LEWES, Del.- Finding a place to live in Lewes may look different in the future.
The city's planning commission reviewed different proposed rules for Accessory Dwelling Units, such as parking spaces, rent prices and more.
Accessory Dwelling Units, or ADUs, are small houses or apartments that are built onto existing property and then rented out by the property owner.
The city is exploring the option to address a long standing lack of housing. One committee member said they heard from organizations in the city like Cape Henlopen School District and Beebe that a lack of places to stay makes attracting new employees difficult.Â
"Primarily, the housing type in the city is single family, which is a little bit harder for somebody coming out of college or who is working a couple jobs to afford," said city planner Janelle Cornwell. "What this is looking is to provide something, something smaller and potentially more affordable for people."
The city of Lewes's planning commission discussed some of the finer details in their meeting Nov. 1. These rules were presented by affordable housing subcommittee chair Bob Heffernan.
To start, Heffernan and other committee members discussed topics the subcommittee could agree on, such as the current proposed price of somewhere between $800 and $1200 dollars a month to hopefully keep the units affordable, and requiring two parking spaces in order to be eligible to build an ADU.
There were other things that the subcommittee could not come to consensus on, such as sending out an inspector to review the ADU properties in between tenants, and the minimum length of the lease.
Ideas for the minimum length of lease go from three months, six months, one year and 151 days. Committee members seemed to favor the shorter options, saying these ADUs would help travelling nurses, which would only work in the city in 13 week cycles- as well as other groups such as teachers and J-1 students.
The committee also discussed potential incentives for neighbors to add one of these units to their property- including the city reducing its rental tax.
Matthew Kraeter, who is the CEO of Great Outdoor Cottages in Georgetown, builds ADUs. He says it could be a solution to the housing crisis.
"The thing that everybody can agree on is that there is (a housing crisis), right?" he said. "So now it's what do we do about it? As you know, I think universally everybody's accepted that... there is no dispute that that was an issue. It's a question of how to address it."
The planning commission also said that Kent County officials recently passed an ordinance for ADUs as well.