Sonoma County’s innocent self-building days: Jenine's $3,500 rolling home

When tracing the roots of legally-approved backyard cottages (Accessory Dwelling Units, ADUs), it all started when renegade builders in Sonoma engaged the public —and, eventually, legislation.

ADUs didn’t come out of nowhere in California. Before it was legal to build a secondary living unit on most single-family lots across the state (thanks to a rare alignment of grassroots and institutional interests across all demographics), many people were finding workarounds to live, temporarily or permanently, in “annexes,” “pool houses” and other typ…