Kol Peterson

Professional Biography

Kol Peterson is an ADU expert based in Portland, Oregon, who has helped catalyze the exponential growth of ADUs in Portland over the last decade through ADU advocacy, education, consulting, policy work, and entrepreneurship through his company, Accessory Dwelling Strategies LLC. He also edits and manages AccessoryDwellings.org and BuildinganADU.com. He is the author of Backdoor Revolution-The Definitive Guide to ADU Development. He consults with homeowners about ADUs on their property, and teaches ADU classes for homeowners and for real estate agents in Oregon, Washington, and California. He served on the technical and rules advisory committees for Oregon’s House Bill 2001 to overhaul municipal residential zoning standards to allow for middle housing throughout Oregon. He also co-runs ADU Academy and the ADU Specialist designation for professionals with Earth Advantage. He founded Caravan- The Tiny House Hotel, the first tiny house hotel in the world, and operates Tiny Hookups LLC, a general contracting company that installs RV hookups on residential properties, which are a permittable form of dwelling in Portland.

Kol developed and lived in a detached new construction ADU in 2011, and developed a basement/garage conversion ADU in 2018. He has a masters degree in environmental planning from Harvard’s Graduate School of Design. Prior to his ADU work, Kol worked in the federal government for ten years in Washington, DC and Portland, Oregon.