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PAGE 10 HOME & LIFESTYLE IDAHO SENIOR INDEPENDENT • OCTOBER / NOVEMBER 2021
“The market is not producing hous-
GRANNY FLAT | CONTINUED FROM PAGE 9
ing that is affordable for those who have
TRIMMING COSTS needs,” says Kyle Patterson, Boise’s data
According to Wilkinson, anyone adding strategist who helped lead the Bloomberg-
an accessory unit to a lot they already own, Harvard City Leadership Initiative program
versus building on a separate lot, can sig- that studied new and traditional ways to
nificantly reduce the price of a new build. address housing affordability.
In Helena, for example, she said having “The city can’t solve this problem on its
to buy a new, separate lot can easily tack on own. This process gives residents a way to
an extra $85,000 to more than $185,000 to In an effort to reduce costs associated with ADU con- be part of the solution.”
the price. struction, the city of Bozeman provides interested NEED FOR BOLD AND STRATEGIC ACTIONS
Prudent planning can help cut costs as well. parties with pre-approved ADU building plans, which Boise “deeply engaged” citizens in
“If you share any common walls or can be handed directly to a contractor, thus skipping its housing affordability project, to spark
utilities between the units, that saves on the more costly custom-design phase. Pictured here ideas to address the shortage. Participants
an ADU designed by Harka Architecture of Portland,
costs as well,” said Wilkinson. Ore. Photo courtesy Harka Architecture. narrowed hundreds of ideas to the three
Over in Bozeman, Martin Matsen said the concepts, which will be test-piloted to try
city, in an effort to reduce costs associated 1,250 new affordable housing units in the to add lower-cost housing stock.
with ADU construction, provides interested next five years. Patterson notes the city can’t just wait
parties with pre-approved ADU building EFFORTS FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING for a perfect solution for the twin problems
plans, which can be handed directly to a With a population of 235,684, Boise now of a housing shortage and affordability crisis.
contractor, thus skipping the more-costly is exploring ways to make housing more Maureen Brewer, Boise’s housing and
custom-design phase. affordable and launching tests of three community development senior manager,
IDAHO HOUSING CRISIS options: warned Boise City Council in late August of
Idahoans, meanwhile, also face acute < ADUs, the massive housing deficit.
housing shortage and affordability issues. < Tiny homes on wheels that can serve as “We need supply, and we need it most
The Gem State racked up the country’s rental units, urgently at deeply affordable levels,” she said.
second-fastest rate of population growth < An online home-sharing platform to According to Brewer, a key priority for
in the last decade, 17.3 percent, according match potential renters to those who have Boise is to invest in creation of new housing
to the 2020 U.S. Census. extra space. and focus deeply and aggressively where the
A recent analysis of Boise’s housing In 2019, the Boise City Council eased market does not.
market notes that 67 percent of renters restrictions on ADUs, allowing an increase in Other cities face similar circum-
and 36 percent of homeowners cannot square footage (from 600 to 700 square feet) stances, and Boise is changing, Brewer
afford market-rate housing. It also says and number of bedrooms (from one to two). noted. But officials, she concluded, are
the city needs 27,725 new units by 2030 And this year, Boise adopted a housing bonus committed to making housing a priority
(2,773 units per year), and 21,300 of those program that rewards property owners who and can tackle this issue through “bold
total units need to be affordable. City develop or preserve affordable housing. and strategic actions.” ISI
planners, meanwhile, want to produce
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