BOISE, Idaho —
The city of Boise held its fourth community conversation with the public this year in order to discuss affordable housing programs within the city on Thursday.
With Boise becoming one of the least affordable housing markets in the U.S, the city is looking to develop new affordable housing units.
During the community conversation, solutions revolved around the construction of tiny homes and accessory dwelling units (ADU’s).
“What we're finding is that there's really growing demand in the country and locally for those small footprint living options because they are lower cost,” said Kyle Patterson, Boise City's data strategist. “They can have a positive environmental impact because they're smaller and they're leveraging our existing structure so many people are excited about them as an option for low-cost housing.”
The plan would allow for the construction of five or six moveable tiny homes on Boise property. The city would then evaluate if they will make for a viable affordable housing option.
"The idea behind this pilot is what if the city provides some incentives and assistance to residents to do this in exchange to ask them to rent it out at affordable rates that are typical of what Boiseans can afford," Patterson said.
Tiny homes are typically under 400 square feet with up to two bedrooms, and ADU’s are up to 700 square feet. Both options typically only house a couple of people.
Patterson told KTVB, building an accessory dwelling unit can cost anywhere from one hundred thousand to more than two hundred thousand dollars. He adds the city plans to launch these programs in 2022.
Another listening session is scheduled for December 15.
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