Piedmont Mayor installs backyard home, touts ADUs to help solve housing woes
PIEDMONT – Accessory dwelling units, or ADUs, have been pitched as one potential solution to the state's housing crisis. The mayor of Piedmont, who supports the construction of the small backyard homes, is living by her own message.
Residents in Mayor Teddy Gray King's neighborhood got a show Wednesday afternoon as a prefabricated ADU was delivered in grand fashion.
"Here is my backyard, which was pretty spacious and really just a perfect spot to build a freestanding house for my dad," said Piedmont Mayor Teddy Gray King, walking into her back yard.
When King lost her mom last year, she was immediately faced with the question of where to house her dad. The answer was just delivered on a flatbed trailer.
"A family was able to buy a house, which is hard to do," King said. "And my dad lives with his own family."
King's father was among those watching when his new home was unwrapped, hoisted into the sky, and lowered into his daughter's back yard.
"Yes, it's quite striking when we install one of our pre-fabricated units," said John Geary, CEO of Abodu, which built the home.
The company knows to expect an audience, and they're ready to make their pitch to families looking to solve their own housing issues.
"If Mayor King was looking to buy a home for her father that would be over $3 million here in Piedmont," Geary said of the home. "This itself, is less than 300,000."
The mayor wants to sell that idea as well. While some communities have looked for ways around state laws intended to encourage more ADUs, Piedmont is encouraging residents to consider it.
"We are not pushing back against the state of California," King said, touring the newly planted home. "We understand our role as a regional partner."
With her father's new home in place, the mayor is now living by that very policy.
"It's a huge day," King said. "After basically a year of trying to figure out the right housing options for my dad, this is where we landed."
