Commission approves ADU at 721 Merry Lake Drive with occupancy condition

The Bryan Planning and Zoning Commission voted unanimously to approve a conditional use permit allowing an accessory dwelling unit (ADU) at 721 Merry Lake Drive on a 0.26-acre lot zoned RD-5. Benjamin Johnson, project planner for Bryan City, told commissioners the ADU would be sited where an existing accessory structure stands, would be built with board-and-batten siding and include about 540 square feet (including a patio area).

"Staff does find that the proposed ADU meets all of those special supplementary regulations that are found in section 130-34(b)," Johnson said, and recommended approval subject to conditions that the ADU be incidental to the main dwelling and occupied by the same person or immediate family or servants employed on the premises. Commissioners asked questions about parking, noting the main house is two bedrooms and requires two parking spaces plus one for the ADU; Johnson confirmed the property can accommodate the required spaces, using stacked parking under an existing carport.

Commissioners also queried whether the carport is conforming; Johnson said it is "more than likely grandfathered in," adding the house appears to predate 1967 and may have been built in the 1950s. The staff report noted 25 notices were mailed and one phone call was received from the neighbor across the street, who expressed confusion until staff explained the proposal and then had no objection. With no public speakers at the hearing, Committee member S2 moved to approve the permit adopting the staff report as findings; the motion passed unanimously.