Laconia leading in developing accessory dwellings

LACONIA — The city is on the cutting-edge of accessory dwelling unit construction, now easier than at any point before, citizens and land developers learned Wednesday night during a city-hosted information session. 

Joia Hughes, the city’s economic and housing development director, started working for the city last fall. She hit the ground running and is working to inform community members about various avenues for housing development available in Laconia.

She said she was tasked "to educate the community on different opportunities that might be available to lessen the burden of the housing crisis in our area.” 

A proposed modification to the definition of ADU, which would be enacted by House Bill 577, expands the use by right to include detached units, adds definitions and increases the maximum square footage allowed. 

Notably, HB 577 explicitly allows the construction of an ADU at the same time as a principal dwelling unit, or an individual’s primary residence. The bill is on its way to Gov. Kelly Ayotte's desk.

Matt Mayberry, chief executive officer of the New Hampshire Home Builders Association, told a crowd of about 20 at the library downtown on Wednesday that Laconia is among those municipalities leading the charge toward making ADU construction more accessible in the Granite State. 

“I crafted the language, so I know it well,” Mayberry said.

“Laconia is amazing — they’re on the leading edge."

ADUs are residential living units, located on the same lot as a single-family dwelling, which provide independent living facilities for one or more people, including provisions for sleeping, eating, cooking and sanitation on that same parcel. Sometimes referred to as “in-law” apartments, in Laconia ADUs cannot be used for short-term rental.

According to Laconia’s municipal zoning ordinance, ADUs are intended as an option for homeowners to offer separate and independent living space. The appearance and character of ADUs is required to remain single-family in nature, and a single-family dwelling with an ADU is not classified as a two-family dwelling. One ADU is permitted on any owner-occupied single-family dwelling lot, so long as certain conditions are met.

“We do have the ADU ordinance, we just amended it last year to make ADUs permitted by right in all single-family units in the City of Laconia, whether it's detached or attached,” Rob Mora, Laconia’s Planning Department director, said. “We do have some size requirements — 300 square feet with a maximum of 1,000 [square-feet] — if you’re looking to go above that 1,000, you can look at your primary residence: if that’s over 4,000 square feet, you can use 25% of that. If you’ve got a larger primary residence, you can go larger than 1,000, so I think that’s pretty beneficial. All you need is the permit, the building permit.”

For a full description of the conditions which must be met, review the city’s zoning ordinance at ecode360.com/15050785#1505100.

“It just seems so easy, why aren’t people doing it?” Hughes told the crowd she often wonders. “It’s by right, it’s daunting to have to go through planning and zoning board and things like that, but you don’t have to do that.”

Mora said, in his experience working in the city, residents don’t want to go before the various land use boards, and requirements to do so represent the biggest hurdle to building ADUs.

Meredith Village Savings Bank representatives attended the meeting and offered advice to residents and developers regarding financing for the construction of ADUs. They recently unveiled a new mortgage product specifically designed to facilitate their development.

“When you go to do the project, [bank employees] are going to review the budget,” Charlie Dowd, vice president and residential mortgage sales officer, told the crowd. “We’re going to make sure that you don’t pay for materials and supplies until they’re onsite, until the work’s been completed — we do the inspections. People who’ve never built anything before, they’re scared to death to jump into this.”