In 2024, Advance Huntsville started asking the City of Huntsville to legalize accessory dwelling units (ADUs). While the political will is not quite there as of yet, we’re super thrilled to see a positive description of ADUs and other types of “missing middle” housing on page 96 of Madison on Track 2045, “a comprehensive plan for Madison’s Future.”
We very much disagree that “diversity of supply doesn’t guarantee more affordability.” Zoning and building codes limit how many units homebuilders can legally build in high-demand areas. This forces developers to prioritize certain housing types when deciding what to build first. As for-profits, builders tend to start with the most profitable home types before moving down-market.
Supply still lags far behind demand here. Thus, it’s been at least a decade since anyone has built any new middle-income housing in the Huntsville metro. Definitionally, therefore, increasing the diversity of new supply would guarantee more affordability.
That quibble aside, it’s extremely heartening to see Madison planners recognize the myriad benefits ADUs and other types of “missing middle” housing provide. Not only is housing middle-income families clearly the right thing to do on a moral basis, but it’s also demonstrably key to maintaining and increasing a city’s rate of economic growth, along with a host of other plusses.
Here’s hoping that talk of legalizing ADUs translates into action, and that it happens well before 2045.