photo by: Chris Conde/Journal-World

Lawrence City Hall

If there is one thing Lawrencians can agree on, it’s that Lawrence needs more housing.

Housing costs are increasing in the city while not enough homes are being built. The city is on pace to hit a record low in single-family homes this year, as the Journal-World reported, with only 44 permits being given, much lower than the 79 single-family building permits approved in 2022 — a number that was the lowest since the 1950s.

Meanwhile, one study suggests that Lawrence will be the fastest-growing city in the state over the next 50 years, as the Journal-World reported. That Wichita State University study expects the city’s population to grow by 46.8% over that half decade, which would require about 500 units of housing to be built each year to keep up.

Voters have approved an expanded affordable housing tax, which will support not just funding for affordable housing projects but for homeless services as well. During the annual point-in-time count that gives a picture of how many sheltered and unsheltered homeless people there are, 17% of the 414 people who were surveyed said they were employed, indicating to advocates that housing costs are too high.

With those housing needs in the background, the City Commission passed a new Land Development Code earlier this month, and one change in particular could help add more housing density and diversity throughout the city: allowing accessory dwelling units in all residential districts.

“The opportunities are there,” said Bobbie Flory, the executive director for the Lawrence Home Builders Association.

ADUs are secondary housing units that exist alongside another residence on a single-family residential lot. Historically, Flory said those types of units have usually been created as an extra dwelling for a close relative. ADUs have sometimes been called “granny flats” or “in-law suites” because oftentimes they were built to allow an aging family member to live close to the family for support but still provide some autonomy.

The new Land Development Code wanted to make it easier to build ADUs to “create new housing units” and “provide a broader range of accessible and affordable housing.” In recent years, a wide array of cities like Austin, Texas; Madison, Wisconsin; and Salt Lake City have worked to loosen restrictions on those types of developments to open up more options in housing.

Places that have reformed their ADU policies have seen an increase in construction. A 2023 review from the Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank, found that when Seattle loosened restrictions on ADUs, construction of ADUs outpaced single-family units in 2022. In California, changes in the laws that streamlined the permitting process for ADUs led to a huge boom in ADU construction across the state. According to one report from California YIMBY, a nonprofit that advocates for affordable housing in the state, as of 2022, nearly one in five housing units being built in California were ADUs, with some estimates suggesting 66% of those units were considered affordable housing.

Flory hopes the lowering of restrictions for ADUs can lead to a similar impact in Lawrence.

“As housing becomes more expensive, this offers a more affordable housing option,” Flory said.

Although Flory hasn’t yet heard of homeowners rushing to construct the units, they might start popping up more once the code is implemented and people know that the option exists.

Under the new code, ADUs can be created either by converting an existing area within a detached or attached dwelling — for example, converting a garage into a living unit — or constructing a new unit on the lot, whether it is attached to or detached from the current single-family structure.

Along with the code having design standards for ADUs intended to ensure they are “compatible with the pattern of the built environment” of the neighborhood, there is an owner occupancy requirement for them, meaning either the principal unit or the ADU “must be occupied” by the owner of record of the property.

Flory believes with those standards in place for ADUs, those structures should create infill development in more places without changing the character of the neighborhoods — a big concern during the multiyear process of drafting the code.

Not only would ADUs be additional housing units for potential renters, Flory thinks they could help homeowners too. If they wanted to add an ADU in their backyard, they could rent it out to a person looking for an apartment and generate rental income that can help them keep up with expenses.

“It provides housing for someone and provides rental income for someone. It’s really a win-win,” Flory said.

Flory noted that the loosening of restrictions for different types of housing is something that ties directly back to Lawrence’s comprehensive plan, Plan 2040. The plan in part calls for incorporating a “mixture of housing types, styles, densities, and price ranges” into neighborhoods and providing “affordable housing for all segments throughout the community.”

Flory felt the new code opened up opportunities for creating that more diverse stock, something especially important given that 60% of Lawrence residents are renters. Along with the ADU possibility, other tweaks like smaller lots and more zoning allowances for multi-unit structures like duplexes will lead to new creations from builders and developers looking to fit the housing need.

“Builders are not just going to build what they have always known,” Flory said. “They are paying attention to what (people want) … They want to build something that is going to sell.”

Although there will need to be some creativity and an understanding of the workings of the new code, Flory said the bottom line is that Lawrence needs more housing. And the ADU option is a way to fill in the housing gaps.

“It’s an efficient use of land and infrastructure, and we grow our housing units, which we desperately need to do right now,” Flory said.