Planning board backs ADU ordinance for Northwest/Southwest overlay with two‑story limit added

The Planning & Zoning Board recommended that the City Commission adopt Ordinance 12‑26, a city‑initiated amendment to the land‑development regulations to allow accessory dwelling units (ADUs) in the Northwest/Southwest Neighborhood Overlay as a form of workforce housing, and the board added an amendment restricting ADUs to lots where the principal structure does not exceed two stories.

Barber Kingston, senior planner, said the amendment implements a neighborhood study by Opticos and the CRA and would permit ADUs as accessory uses in R‑1, RM and CBD districts inside the overlay. Proposed standards in the draft include a maximum ADU floor area of 750 square feet, independent entrance, parking requirements, a minimum six‑month lease term, a homestead requirement for the principal dwelling, and a restrictive covenant to ensure the units are marketed and leased as workforce housing with income bands tied to median income.

Board members asked how compliance and monitoring would work, whether ADU tenants could use federal Section 8 vouchers, and how ADUs interact with historic‑district rules. City staff said restrictive covenants and annual reporting to Neighborhood and Community Services would be required and that ADUs on historic properties would remain subject to historic‑preservation review. The Delray Beach CRA noted it has a townhouse + ADU project in review and supports the amendment.

After discussion the board moved to recommend approval as amended to limit ADUs to properties whose principal structure does not exceed two stories; the motion passed on roll call.