Municipality Launches Pre-Approved ADU Program

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This month, the Municipality's Development Services Department and the Anchorage Assembly launched a program to provide free designs for Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) to the public, with the goal to encourage more housing development in the Municipality. The program is starting off with designs for an ADU over a garage and a small 460 square foot ADU. The designs and more information can be found at www.muni.org/adu.

"For the past several years, the Assembly has been working on a multi-pronged approach to address Anchorage's housing shortage crisis, including cutting red tape, reforming our building and zoning code, creating tax incentives for multi-family housing, and cleaning up deteriorated properties," said Assembly Member Daniel Volland. "The pre-approved ADU program is an exciting new tool which will make it easier and less costly for families to add more housing."

"To reach our goal of 10,000 homes in 10 years, we must find practical ways to make building in Anchorage easier," said Mayor Suzanne LaFrance. "By making these plans free and accessible, we are cutting red tape and making it easier for homeowners to build ADUs-whether they are looking to house a loved one or create a new rental unit. This is a big step toward helping more neighbors build the homes our community needs."

Following a 2023 update to zoning codes that made it easier to build ADUs, city leaders were looking for ways to encourage more ADU development when then Assembly Members Kevin Cross and Meg Zaletel proposed pre-approved plans after seeing them work in in places like South Bend, Indiana and Petersburg, Alaska (after Cross and Zaletel left the Assembly, Members Erin Baldwin Day and Daniel Volland took over as the project sponsors).

"The Muni can't control interest rates or building supply chains, but we can make the development process easier," said Assembly Member Baldwin Day. "I applaud the staff from multiple municipal departments who came together to simplify processes and decided to make the plans free to the public."

The two current designs - the Williwaw ADU over a garage and the Near Point small ADU - are available for free once an application has been submitted. The building plans themselves have been approved, but homeowners will still need to obtain standard construction permits. If the lot has other complexities, like floodplains or steep slopes, other permits may be required. The Near Point design also comes with an optional interior product package listing local vendors where the materials can be purchased. The Municipality is currently in the process of obtaining cost estimates for what it will cost to build the ADUs.

In terms of the future of the program, a UAA engineering class is working on 1-2 additional designs that could be added to the catalog this summer, and if the program is successful, additional designs will be added, potentially including designs for other types of housing.

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Contact:

Clare Ross, Anchorage Assembly
Legislative Services Director
[email protected]

Daniel King, Development Services Department
Engineering Services Manager
[email protected] ​