Carbondale planning commission continues ADU code rewrite after penciling in size, parking and short‑term rental limits

Carbondale Planning and Zoning Commission members on Oct. 9 continued their public hearing on proposed amendments to the town’s accessory dwelling unit (ADU) rules and asked staff to prepare redlined code language for the commission and the Town Board to review.

The hearing was continued to Oct. 23 by a vote of the commission. Jared Mork, a staff member, told the commission the packet and memo are “set up in a way to kind of try to attack each of the topics” and that staff would prepare draft code language after the commission gives direction.

Why it matters: ADU rules determine how homeowners may add small rental or family units on existing properties; those rules affect housing supply, neighborhood scale, parking and town infrastructure. The commission’s guidance this month shapes the draft code that will go to the trustees and ultimately into the Unified Development Code if approved.

Discussion highlights

Members spent more than two hours debating minimum and maximum ADU sizes, how ADU size should relate to the main house (the “ratio”), bedroom counts, parking and whether ADUs may be used as short‑term rentals (STRs). Commissioners repeatedly stressed that staff should return with precise redline language and that the group was not making final commitments but…