Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Adu Text Amendment topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Commission directs staff to treat ADUs as special uses and return with revised ordinance
Summary
After discussing typologies and neighborhood concerns, the Planning and Zoning Commission directed staff to revise the proposed ADU ordinance to require a special-use permit for all ADU types and to prepare guidance, design standards, and setback rules returning at a June 22 special meeting.
The Rolling Meadows Planning and Zoning Commission on June 2 discussed a draft ordinance to authorize accessory dwelling units (ADUs) and directed staff to revise the draft to classify all ADU types as special uses.
Staff said it had received about 10 resident inquiries over two years and proposed standards including a maximum ADU size of 1,000 square feet or 9 percent of lot area, setback and height limits, and one parking space recommended per ADU. Commissioners raised particular concern about newly constructed detached ADUs (coach houses or over-garage units), citing privacy, sightlines, noise and parking impacts.
Given those concerns and the potential cost and delay of a special-use application, staff noted that requiring a special use for detached ADUs is commonly treated as a practical constraint on new construction. The Commission took a more conservative approach and directed staff to: classify all ADU types as special uses; prepare illustrative guidance criteria for special-use review; incorporate design standards addressing entrance and window placement; apply primary-structure setbacks to newly constructed detached ADUs while allowing existing accessory structures to be converted under accessory setbacks; and circulate a revised draft before the June 22 special meeting.
The Commission also noted pending state-level proposals (the BUILD Act) that could affect municipal authority over ADUs and said it will monitor state legislation as the ordinance is refined.
