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LOCAL <br />Pricey accessory dwelling units are slow <br />to take off in the Twin Cities <br />Cost, local restrictions have tempered interest. <br />By Shannon Prather (https://www.startribune.com/shannon-prather/6370507/) , Erin Adler <br />(https://www.startribune.com/erin-adler/6370491/) and Josie Albertson -Grove <br />(https://www.startribune.com/josie-albertson-grove/10010118/) Star Tribune <br />DECEMBER 24, 2022 - 7:OOPM <br />Retired teacher Janie Morissette was living alone in Montana when her St. Paul -based <br />daughter suggested she move closer. <br />Morissette loved the idea of regular family dinners and impromptu visits from her <br />granddaughters, but moving in with her daughter felt too close for comfort — so she <br />built in the backyard instead. <br />Morissette now lives in a 796-square-foot home — formally called an accessory dwelling <br />unit, or ADU — atop her daughter's garage in the Lexington-Hamline neighborhood. <br />"I giggle when I talk about it because I just absolutely love it here," Morissette said. "I live <br />in a treehouse!" <br />Hers is one of 30 ADUs that have cropped up in the capital city in the five years since <br />local leaders started allowing them. Though backyard cottages, carriage houses or <br />"mother-in-law suites" have been around for centuries, the structures were edged out by <br />restrictive single-family zoning decades ago. <br />ADVERTISEMENT <br />AARON LAVINSKY, STAR TRIBUNE <br />Janie Morissette stands for a portrait outside <br />her home Dec. 21, 2022 in St. Paul, Minn. <br />The mini -homes are now back in fashion in the Twin Cities and across the country, as <br />communities look for ways to expand housing options and add density to spacious and <br />popular single-family neighborhoods. While residents of the small homes gush about the <br />