Columbus City Council will vote Monday night on whether to expedite the process to approve accessory dwelling units throughout the city.
The legislation aims to make it easier to obtain permits for accessory dwelling units, or ADUs. These detached structures on single family home lots are often used for family members, elderly parents and renters.
The legislation was proposed by Councilmember Otto Beatty III earlier this year.
The text of the zoning code change states currently that ADUs must go through an extensive council variance procedure to be allowed on residential and apartment residential lots.
The changes being voted on will allow ADUs “by right," but will still require building permits. Structures proposed for historic and architectural review areas, like German Village, will still require other certificates.
Clintonville Area Commission Chair Brittany Boulton said ADUs are a good way to add what she calls "gentle density" to neighborhoods as the city tries to add new housing.
"(ADUs) are not super prevalent at the moment because the city code hasn't really enabled that type of construction, but I think that there is a lot of interest in the neighborhood about pursuing accessory dwelling unit type projects," Boulton said.
The legislation states ADUs can increase market-rate and affordable rental housing in Columbus and accommodate new growth without dramatic changes to the character of a neighborhood.
Boulton said ADUs won't solve Columbus' housing affordability crisis, but it's a really nice complement to some of the bigger projects going on in the city.
"From from what I've heard about accessory dwelling units, they can be costly at the startup," Boulton said.
She said even converting an existing structure, like a detached garage, into an ADU can be expensive.
The structures are required to be "clearly accessory and subordinate in scale to a principal dwelling or apartment house, and include allowances for interior/internal, attached or detached ADUs." The changes also specify restrictions on the number of ADUs allowed, height, size, parking and more.
ADUs used to be much less regulated in Columbus, but new laws in the 1950s and 60s made obtaining permits more difficult. The post-war laws were adopted in several cities in Ohio, billed as “anti-slum” laws and made it so ADUs became virtually non-existent. Those same laws are still on the books today, but Beatty is seeking to change them.
Boulton said some Clintonville residents have concerns over new structures impacting the neighborhood's tree canopy and green space. She said there should be a balance struck since the city is in need of more housing.
"I think that that's really important. But I also think expanding housing options is important," Boulton said.
Columbus City Council held public hearings from July to October on these changes before introducing the legislation for votes.
