Like many other parts of the state, communities in the Sierra Nevada foothills of Central California have felt the crunch of the housing shortage. New housing has not kept up with demand, and much of the growth is not affordable to residents. Local workers are particularly essential throughout the region to support year-round tourism, from Yosemite National Park to Lake Tahoe, and often cannot live near their jobs. Other issues like wildfires, sewer/water, and vacation rentals add additional pressures to housing options.

In 2022, a unique partnership between the Counties of Amador, Calaveras, Mariposa, and Nevada was formed based on the shared belief that ADUs could be an important part of the housing solution. Community Planning Collaborative was then brought on the develop, design, and launch Mother Lode ADU with the goal of helping people build ADUs.

At the start of this project, Community Planning Collaborative designed a public engagement process tailored to the region to better understand what would be most helpful, including a survey for residents, focus groups for building and real estate professionals, landing page announcing the project with a way for residents to engage, and interviews with County staff. This process not only informed the development of resources but made it clear what was still needed, including a trifold brochure for real estate professionals and residents, and a broader PR plan to inform the public about ADUs as an option in addition to the resources.

The project officially launched in August 2023 with resources including a website, Can I Build Tool, Contractor List, prefab plan examples, video homeowner “spotlight” stories featuring VR360 tours of the ADU and site, and a guidebook with homeowner exercises, development checklist, rules summaries, process at-a-glance, and ADU calculator for each county. We also created the visual identity for the project, including logo suite, color palette, custom graphics, and full style guide. Launch events were held at the Mariposa County Fair and Nevada County’s Collaboration Day, and between these events, wide ranging press, and radio interviews with County staff, there is now a wave of excitement for ADUs across the four counties.