New Jersey has an obvious housing crisis. To help resolve it, we should allow ADU’s

Submitted by Flashinglights0101 t3_10g4aad in newjersey

ADU (accessory dwelling unit) are common in CA. They are an additional fully enclosed living unit, such as a one bedroom, apartment or studio that is connected to the primary residence or a separate building Benefits:

  • Creating more affordable housing options as secondary suites are typically small, easy to construct, increase housing supply, and require no land acquisition.
  • Enabling seniors to "age-in-place" by creating smaller more affordable units where seniors can downsize in their own neighborhood.
  • Supporting diverse and multi-generational households as seniors, young-adults, or other relatives can live on the same property as their families but still maintain some independence and privacy.
  • Improve home maintenance and homeownership rates by providing a reliable rental income that can support mortgage payments or home maintenance.
  • Creating energy-efficient housing as the small and often attached units require fewer resources.
  • ADUs can be integrated into the scale and character of single-family neighborhoods while also promoting workforce housing in these neighborhoods.
  • Municipal budgets may benefit from new taxable housing that does not require new or significant utility upgrades, road maintenance, etc.
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Comments

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betcher73 t1_j50kqmp wrote

Instead of packing more people into smaller spaces, let’s address the glut of corporate owned rentals. By reducing the amount of rental properties, you can reduce the price of houses.

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workaholic828 t1_j53aakz wrote

Woah woah woah, slow the fuck down. We can’t just go around not letting corporations do whatever they want.

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moudine t1_j551owu wrote

Absolutely this. I put over a dozen offers in on houses last summer always to be beat out by some developer looking to tear it down for a McMansion, or some Monopoly man putting in a cash offer... then you see the house up for rent a month later.

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RivChk t1_j51g7p5 wrote

Everyone that I know in my town that has an ADU is listing it as an AIRBnB, not as a regular rental.

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splincell205 t1_j52v60k wrote

Ban large companies and foreign entities from owning property in Nj. That will really help. Banning airBNB’s would also help. Too many greedy fucks trying to bleed people dry with renting

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AnNJgal t1_j5399sy wrote

Gotta disagree with this. My husband and I are living in airbnb's since August while we wait for our townhome to be built. Without airbnb, we wouldn't have anywhere to go since we needed a furnished place that allows pets.

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splincell205 t1_j53q76l wrote

While there are some positives to airbnb. There are also negatives aspects of it. Biggest issue is that people in those homes are never permanent residents in the area. How can a community hope to thrive with people coming and going like grand central station. You’re entitled to your opinion but i still say ban it.

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AnNJgal t1_j55lk0x wrote

Agree, but as someone who is living in an airbnb in the town where I will eventually live, I don't feel so badly. I do hate what they are doing to our shore communities.

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capttony84 t1_j51hiy4 wrote

ADU's are allowed in most municipalities in jersey. They're helpful but it's a drop in the bucket as far as housing concerns go

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micmaher99 t1_j51jqmp wrote

Increase density in new development. Rezone everything within a mile of a train station as 4-6 story construction with ground floor retail. Spend the money on the capital projects that will make NJ transit more reliable, more frequent, and faster.

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Engibineer t1_j534gs8 wrote

I'm not strictly opposed to ADUs, but they're not really a solution to the housing shortage. They'll just make more New Jersians into modern day kulaks. What we need is more public housing. My town just gave a sweetheart tax deal to some developers to put up some apartment buildings, which is such a waste. Why couldn't the town have built them for itself and collected all the rent instead of only portion, and only after the end of the tax break?

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TheRacoonist t1_j50p67q wrote

Back shacks are already a thing all up and down the shore

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RivChk t1_j51hink wrote

Yes! And all those beachy “back shack” apartments/houses are rented out at a premium price between Memorial Day and Labor Day. After Labor Day they will often switch to a 9-month rental at lower, more affordable price.

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TheRacoonist t1_j51hrce wrote

Yup. And people who have them or build them will AirBnB them rather than full time rent

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Ginger8682 t1_j50nhvs wrote

Depending on the size of your property and your towns zoning regulations you may be able to. But you may have to apply for a variance.

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jdubs952 t1_j51ol1m wrote

I built a house onto my house - connected w/ a bridge so technically it's only a single family. dumb zoning laws.

In Minneapolis, they automatically made a single family lots into 1-3 family lots. You know what happened? Everyone benefited! Those that lived in the areas sold their homes to someone that wanted to build a multifamily and profited greatly....rents went down b/c supply was up but still a profitable venture.

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TheRacoonist t1_j52iep7 wrote

My lot is 40x100, which is pretty normal for essex, hudson, passaic, bergen counties. How many does that divide up to?

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stevenfrijoles t1_j50zc6s wrote

So, I live in an ADU in LA and honestly, I love it. I can rent a place that isn't an apartment but also is smaller than a "regular" home (since I don't need as much space) with all the privacy perks of a SFH.

Here in CA the biggest difference in residential areas is we have many more alleys between back yards. That means easy in/out access for ADU dwellers. it's a jersey thing! not to have alleys, it makes ADUs a little less convenient.

But in the balance I'd say they're a positive - more housing without resorting to big block-long apartment buildings. You look at the NYC commuter towns like Lyndhurst, all houses with backyard space that could be housing, if the homeowner wanted it to be. Yes it densifies the most in-demand towns but people are going to populate NJ regardless, and more options closer to work means that person in an ADU in Lyndhurst isn't living in Parsippany and clogging rt 80 every day.

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GERMAQ t1_j538ptl wrote

> it's a jersey thing! not to have alleys

Back alleys between blocks do exist in some places. LA was mostly developed with cars in mind- alleys take space that could be backyard if you didn't need a place for a car. NJ places that are post car were primarily set up as suburbs.

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stevenfrijoles t1_j53evqr wrote

Yeah for sure, i wasn't making a good/bad distinction, just an observation of one difference. Most of the places in jersey that do have alleys are probably too built up and maybe not relevant since that's not where the space for ADUs is

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HeyItsPanda69 t1_j54q9aq wrote

My best friend lives in an ADU on his parents property. They moved back to take care of his father when he was sick, turning the old workshop into a home. It's pretty cool

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SMODomite t1_j54vm9p wrote

That would be dope if I could put my MIL in a tiny house in the backyard instead of in the main house

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