Albany’s struggles over the size of permitted “accessory dwelling units” or ADUs appeared to have ended last month, but not so fast. Now the Oregon Land Use Board of Appeals may get involved.
The long Albany council dispute over accessory dwelling units hit another milestone with the adoption of code amendments that make it official: These secondary units on single-family lots can be up to 900 square feet if they meet other requirements.
When the Albany Landmarks Commission convened last Wednesday night for two “quasi-judicial public hearings” about minor repairs to an old house, it was over pretty quick.
Wednesday’s Albany City Council meeting, the last one of the year, featured someone new and something old. One was the next city judge. The other was a rerun of last year’s disagreement between the mayor and council majority over the size of accessory dwelling units.
When you see the spot where Marcie Howard and her husband, Gary, would like to build a small house on the property of their son, it’s hard to see why the city of Albany and Mayor Sharon Konopa won’t let them.
The city council flap over accessory dwellings was not resolved on Monday, and a closer examination makes me wonder why there’s a flap in the first place. Fixing Albany’s development code to align with a new state law should have been no big deal.
More middle housing: Some have doubts
Albany is working on changing its development code to allow more “middle housing” as demanded by the legislature, but some on the city council doubt that it’s a good idea or that it’ll work.
Tags: affordable housing, Albany development code, HB 2001, middle housing, Oregon housing