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Clive council advances ordinance to allow accessory dwelling units, citing state limits and local safeguards
Summary
The Clive City Council voted 5-0 on June 26 to move forward with Ordinance No. 1164 to permit accessory dwelling units (ADUs) with city standards on placement, utilities and design; staff said state law forces a 1,000-square-foot or 50% size floor that the city cannot reduce.
The Clive City Council on June 26 approved prior passage of Ordinance No. 1164, a zoning ordinance amendment to allow accessory dwelling units (ADUs) in single-family areas, in a 5-0 vote.
Amanda, a city staff member, opened the public hearing and outlined the proposed rules: "the accessory dwelling unit must include sleeping, sanitation, and permanent cooking provisions," she said, adding that ADUs must be subordinate to the principal dwelling, provide a measure of privacy (no direct and free access in many cases), and not have a separate postal address.
The ordinance reflects a mixture of state-mandated requirements and local limits. Staff said state law sets the ADU size floor at "1,000 square feet or 50% of the principal dwelling, whichever is larger," a threshold the city cannot change. To keep smaller, truly accessory units feasible, the draft ordinance allows detached ADUs under 600 square feet to use accessory-building setbacks (as close as five feet to side or rear property lines) and requires architectural compatibility with the principal dwelling where permitted.
Councilors repeatedly raised caregiving and practical-use scenarios. One council member noted that ADUs can help house aging parents; staff responded that some family suites will instead be regulated as residential additions when they have direct internal access to the main house. On utilities, staff said ADUs will use the same metered water service as the principal dwelling (owners may use submetering internally), while electric and gas remain under private utilities' rules.
Staff also addressed floodplain and insurance consequences: Doug (staff/legal) warned that detached ADUs in flood zones must meet the city's flood-elevation standards and that substantial-improvement rules can apply if work exceeds federal or local value thresholds. Staff said they would return to council on July 10 with clarified language on a handful of outstanding technical points, including finished-basement counting and assessor guidance for livable area calculations.
The council's vote on June 26 was recorded as 5-0; the meeting minutes and staff said individual roll-call votes were not read aloud during the action. Staff told council it will present a final ADU packet for the July 10 meeting with ordinance language, definitions and any clarifications requested at the hearing.
What happens next: staff will publish the final ADU packet before the July 10 meeting and begin communications with residents and developers once the ordinance is final.
