Accessory Dwelling Units In A Historic District

"In a historic district, can we build Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs)?" That is a common question, and the answer is easy: YES.

The LNA's Exploratory Historic District Committee investigated this and confirmed that ADUs can be and are being built in Portland's historic districts. In 2016, every ADU proposed in the historic districts of Irvington and Ladd's Addition was approved. More ADUs were built in those historic districts than were built in Laurelhurst.

To see this in a picture, here is a city-generated map of ADUs constructed in Portland. Each circle is an ADU. Irvington and Ladd's Addition historic districts are outlined and shaded in blue.

More ADUs have been built in the historic district of Irvington than in Laurelhurst!

Although Ladds Addition is a smaller neighborhood, the number of ADUs built there is not too much less than Laurelhurst's total.

So, if you've heard anyone say that historic district discourages homeowners from building ADUs, show them this map. That "myth" simply isn't true.

We have heard some claims that historic district discourages homeowners from remodeling in general. That "myth" isn't true either. There is more remodeling going on in the historic district of Irvington now than before it became a historic district, as explained in "Historic District Doesn't Stop Remodeling".

For other myths about historic district and the true facts, see this website's page MYTHS.