The Summit County Housing Authority is exploring a pilot program to incentivize the construction of accessory dwelling units, such as mother-in-law suites and converted garages, to combat the need for affordable housing along the Wasatch Back. Accessory dwelling units, commonly referred to as AD Us, are self-contained living spaces with private entrances on the same property as a primary residence. In Summit County, they can be as large as 1,000 square feet. Housing Authority Executive Director Maddy McDonough said the Summit County Council tasked the group with incentivizing accessory dwelling units on the East Side specifically, but she suggested applying the program countywide to benefit Snyderville Basin residents as well. McDonough said there were two routes the county could pursue. Either the Housing Authority could offset costs for developers by paying permitting fees or lower the cost upfront by providing pre-approved blueprints. The first option was the Housing Authority’s initial concept for the incentive program, but McDonough said the county’s fees likely aren’t high enough to properly entice developers to build accessory dwelling units. For a typical unit with 1,000 square feet, permitting fees are around $2,000, although the price can increase depending on the specific building. McDonough said there were other solutions to making the program work, like paying for engineering fees and plan reviews or offering cash incentives on a sliding scale based on how affordable the unit is. She pointed to a similar program in Summit County, Colorado, which offered different incentives depending on whether the accessory dwelling unit was a studio, one-bedroom or two-bedroom apartment. However, McDonough said the Housing Authority has a limited budget — approximately $349,000 for 2026 — which means offering large cash incentives may not be feasible for the organization right now. Instead, she proposed implementing a program in which the county would have a collection of pre-approved blueprints for accessory dwelling units that could be selected and built at a faster pace than designs that need to work through the planning process. “They’ve done this in Boise recently,” McDonough said. “The Housing Authority would own the plans. We could sell the plans to try to recoup some money to those who want to build an ADU and give the plans for free to those who agree to build a deed-restricted, affordable ADU.” McDonough said the pre-approved plans could also be used in conjunction with a cash incentive if needed. To obtain the blueprints, McDonough said the Housing Authority would need to issue a request for quotation, or RFQ, to see how many pre-approved plans the county could obtain and at what price. She suggested spending $85,000 on the request, with the goal of acquiring at least four separate designs, which the board of commissioners supported. Developers would be able to slightly adjust some aspects of the pre-approved plans, such as the placement of doors. “If people go outside those very minor adjustments that are allowed, it’s no longer pre-approved,” McDonough said. “You go through the regular process.” Summit County Code prevents accessory dwelling units from being used as short-term rentals, and McDonough estimated it costs between $100,000 and $400,000 to build depending on the type of unit. The Housing Authority is working to establish the incentive program by the end of the year in addition to a voucher program. The post Housing Authority hopes to incentivize accessory dwelling units as affordable solution appeared first on Park Record. ...read more read less