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Granny Pods
Old 02-07-2017, 01:03 PM   #1
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Granny Pods

Might be a good alternative for some families, something cost effective between having granny or grandpa move in, and putting her/him in a nursing home. Sort of a not so tiny home, adapted for an elderly resident, sited on your property. Probably cheaper than an extended stay in assisted living.

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The MEDCottage is a mobile, modular medical dwelling designed to be temporarily placed on a caregiver's property for rehabilitation and extended care. Simply stated, it's a state-of-the-art hospital room with remote monitoring available so caregivers and family members have peace of mind knowing they are providing the best possible care. Close proximity is so important when keeping family engaged in our life. This solution provides a beautiful dwelling close to the people we love.
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Old 02-07-2017, 01:58 PM   #2
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Around here they are Echo Cottages.

Echo Cottages Ltd.
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Old 02-07-2017, 02:02 PM   #3
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Great idea, but I see some hurdles getting these past zoning reg's. and I wonder how they handle utility hookups.
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Old 02-07-2017, 02:11 PM   #4
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Great idea, but I see some hurdles getting these past zoning reg's. and I wonder how they handle utility hookups.
Not sure, but the Echo is endorsed and on my county website for senior housing options.
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Old 02-07-2017, 02:22 PM   #5
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I know my town allows only one dwelling per residential lot, but these are a nice solution for people who have children with big yards who want their parents that close at hand (probably not my children ). Most of our friends are childfree--maybe we can circle a bunch of them out in an unincorporated pasture and make a silver commune.
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Old 02-07-2017, 02:54 PM   #6
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I know my town allows only one dwelling per residential lot.....

Same here, as well as every town in suburban Chicago that I'm familiar with.


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Not sure, but the Echo is endorsed and on my county website for senior housing options.

That's good news. Hopefully other counties/ municipalities follow suit for areas where such installations are possible. But I can't imagine cities/ towns allowing these in front yards. Maybe rear yards if there is enough room.
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Old 02-07-2017, 03:21 PM   #7
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Same here, as well as every town in suburban Chicago that I'm familiar with.





That's good news. Hopefully other counties/ municipalities follow suit for areas where such installations are possible. But I can't imagine cities/ towns allowing these in front yards. Maybe rear yards if there is enough room.
From county web site:
ECHO Housing
An elder cottage housing opportunity, or ECHO, is a small, temporary housing unit that can be installed in a backyard -- most commonly used to accommodate older adults.ECHO housing units are self-contained prefab homes (usually between 400 and 800 square feet) that allow someone to remain largely independent while still living within earshot of your family. ECHO housing usually includes, on a smaller scale, all the amenities of a house -- a kitchen, a bedroom, a bathroom, and a living room.
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Old 02-07-2017, 07:36 PM   #8
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The thread title made me chuckle. Granny pods. Reminded me of Invasion of the Body Snatchers. Aliens send a fleet of granny pods to take over the Earth. Nooo.
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Old 02-07-2017, 08:21 PM   #9
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I thought it was a way to transport granny and all her stuff.
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Old 02-08-2017, 06:28 AM   #10
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Park it in the driveway, paint some tires, a grill, headlights, and a Winnebago logo on it. Put a cover on it even, put a zipper at the door. No one will ever notice!
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Old 02-08-2017, 08:23 AM   #11
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I just have this vision of the family watching TV, eating snacks and all comfy while Granny is out in a trailer next to the garage staring at the ceiling....

Sorry...just having a snarky morning.
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Old 02-08-2017, 02:34 PM   #12
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Some look like sheds, but some don't look too bad.

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Old 02-08-2017, 02:49 PM   #13
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Several years ago I was coaching my son's FLL team (robotics/problem solving)... The theme that year was "senior solutions" and they came across an article about these temporary units. One of the features that I liked, was that there were cameras to make sure granny hadn't fallen... but they were placed at floor level in each room... so you'd see if Granny had fallen, but didn't need to see granny getting dressed, bathed, etc... She had some level of privacy.

We have a granny flat (700sf permanent detached 1br house) in our backyard. My in-laws lived in it for half of each year for 5 years. No cameras - but proximity was great. If MIL needed help with anything a quick phone call had us running to help.

In California there is the concept of "companion units". These are 700sf (or smaller) granny flats. The restrictions vary by community, but they must allow them in some form. In our city, which limited them as much as they legally could, required the lot be double the minimum (10k sf or greater), the companion unit be placed on the back 1/3 of lot (on a hillside in our case, unfortunatelly), and very limiting rules on where the offstreet parking had to be (something called a streetwall - this requirement eliminated about 90% of folks who wanted to have a companion unit.) Fortunately, we met all the requirements and try as they might - they had to approve our permit.

A neighboring city (Chula Vista) is the opposite - making it easier for folks to build companion units... auto-approval if you used their pre-approved plans, etc.
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