A goal of the Unified Development Ordinance (UDO) is to introduce new development standards to address current and future issues for Manhattan residents, business owners, and property owners.  One area of focus is to provide a wider range of housing types to meet the needs of Manhattan residents.  By allowing for more variety of homes (i.e. bigger, smaller, more units in appropriate locations), the demands of the housing market can be met, which should mean more affordable housing.

This area of focus is played out in the proposal for accessory dwelling units (ADUs).  The provided infographic is an overview of what ADUs are and why they are being proposed in the UDO.  In a nutshell, the proposed ADU regulations would be limited to only owner-occupied homes across the City to give those homeowners the flexibility to rent out a portion of their house or a separate building to one or two people.  The concept is that the rent from the ADU would be used help to pay for a home that would otherwise be too expensive because of limited housing stock, the desirability of the location of the home, or pressures from investment properties.

Regulations for ADU’s have been created in cities across the country, including Austin, Texas, Denver, Colorado, Madison, Wisconsin, Portland, Oregon, Seattle, Washington, some suburbs of Kansas City.  All of these cities have varying degrees of regulations for ADUs to address their own housing needs.

Accessory Dwelling Units is just one tool in the toolbox proposed by the UDO to provide a broader range of homes in Manhattan.  If you have any thoughts or questions about the UDO, ADUs or other topics discussed, please contact the City of Manhattan’s Community Development Department. 

Next week’s installment of “How Do UDO” will cover Tiny Homes, a housing trend made popular by several TV series, we hope you check it out!

Print a PDF of the ADU Infographic