By Joshua Schuetz
Housing is a top-ticket issue in communities throughout Greater Minnesota, and Lake City is no exception. Thanks to the efforts of CEDA team members Cailin Richard and Ben Strand, the city is leading a new push to promote accessory dwelling units as a way to open up more housing to seniors and families.
Lake City residents attend a town hall on ADUs.
ADUs are standalone structures by a home that offer additional dwelling space at a smaller scale than the home itself. By building an ADU, a property owner can age in place and have family or friends move into their home to provide care, or rent their ADU or home out. Despite revising its ADU ordinances in 2007 and 2018 to create more favorable conditions for development, Strand said the city had not seen a single building permit for one, something the Lake City Port Authority wanted to see change.
“This came about through the Lake City Port Authority’s work plan, as we look to improve housing mobility and because we have an aging population compared to the rest of the state,” Strand said. “We applied for and received $10,000 through the American Association of Retired Persons’ Community Design Challenge to raise awareness about ADUs” he said.
In July, two community sessions were held to raise awareness about ADUs, and one resident was selected to receive incentives to build one on their property. The city is also creating 3D designs for ADUs, which Strand said residents will be able to use to design their own. Both sessions were well attended and the city used a signup sheet to identify residents interested in starting projects.
“Now that we’ve raised awareness and generated some interest, our goal is to get some projects happening,” Strand said. “We’d really like to see one person complete an ADU project over the next year.”
