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Board approves reduced ADU variance, allows Lewis accessory unit at 60% of principal home
Summary
After testimony from the applicants' realtor and extended technical discussion, the Kent County Board of Adjustment approved a modified variance permitting the Lewis property's accessory dwelling unit at 60% (889 sq ft) of the principal residence, instead of the existing 71.7% (1,063 sq ft). The applicants must record a deed restriction and adjust the ADU to meet the new limit.
The Kent County Board of Adjustment on Dec. 18 modified and approved Application A-25-33, allowing an accessory dwelling unit (ADU) on the Lewis property to remain at 60% of the principal dwelling's floor area rather than the 50% allowed by right or the existing 71.7% the owners sought to legalize.
Audrey Ellen Wagaman, the Lewises' realtor, told the board the owners bought the property with the unpermitted structure in place and had invested in electrical inspection and a new septic system. "The ADU occupies less than half of the existing outbuilding, and no expansion of the building footprint is proposed," Wagaman said while requesting the board legalize the unit given the parcel's size and buffering to adjacent state game lands.
Board members pressed for technical remedies and options if they denied relief: the applicants could remove 322 square feet of the ADU, add square footage to the principal dwelling, or eliminate the ADU as a separate living unit. Staff clarified that ADU size is calculated from the principal dwelling's living area (not garages) and that an approved ADU requires a one-time deed restriction recorded with the property.
After deliberation over possible reductions and the applicants' financial investment in septic and inspections, Board member Joan Denny moved to grant relief limited to 60% of the primary dwelling's floor area so the owners could redesign the ADU to meet that limit; the motion was seconded and passed unanimously by the six voting members. The board's approval allows the applicant to decide how to achieve the reduction (for example, removing the laundry area or reducing a bedroom) and requires the deed restriction and permitting steps be completed.
Why it matters: The board's decision provides a pathway for legalizing longstanding, unpermitted living space while requiring the property to conform more closely to ADU size rules. The record shows the board weighed the owners' investment in infrastructure and the lack of neighbor opposition against the need to preserve the code's objective of preventing creation of de facto second dwellings.
Next steps: The applicants must work with county staff to record the deed restriction, obtain required building permits, and physically alter or reclassify the interior space to meet the 60% threshold before the ADU may be treated as a permanent accessory unit.
