The City of Moline is proposing a new ordinance allowing residents to build accessory living spaces, or ADU’s on their land.
The ADU’s (Accessory Dwelling Unit) can be anything from garages being converted into living spaces, a separate guest house or a basement living area. One Moline resident is concerned if the ordinance goes through. “I don’t know if this is necessarily good for Moline,” Diann Moore said. “Maybe people would say, well, if this is what you have on your books, why would I buy a $200,000 or a $150,000 house if I don’t know what’s going to happen next door.”
The Planning Commission will have a public hearing Wednesday, April 10. Some Moline residents are hesitant towards the proposal. “You don’t want to be blindsided,” Moore, said. “Government is there to represent the people, and people need to know what’s going on.”
The city says this ordinance will help with the housing crisis that a large part of the United States has had to face. “Where are our sons and daughters going to live right now,” Chris Mathias, the Moline Community and Economic Development Director, said. “We have a housing crisis, we need more options in town. This is really us getting more housing options for the residents in Moline.”
Mathias says it can open new options for homeowners. “This isn’t obviously restricted to affordable housing,” Mathias said. “This is just offering another housing option. This will be an affordable option for some people, or it could just be offering more places to live in town, which I think the city of Moline certainly needs to be looking at.”
The city has tried to pass an ADU ordinance before but failed because they didn’t have a housing rental program for the ADU’s. They have that now in the new ordinance, with other programs helping homeowners if they do decide to build an ADU.
“We’ve heard from a few folks that are concerned about it, or even opposed or bringing up issues that they’re concerned about,” Mathias said. “The look, how it relates to the neighborhood, parking considerations, those type of things. I wouldn’t be surprised if there are people that are opposed and people that are supportive of it as it goes forward. I would expect to hear from both of these groups.”
Residents still believe the new ordinance would hurt homeowners. “Are ADU’s a benefit to the city of Moline?” Moore said. “I want every person to stop and think if all of a sudden your next door neighbor put in an ADU, or had an extra car parked on your street, how that would affect you.”
The city will hold a public meeting on the ADU ordinance Wednesday, then hold multiple city council meetings until a vote on the ordinance is made.
For more information about the new ordinance, click here.