Municipal leaders explore a new concept at recent meeting.
For many, maybe most, of us, the construction of multiple new home units (apartments, housing complexes or developments, townhomes, etc.) is usually the job of developers. These are people with businesses, expertise, experience, and perhaps most importantly, financial resources.
But what if there was another road to more housing units coming onto the market each year? Enter the concept of a Home Creators Utility.
ADU Photographed in Lebanon, NH, on Thursday, February 8, 2024.
Copyright 2024 Rob Strong
At their August meeting, the Municipal Leaders Group heard about this concept as part of a continued exploration of ways to address the significant shortfall of available and attainable housing in their communities.
Municipal managers from several Upper Valley communities were joined by members of the Upper Valley Home Creators project, Ellen Hender and Sarah Danly (Vital Communities), Jason Rasmussen (Mount Ascutney Regional Commission), and Renee Theall (UV Lake Sunapee Regional Planning Commission); and Two Rivers-Ottauquechee Regional Commission is also part of this project.
Driven by Vital Communities and those regional planning commissions, a Home Creators Utility would address housing shortages by providing resources and support for smaller-scale development, like adding an accessory dwelling unit (ADU).
Like a stormwater utility, a Housing Creators Utility would be municipal or regional, with staffing to guide people through the process, and possibly provide additional services in design, permitting, and funding.
Why Smaller-Scale Development?
There is no single solution to our housing crisis. Different households have different needs, from type of home to the size, location, and cost. One of the solutions available to us is for homeowners to become home creators. This include ADUs, conversions such as turning a single family into a duplex or triplex, and even adding small, clustered housing to one’s land.
While these small-scale solutions often fit nicely into our communities, it is no small undertaking for a homeowner to go through the process of creating an additional home or homes. Each town’s zoning and permitting process can be different. Costs can vary and quickly become prohibitive. Finding a contractor and the workforce needed to build homes can be challenging. But resources and help are available, and more is being developed. From financing, to workforce, to design, and permitting, solutions are evolving making ADUs and other small-scale development a more feasible option in addressing our communities’ housing needs.