TAMPA, Fla. — You might not have heard of the term "accessory dwelling unit" before, but you probably have heard of mother-in-law suites, granny flats, garage apartments or tiny homes — and that’s exactly what an accessory dwelling unit is.
"They're often a standalone unit on a bigger piece of property with a primary home that allows someone to live independently on the property, and they can be rented out," Matthew Pleasant, the senior planning coordinator for the city of Tampa, explained.
The city is holding a virtual meeting Tuesday night to present the proposed changes to zoning. Right now, Tampa's code only allows accessory dwelling units to be built in Seminole Heights and around Lowry Park.
"So under these new zoning changes, it would make ADU's like this that you can rent out available. I don't want to say citywide, but in a much larger portion of the city," Pleasant said.
The city says they received around 1,000 responses to an online survey about this affordable housing option, and the majority of people were interested in how they could get involved. The city planning department says they're hoping this will allow more people to live in neighborhoods that might otherwise be unaffordable.
"Right now, we permit about eight a year, and that's in a very small portion of the city. So we're actually trying to increase that number," Pleasant explained.
The city is holding a virtual public information meeting at 6 p.m. If you want to learn more you will need to register, and you can do so here.