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Commission approves accessory dwelling unit at 8412 Dunsmore Road with conditions
Summary
The commission approved Conditional Use Permit COCU25-0005 to allow an accessory dwelling unit (ADU) at 8412 Dunsmore Road with 16 conditions; staff noted a septic upgrade was completed recently and building inspections will verify fire separation.
The Pennington County Planning Commission voted March 24 to approve Conditional Use Permit review COCU25-0005, allowing an accessory dwelling unit (ADU) at 8412 Dunsmore Road. The owner-applicants are Jeff and Kelly Gorman. The commission approved the permit with 16 conditions by voice vote.
Staff planner Kelsey Rausch told commissioners the detached garage proposed as the ADU has been finished into living space since about February 2010 and that the current owners purchased the property in 2016. Rausch said the county opened a zoning ordinance violation in 2022 after listing-site evidence indicated the garage unit and a basement unit had been operated as vacation home rentals; staff has been working to bring the property into compliance.
Rausch said the on-site wastewater treatment system was recently upgraded (completed in late 2024, staff noted) and that the upgrade put the system at the necessary capacity to support the ADU. During the hearing an applicant confirmed the septic upgrade cost about $17,000 and said the owners had rented the unit intermittently for roughly six years, including multi-month stays by traveling health-care professionals.
Jason Fennison, assistant planning director, said building inspections will verify compliance with the required one-hour fire separation between the garage and living area during the building permit review. Rausch and Fennison confirmed applicants must apply for a building permit and that the county will inspect the construction details as part of that process; a 30-day appeal period applies before final issuance of a building permit if the commission’s approval stands.
Board action: a motion to approve COCU25-0005 with 16 conditions passed by voice vote. The commission also added a condition requiring the applicant to sign a statement of understanding within a set number of days (added as condition number 16 during the meeting).
Why it matters: the approval regularizes a use that staff said had operated outside county zoning rules and makes the property subject to explicit conditions, inspections and an appeal time line.
Next steps: the applicants must apply for a building permit; county building inspections will verify the fire-separation and other construction requirements. If no appeal is filed within 30 days, the building permit process may proceed.
