The Missing Middle: Why Accessory Dwelling Units Face Implementation Barriers in Truckee
In Truckee, California, where median home prices exceed $1.1 million, workers essential to the resort community struggle to find housing they can afford. However, despite California’s nation-leading ADU reforms and the potential for rental income, few homeowners in the small mountain town build these less-expensive secondary homes on their properties.
In “Barriers to Implementing Accessory Dwelling Units for Middle-Income Workforce Housing in a Rural Resort Community,” Thomas J. Powell, doctoral candidate at Northeastern University, examines why Truckee homeowners who expressed interest in building an ADU abandon their projects.
Key Takeaways:
- Bureaucracy and fragmented regulations remains a major issue, with 45% of potential ADU builders citing complex approval processes as their primary obstacle, with homeowners struggling to navigate requirements across 18 separate fee-charging entities in Truckee.
- High costs deterred construction, with 37% of homeowners identifying financial requirements as a significant barrier. At $400-500 per square foot, even small ADUs cost upwards of $300,000 to build.
- Homeowners couldn’t access reliable information. No surveyed homeowners knew about Truckee’s ADU assistance program, 55% were uncertain if their properties qualified, and those seeking help encountered unresponsive officials and inaccurate fee information.
As part of his dissertation research, Powell surveyed 481 homeowners and interviewed 12 individuals who abandoned ADU projects. This blend of quantitative and qualitative research captures both broad trends across the community and detailed personal challenges to reveal the challenges that would-be ADU homeowners face.
Fragmented regulations and complexity deterred homeowners: State laws mandate simplified approval but don’t address fragmentation between local agencies. To build an ADU in Truckee, one must navigate 18 separate fee-charging entities with different requirements. One homeowner discovered that while the town waived fees for ADUs under 750 square feet, the sanitation district only waived fees under 500 square feet—adding an unexpected $5,200 expense.
Rising construction costs discouraged completion: Several participants completed permitting and paid local fees but abandoned construction after receiving construction estimates. One reported spending $10,000 on required tests and surveys before abandoning the project upon learning of the construction expenses. Another calculated that at $2,000 monthly rent, it would take 10 years to recoup the investment based on current construction costs.
Information gaps limited ADU adoption: When homeowners sought financial aid, at least two received no response from the town. Another found inaccurate information on official sources: permit fees were double the price listed on the town’s website.
To address these barriers, California should consider simplifying permitting processes across all local agencies, expand financial support to address actual construction costs in high-cost areas, and increase accessibility of information about ADU programs. These improvements would help ADUs fulfill their potential as a partial solution to California’s middle-income housing shortage.