ADU Recommendations to Local Government: Housing Elements

Author: Renée J. Schomp, Director

Did you know that the Napa Sonoma ADU Center does a ton of work behind the scenes collaborating with our local planning, building, and other government agencies in support of ADU development?

The most recent focus of this collaboration is providing feedback and recommendations to our local cities and unincorporated counties about the policies and practices they can enact to improve government support of ADU builds. You can read our full set of ADU recommendations to our local jurisdictions right here.

These ADU recommendations are prompted by the Housing Element process, which is currently underway across all of Napa and Sonoma County cities and unincorporated counties. The Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG) has determined the need to identify capacity for 18,400 new housing units in Napa and Sonoma Counties during the upcoming eight-year Housing Element period (2023 to 2031). ADUs will play an important role in helping to alleviate the significant housing challenges, creating much-needed affordable workforce housing.

To learn a lot more about the Housing Element process, see this helpful video from local nonprofit Generation Housing and learn more about the process in Napa and Sonoma Counties here.

Our collaborative partnerships with local government are crucial to helping our local government help YOU – Napa and Sonoma County homeowners – understand and successfully navigate the ADU development process with the help of your professional team.

The 16 local jurisdictions are in the midst of soliciting feedback and insights from community members like you to inform their Housing Element plans, so if you want to share your thoughts, now is the time to reach out to your city or county about how you can do so!
As always, if you have any questions just Contact Us – we are here to help you understand ADUs in Napa and Sonoma Counties and support YOU in your ADU build.