Reno planning commission backs ADU ordinance, recommends attached-unit size match detached standards

The Reno Planning Commission on Aug. 6 recommended that City Council adopt a citywide accessory dwelling unit ordinance (case TXT24-00002), voting unanimously to forward staff’s draft with one amendment: attached ADUs should be sized under the same detached-accessory-structure limits as detached ADUs.

The recommendation comes after a multi-year outreach process staff described as among the city’s most extensive. Grace Mackinnon, senior management analyst, told the commission the draft responds to prior Planning Commission and City Council input and must comply with state law changes in Assembly Bill 396.

“AB 396 requires that we cannot prohibit separate kitchen facilities for the ADU. We cannot require any more than one parking space per ADU. We cannot require any side or rear setback larger than that of the primary structure, and we cannot require any improvement or repair to a public street unless necessary,” Mackinnon said. She told commissioners the draft was shaped to remain as permissive as state law allows while addressing neighborhood concerns.

Why it matters: the ordinance will set the rules for where and how homeowners may add secondary housing on residential lots, affecting infill capacity, neighborhood character, parking demand and…