a total unknown: how many

properties, how much time on each, what will we find out there?

We must find a way to avoid encouraging speculative property purchase

and second home owners.

Staff Rebellion

Council backs down.

3 neighborhoods.

No, only 2 neighborhoods

(to start).

Only in areas where

duplexes were previously

allowed.

Neighborhoods

Historic Neighborhoods

Downtown grid (EN-1)

Avenues along state highway (EN-2)

Most lots are between 5,000 and 7,500 SF

Primarily alley-loaded

3rd Avenue Historic District is the premier real estate in Durango.

Neighbor Uprising

Neighborhood advocacy group created

(CHEN – Citizens for Healthy Established

Neighborhoods)

Comprised of some of our most prominent citizen activists

Long-term residents who feel entitled

Constantly pointing to the deficiency in

enforcement against existing illegal units.

Organized many anti-ADU activities including letter-writing campaign and petitions.

Neighbor Uprising

Citizen-led survey of one

neighborhood’s existing

units.

Hundreds of potential units

exist.

Hundreds of additional

units could be built if code

passes.

Neighbor Uprising

Neighbor Uprising

Then things got very interesting!

Neighbor Uprising

Picketed

our

Office!

Really?!?

In the end…Compromise

But it Took Drafts…Drafts…& More Drafts!

First Draft - December 12, 2010

Additional Drafts

February 27, 2011

April 25, 2011

May 25, 2011

September 29, 2011

October 3, 2011

November 8, 2011

December 1, 2011

December 8, 2011

July 16, 2012

February 27, 2013

And even more drafts!

Lots of Public Meetings & Study Sessions

So How Did We Compromise?

Size of Unit – Staff held firm, neighbors supported staff, Council

backed down. The biggest pro-neighborhood Council Member was

our major opponent to the size limit – she wanted to live in one

someday and needed more room.

Definition of Family – Did not change.

Lot Size – Supporters advanced no lot size restrictions, staff

resisted, neighbors supported staff, ultimately Council allowed half

of one neighborhood to not have a size restriction.

So How Did We Compromise?

Design Standards – Staff advanced to address neighborhood

issues, Council tweaked and approved.

No Variances – For anything related to an ADU.

Promised Enforcement

Bring substandard units up to a safe condition

Agreed to be proactive not just reactive

So How Did We Compromise?

…Final Piece of the Puzzle!

Owner Occupancy – Staff advanced, neighbors

loved and agreed that this requirement would change

their opposition, Council accepted the change.

Public Hearings

We separated out ADUs and adopted the code ahead

of the rest of the LUDC.

Very little controversy during the public hearings

Willing to support ADUs as long as all of the

compromises were in place.

Council made very minor modifications to the

Ordinance.

Durango’s New Code

Fully web-based

Searchable

Visual

IMPLEMENTATION

Managing Existing Units?

ADU Amnesty Program

Punitive ADU Program

Illegal Housing Initiative

Housing Fees Extortion Effort

Pre-Existing Unit Voluntary Registration

Program Details

Voluntary Registration Period with Incentives followed by Proactive

Enforcement

Four months…then 10 months…then 16 months of voluntary registration.

Age-based fees, not current fees (Can be a difference of up to $4,300).

Separated into three main age categories based on legal history.

Owner gets a recorded document that clearly establishes legitimacy.

Program Details

Program Details

Forms…lots of FORMS!

Age/Safety Affidavit in lieu of

inspections

Owner-Occupancy Affidavit with

renewal every two years

Payment Plan Option

Innovative Implementation Tools

Online registration form

GIS Integration

Innovative Implementation Tools

Visual media

Mass mailings

One More Neighborhood

Council was lobbied to add

another neighborhood.

Staff wanted to delay. Council

said ‘No’ (due to upcoming

elections).

Much easier and quicker this

time.

Web-based survey showed clear

support for adoption.

Opponents realized support was

there, focused on lot size and

other controls.

How’s It Going?

Lots of registrations! Over 260…But definitely not getting all units.

Only 9 applications for new ADUs since July 2014.

Controversy has died down.

Some confusion exists…ADUs vs. Duplexes.

Voluntary registration period has ended. Enforcement gearing up.

Spin-off projects: housing code, housing strategy, etc.

How’s It Going?

Lessons Learned

Procedural

Embrace differing staff perspectives.

Use web-based tools to obtain, track, and share data.

Use various forms of outreach.

Invest in and be patient with an up-front, in-depth process.

Test, adjust & adapt.

Lessons Learned

On ADUs

Size limits and design are crucial considerations.

Primary neighbor concerns are noise, loss of privacy, and traffic/parking.

Owner-occupancy requirement alleviates many concerns, but will be

hard to track.

One part of a more comprehensive housing strategy…not a silver bullet.

Financing is complicated.

ADUs are developed gradually over time. Perceptions of a ‘rush’ appear

to be unfounded.

Q & A

ADUs:

The Durango Experience

VICKI VANDEGRIFT, AICP

SCOTT L. SHINE, AICP