Ald. Bennett Lawson (44) speaks during a City Council meeting on March 12, 2025. [Don Vincent/The Daily Line]

A group of 18 alderpeople last week introduced a measure that would opt their wards’ single-family residential zoning districts into allowing accessory dwelling units (ADUs), such as attic and basement conversion units or coach houses. The proposal came after the City Council last month approved a compromise ordinance legalizing ADUs in multifamily and business districts citywide while exempting most single-family areas.

The ordinance would overwrite and incorporate five existing pilot areas that were first established under the 2021 ADU pilot ordinance and were grandfathered into the legalization ordinance. They remain the only areas containing single-family zones that allow ADUs until other areas opt in.