On October 12, Nevada County Supervisors unanimously approved a new Affordable Housing Master Plan Project. This project will help create affordable housing critical to the region by providing housing master plans that can be used for either accessory dwelling units (ADU’s) or primary dwelling units. These preapproved plans will be available for anyone to review, select, and place on their property. While other jurisdictions might have accessory dwelling plans, Craig Griesbach, Director of Nevada County Building Community Development Agency notes, “This is a one of a kind regional effort because this is with Nevada County, Grass Valley, Nevada City, Town of Truckee, Placer County, and Sierra County all working together contributing to this project to where these can be used throughout the region, not just a single county or city.”
The cross-jurisdictional opportunity championed by Nevada County represents a synergy throughout the region. “The City of Grass Valley staff and council is very supportive of this concept. Bringing these plans together for folks is huge for our area and I think is huge for Nevada County and provides a lot more options. One of the biggest things is removing hurdles in this housing process, which Grass Valley supports dramatically,” said Grass Valley City Manager, Tim Kiser who was also on hand for the presentation to the Board of Supervisors.
The yet-to-be-completed designs will focus on allowing maximum flexibility, efficiency, adaptability, and cost savings. They can be used for both primary dwellings and accessory dwelling units. The proposed housing plan designs include the following:
- 400-600sqft:
- 2-story single-family dwelling/ADU with 1-bedroom, 1-bathroom over 2-car garage w/ exterior access to the dwelling.
- 600-800sqft:
- Single-story 2-bedroom, 1-bathroom single-family dwelling/ADU with 1- car garage.
- 1,000-1,200sqft:
- Single story 3-bedroom, 2-bathroom single-family dwelling/ADU with 2-car garage.
The plan sets will be designed so that either an experienced contractor or a first-time owner-builder can create the new dwellings. Additionally, the plans will work for multiple snow loads, elevations, raised floor or slab construction, multiple energy calculations for building orientation, adaptability, and multiple infrastructure connections. Once these plans are made, they will further streamline the permitting process as they are preapproved and will require less plan review.
Plans will be created by Jackson & Sands and are slated for release in Summer 2022.