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Staff proposes looser ADU rules: larger unit sizes, fewer procedural barriers, and clarifications on utilities and parking
Summary
Staff proposed ADU rule changes: raise the maximum unit size to 800 sq ft or 50% of the principal dwelling, allow conditional relief for undersized lots, and relax shared-meter, driveway and additional-parking requirements.
Planning staff presented a proposed rewrite of the city's accessory-dwelling-unit (ADU) performance standards intended to encourage more ADU construction while clarifying subordinate-use criteria and procedural options.
Staff said the proposed amendments would not expand where ADUs are allowed (they remain limited to zoning districts that permit single-family dwellings) but would make several substantive changes: increase the maximum ADU size from the current 500 square feet (or 25% of the principal dwelling, whichever is less) to 800 square feet (or 50% of the principal dwelling, whichever is less); allow ADUs on lots that are nonconforming for district minimum lot size via conditional use permit (CUP); permit separate utilities for ADUs when appropriate; remove the requirement that an ADU must use the same driveway as the principal dwelling; and remove the existing requirement for an additional off-street parking space for an ADU in favor of counting only the principal dwelling's minimum parking requirement (subject to CUP deviation where necessary).
Why this matters: Staff said these changes respond to applicants who struggle with the current 500-square-foot cap and driveway and meter requirements. Staff cited other localities and national best practices (AARP, APA guidance) in support of allowing separate meters where economically sensible and observed that increasing the allowable ADU size would make ADUs more functional for household needs while maintaining the subordinate-use test.
Commissioners asked clarifying questions about how ADU area is measured (living area only, excluding accessory storage), whether multiple ADUs on one lot would be permitted (staff said the proposed rules continue to allow no more than one ADU per lot) and whether attached ADUs must have separate exterior entrances (staff said building code and dwelling configuration would govern internal versus external access).
Ending: Staff requested initiation of the ADU amendment at a future public hearing and said they would return with formal text for the commission's initiation agenda item.
