HAMPTON, Va. — An effort is underway in the city of Hampton to create an ordinance to allow city residents to build ADUs, or accessory dwelling units.
Hampton University architect professor Dr. Daya Taylor is someone who would like to have an ADU.
“I have a carriage house in the back, which would be a great opportunity to convert for my mother to stay in," said Taylor.
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ADUs, often referred to as mother-in-law suites, are usually small buildings detached from a home but on the same property that someone can live in.
Taylor said it’s an increasingly popular idea.
“In the age we are, we often have boomers that are now at the age they are wanting to age in place. So having an accessory dwelling unit gives them the independence that they yearn for, yet also the proximity to caregivers," Taylor explained.
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Jonathan McBride is the Housing and Neighborhood Services division manager in Hampton and is part of the group spearheading the effort to create an ADU ordinance.
“We worked with our steering group to give us some idea of different shapes of properties," McBride said, referencing some of the documents the group had been using.
Along with a steering committee, a survey to get input from residents recently finished.
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“We had over 300 respondents over the last couple weeks, and we’ve been working with the steering group as well to analyze those comments," McBride said.
Taylor is a member of the steering committee and said her background as an architect and experience dealing with ADUs has been helpful.
“A lot of people are unfamiliar with some of the pitfalls that having an ADU provides in a municipality," Taylor said.
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McBride said ADUs could also help with the need for affordable housing.
“As we become a built-out city, we run out of land, we’ve got rot find a way to continue to grow and meet our housing needs," said McBride. "This is one of those opportunities to do it in an incremental way so we’re not necessarily creating density in large mass but doing it in a small way where it’s meaningful for people within the community."
As of July 1, the plan was to have some initial recommendations for ADUs presented to Hampton City Council in August and have an ordinance ready to adopt in the fall.
