No Stone Unturned!

I am writing this post for anyone who might need this information in the future. I also want to share our experience with you because I now have a greater appreciation for all those people who have had to go through their city leaders to get an ordinance passed.  We had no idea what we were getting ourselves into!

This past week I have called several city planners hoping to get more information regarding Accessory Dwelling Units.  I have received so much help from other city officials and cannot express enough how much I appreciate everyone I have talked to and for the information they have given me.  It is amazing to me how many cities actually have ordinances already in place to allow Accessory Dwelling Units.  In fact I talked to Michael Maloy, who is the City Planner for Salt Lake City and he mentioned that when he first started researching ADU's he thought they were on the cutting edge and were starting something new.  He was shocked to see just how many cities already had the ordinance in place not only in Utah but several other states have adopted them too.  I have talked to so many people that have mentioned what a great idea this is.  One person I talked to has a mother who is currently in a nursing home and she has to go visit her 3 times a day to make sure she is getting the proper care she needs.  Not only that, but it is costing her over $3000.00 a month to keep her there!  She mentioned how nice it would be to be able to have her mother close so she could take better care of her.

The thing that urks me the most, is the fact that I have had to do all this research myself! I already gave the City Planner information about Accessory Dwelling Units but he didn't even research them himself.  Well, I have over 100 pages which I have printed out that include other cities that have adopted ADU's, documents from AARP and the American Planning Association, and other resources I have been given from other city leaders supporting Accessory Dwelling Units.  I didn't want to leave any stone unturned!

We have another meeting with the Planning Commission this coming week so hopefully all the documentation I have given them will show them just how important this ordinance is not only for us personally but for other people in the future.

Is it Better to Ask Permission or Forgiveness?

I can't even begin to tell you how difficult this past six months have been.  In February of 2012 we had my in-laws over for dinner and the discussion turned to future plans and retirement.  My father-in-law mentioned that they were going to have to put their house on the market because of financial difficulties.
In 2007, they had build a garage/apartment in the back of their property in hopes of living in it and having someone move into their current home. At the time the garage/apartment was passed off by the city inspector, he told my in-laws they could not live in it.  They were told that two homes could not be on the same property.  They became discouraged and never finished the inside.  
The discussion then took another turn and we began to discuss the possibility of my husband and I purchasing their home so they could retire.   Well to give you a little background, my husband who is very in tune with the Spirit, had talked about this very thing with me after we had been married for about 5 years. Never in a million years did I really think it would happen! After talking to his parents they became very excited with the possibility of being able to still live on their property but be able to enjoy retirement.  We all prayed about it and felt good about the decision.  The plan was, to sell our home and purchase their home for what they owed and also finance the finish work on the new place. 
For the next couple months, we worked tirelessly to get our home ready to sell.  We put our home on the market at the end of June and it sold in 14 days. Crazy!  

The Home We Sold

Well being the good citizens that we are, we went to the city to make sure this was going to be alright.  Well that was a mistake!  It is now October and we are living in a two bedroom apartment with our 3 kids.  We thought we would be done and moved in by the end of September. 

The proposed Accessory Dwelling Unit

We met with the planning commission in September and were told that we needed to petition them with an ordinance to allow two dwellings on the same property.  We did some research and found several city's that allow Accessory Dwelling Units. 

Accessory Dwelling Units may be located inside of or attached to a single family dwelling, or in a detached structure like a garage.  The accessory dwelling unit must be a complete housekeeping unit with an entrance, kitchen, sleeping area, closet space, and bathroom facility.   

We were so excited thinking that the city would be excited for this proposal.  Boy were we wrong!  They just kept coming up with more and more concerns.  It is so frustrating having the fate of your future in someone else's hands. The biggest frustration for us has been the fact that we felt so strongly that this was what we needed to do.  We are trying to do something to help our family out and it isn't going the way we want.  

So, is it better to ask forgiveness than permission? Sometimes we wonder if we should
have just gone ahead and finished the second home and not even gone to the city. We know that the city does have laws and ordinances they need to follow but at what expense?

We have felt good about our decision and despite all the opposition,  know that things will work out for the best. Hopefully. ;)