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The City of Boise has created a Pre-Approved Accessory Dwelling Unit program designed to make it easier for eligible property owners to add housing to existing residential properties.
The program provides professionally designed ADU plans that have already undergone City review. Property owners can select from the available designs and use the City's established process to adapt an approved plan to an eligible property.
Pre-approved does not mean that an ADU can simply be built anywhere without additional review. The City requires property eligibility to be confirmed, a site plan to be prepared, and the proposed ADU to be evaluated for the specific property. Site conditions, zoning, setbacks, utilities, easements, overlays, access, and other property-specific requirements may still affect whether and how a particular ADU can be constructed.
The City's current process generally includes:
1. Determine Property Eligibility
Confirm that the property and proposed location can accommodate an ADU under applicable City requirements.
2. Select a Pre-Approved ADU Plan
Choose from the ADU designs made available through the City's program.
3. Prepare the Site Plan
Locate the selected ADU on the property and identify the site-specific information required by the City.
4. Complete Concept Review
The City reviews the proposed use of the pre-approved design on the particular property before the formal application is submitted.
5. Submit the Application
Required plans, documents, and property-specific information are submitted through the City's permitting process.
6. City Review & Approval
The City reviews the site-specific application and, when requirements are satisfied, the project can move toward permitting and construction.
The pre-approved program can significantly reduce the amount of custom design work required for an ADU, but the property still needs to be evaluated, the project still needs to be priced and planned, and the ADU still needs to be properly permitted and constructed.
The Gem State Group can help take a Boise pre-approved ADU from plan selection and site evaluation through budgeting, permitting coordination, and completed construction.
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PRE-APPROVED DOESN'T MEAN PRE-PRICED
Boise's pre-approved ADU plans can simplify an important part of the development process, but every property and every construction project is different.
The cost of building an ADU depends on much more than the size and floor plan of the structure.
Site preparation, excavation, foundation conditions, utility locations and connections, electrical service, water and sewer requirements, access for construction, grading and drainage, landscaping impacts, material selections, finishes, and other property-specific conditions can significantly affect the project.
The location of the ADU on the property also matters. Two homeowners selecting the same pre-approved plan may have very different construction requirements and very different project costs because their properties are different.
That is why The Gem State Group believes meaningful ADU pricing should begin with the actual property, the selected plan, and an understanding of the site-specific work required to build it.
Boise's pre-approved plans provide an excellent starting point. Our job is to help turn that plan into a realistic construction project.
PRE-APPROVED PLAN • SITE-SPECIFIC PROJECT • REALISTIC CONSTRUCTION BUDGET
