Quote Originally Posted by rosarugosa View Post
I don't have all the details, but they just passed a law in Massachusetts allowing the building of Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs):
"...the Affordable Homes Act creates key policy initiatives, including allowing accessory dwelling units under 900 square feet by right on single-family lots. Often referred to as in-law apartments, accessory dwelling units can be attached or detached from a single-family home and often take shape as a basement or attic conversion, a cottage in a backyard or a bump-out addition to a home. This new policy replaces a patchwork of zoning regulations across the state with a uniform law that allows homeowners on single-family lots to add these small units without needing a special permit or variance unless they want to add more than one. Construction of ADUs is still subject to local building codes. The Healey-Driscoll Administration estimates that between 8,000 and 10,000 ADUs will be built across the state over the next five years due to passage of the law. " - from Mass.gov website.
I'm trying to wrap my head around whether this would be helpful in our situation. I love the idea of my mother being in a little cottage out in the garden, at least right now, but it wouldn't be a panacea as her abilities continue to diminish. By the time we got something built, it might not even be relevant any longer.
I would like to be a little old lady in an ADU in someone’s garden.

This reminds me: my grandparents lived in a mobile home in my parent’s one acre yard in town. My grandfather, the flower gardener, took care of the yard although my dad mowed it. But gramps did all the rest.

Now there are zoning laws against “trailers” but they served a purpose.