Planning commission proposes larger accessory units, council begins review
Summary
Hooper planning staff presented Planning Commission recommendations to increase allowable accessory/oversized structure sizes and to permit one internal and one external ADU per principal dwelling; council discussed parking, owner-occupancy verification and impervious-surface caps and asked staff for more analysis before drafting code changes.
Planning staff presented Aug. 21 recommendations from the Planning Commission to adjust the city's accessory dwelling unit (ADU) and oversized-structure standards.
Staff said the commission recommended increasing maximum accessory-structure sizes across zones (examples discussed included up to 5,000 sq. ft. in some R-1 proposals) and explicitly allowing one internal and one external ADU per principal dwelling. The proposal would set ADU minimum living area at 400 square feet and allow a detached ADU equal to a percentage (50%) of the accessory building square footage permitted by zone or by conditional-use approvals.
Council members raised questions about parking (whether more off-street spaces should be required if ADU sizes increase), proof of owner occupancy and enforcement. Staff suggested creating an annual proof-of-occupancy certification (via cityinspect or a form) to document owner occupancy or approved exceptions (military service, temporary absences). Members also discussed impervious-surface caps (current cap cited as 65%) as one limit on how large accessory structures could become.
No code amendments were adopted; staff recommended more detailed analysis and work sessions with interested council members and planning commissioners before sending draft ordinance language to the city attorney.
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