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8.1. SR 07-20-2015 Request for Action To Item Number Mayor and City Council 8.1 Agenda Section Meeting Date Prepared by General BusinessJuly 20, 2015Chris Leeseberg, Senior Planner Item Description Reviewed by Direction Regarding Accessory Dwelling Units Zack Carlton, Planning Manager Reviewed by Cal Portner, City Administrator Action Requested Discuss and provide direction on the following items: 1.In regard to accessory dwelling units, does the Council want to allow attached, detached, both, or neither? 2.If allowed, should a building permit or an application be required? 3. Does “family” need to be redefined? Background/Discussion At their February 17, 2015, meeting, the Council discussed Accessory Dwelling Units (ADU), how to define family for zoning purposes, elderly/disability care, and profit versus non-profit units. The Council directed staff to review other communities and evaluate possible changes to the definition/ordinance. Other Communities Staff’s research focused on single-family zoning districts as multiple-family districts allow multiple residential units on a single property. Staff contacted 25 communities and received 24 responses. Of those that responded, 12 do not allow any ADU’s and of the remaining 12, only two communities allow them to be detached, the rest require the units to be within the principal single family dwelling unit. Attached Accessory Dwelling Unit The common regulations within the communities allowing ADU’s appear to be a requirement that the parcel be served by a single municipal water, sanitary sewer, gas and/or electric utility service, and postal address. Several of the communities limit the overall size and number of bedrooms. The following list is a summary of the regulations various communities impose on ADUs. Staff believes these regulations are a good starting point if the council is in favor of allowing attached accessory dwelling units.  Detached accessory structures (sheds) shall not be converted, in part or whole, to living space.  Only one accessory dwelling unit permit may be issued per principal single family dwelling unit.  The principal single family dwelling unit and property shall remain in single ownership and title.  The principal single family dwelling unit must be owner occupied and one (1) of the units must be the principal residence of the property owner(s).  Both the principal single family dwelling unit and accessory dwelling unit must meet the applicable building and fire codes.  No more than two (2) sleeping rooms shall be allowed in an accessory dwelling unit.  The accessory dwelling unit shall be clearly a subordinate part of the principal single family dwelling unit. In no case shall it be more than 30 percent of the principal single family dwelling units total floor area nor greater than 800 square feet.  No entrances in a front yard shall be added to the principal single family dwelling unit as a result of the accessory dwelling unit permit.  In addition to the parking spaces required for the principal dwelling unit on the lot, there shall be one (1) off-street parking space provided for the accessory dwelling unit.  There shall be an interior connection between the principal single family dwelling unit and accessory dwelling unit that is able to be unlocked from each side of the connection and that is not secured by a deadbolt or keyed lockset.  The principal single family dwelling unit and accessory dwelling unit shall be served by single municipal water, sanitary sewer, gas and/or electric utility service lines each with a single meter for the respective utility where applicable.  The principal single family dwelling unit and accessory dwelling unit shall have one heating and air conditioning system.  The principal single family dwelling unit and accessory dwelling unit shall have one postal address. Detached Accessory Dwelling Unit Two of the communities contacted allow detached accessory dwelling units. Below is a summary of their regulations:  An accessory dwelling unit shall be located above an attached or detached garage that is accessory to a single-family detached home.  A permit for the accessory dwelling unit may only be applied for concurrently with the application for a building permit for construction of the principal structure on the lot.  Not more than one (1) accessory dwelling unit shall be allowed on a single-family detached lot.  A detached accessory dwelling unit shall be subject to the same regulations as accessory structure requirements in the zoning district.  An accessory dwelling unit shall be a clearly incidental and subordinate use, the gross floor area of which shall not exceed the gross floor area of the principal dwelling unit or one thousand (1,000) square feet, whichever is less.  The exterior design of an accessory dwelling unit shall incorporate a similar architectural style, roof pitch, colors, and materials as the principal building on the lot, and shall be compatible with the character of the surrounding residential buildings.  The owner of the property shall reside in the principal dwelling unit or in the accessory dwelling unit.  There shall be no separate ownership of the accessory dwelling unit.  An accessory dwelling unit shall have a separate address from the principal dwelling unit on the lot.  The principal dwelling unit and accessory dwelling unit shall be connected to municipal sewer and water.  The total number of occupants in the accessory dwelling unit shall not exceed three (3) persons.  An accessory dwelling unit may be permitted within a detached accessory structure provided the lot size on which the unit would be located is one (1) acre or greater. N:\\Public Bodies\\Agenda Packets\\07-20-2015\\Final\\x8.1 sr Accessory Dwelling Units.docx The attachments also include the ADU regulations for the City of Inver Grove Heights and the City of Kirkland Washington for more information on detached accessory structures. Staff Concerns The Fire and Building Safety Department cited concerns on how the different occupancies would be fire separated. An attached accessory dwelling unit is easier to fire separate from the principle dwelling than a detached accessory dwelling unit above a detached garage space. One of the main concerns with multiple occupants in a structure is protecting the adjacent unit(s) from the current user. Because of addressing, fire separation issues, and services, staff believes that allowing detached accessory structures would not be in the best interest of the city. Definition of Family A single family house is considered a dwelling that provides habitable space for one independent housekeeping unit having cooking, sleeping, and sanitary facilities. Family means any number of individuals generally, but not necessarily, related by blood and marriage, living together at one location as a single, nonprofit housekeeping unit, as distinguished from a group occupying a boardinghouse or rooming house, tourist home, hotel or motel. By this definition, a group of people related or unrelated occupying a structure could be considered “family.” Therefore, staff does not evaluate a dwelling unit by who (related or not) occupies the unit, but by how the structure functions. In application, the presence of a second set of cooking, sleeping, and sanitary facilities constitutes a second dwelling unit. These are not permitted in single family districts. Some definitions of family use the term “blood family”. Determining if family is “blood” would be hard to execute and would take significant time for an applicant to produce to documentation. Financial Impact None Attachments  February 17, 2015 City Council Minutes  List of Contacted Communities  Summary of Email Responses  City of Inver Grove Heights proposed ADU ordinance  City of Kirkland Washington ADU Regulations N:\\Public Bodies\\Agenda Packets\\07-20-2015\\Final\\x8.1 sr Accessory Dwelling Units.docx City Council -Minutes Page 6 February 17, 2015 7.5 Ordinance Amendment: Subsurface Sewage Treatment System Ms. Mroz presented the staf report. Mayor Dietz opened the public hearing. There being no one to speak to this issue, Mayor Dietz closed the public hearing. Attorney Beck noted the city is incorporating the Sherburne County ordinance into city code. Moved by Councilmember Olsen and seconded by Councilmember Westgaard to adopt the following ordinances: Ordinance 15 -06 amending Sections, 30 -1, "Definitions," 30 -1934, "On -site sewage treatment and water supply systems," 30 -2028, "Water supply and sewage treatment," 30 -2042, "Planned unit developments," and 30 -2138, Water supply and sewage treatment" of the City of Elk River, Minnesota, City Code, to incorporate the Sherburne County Subsurface Sewage Treatment System Program Ordinance 15 -07 amending Section, 78 -1, "Finding of public health and safety hazard," 78 -101, "Private sewage disposal systems," and 78 -125, "Filling of unused septic tanks and similar devices" of the City of Elk River, Minnesota, City Code, to incorporate the Sherburne County Subsurface Sewage Treatment System Program Motion carried 5 -0. 7.6 Amendments to the 2015 Master Fee Schedule Ms. Allard presented the staff report. Mayor Dietz opened the public hearing. There being no one to speak to this issue, Mayor Dietz closed the public hearing. Moved by Councilmember Westgaard and seconded by Councilmember Wagner to adopt Ordinance 15 -08 amending the 2015 Master Fee Schedule in include new liquor license fees and changes to other miscellaneous fees, of the City of Elk River Minnesota, City Code. Motion carried 5 -0. 8.1 Single Family Housing Definition Mr. Leeseberg presented the staff report. He noted current ordinance is based on how a structure functions and not who is using it. City Council Minutes February 17, 2015 Page 7 Various possible scenarios were discussed by Council such as how to handle family units, elderly/ disability care, profit versus non - profit, possible loopholes, etc. Attorney Beck stated this is a common issue arising in other communities. He also noted our current ordinance is very typical to other city ordinances. Council directed staff to review other city ordinances and evaluate possible changes to the definition. 8.2 Wangling Program Nis. Gardner presented the staff report. Mayor Dietz and Counciltnembers Olsen and Burandt preferred Option B. Councilmember Westgaard stated Option B is a happy medium between the two designs. Councilmember Wagner preferred Option C because it would be easier to read and the logos are easy to see, which would be the goal of the signage, but to keep the plan moving forward she could accept Option B. Moved by Council Westgaard and seconded by Councilmember Burandt to select Option B as the wayfinding entrance sign designs. Motion carried 5 -0. Mayor Dietz stated that due to the City of New Hope Council shooting incident, the city should review security for the Council Chambers and meetings held in the room. Council recessed at 7:28 p.m. in order to go into worksession. Council reconvened at 7:34 p.m. 9.0 Determination of Billable Flow, Loading, and lases° Charge Ms. Fischer presented the staff report. She noted individuals would have to purchase their own deduct meter. Council consensus was to move forward with the recommended revisions to the ordinance. 9.2 Visioning Mr. Barnhart continued the visioning discussion from a previous meeting. Some questions were about quality of life and character of Elk River. NATUREJ Yes Attached Yes Detached No 1 Ramsey X There’s no specific language on it, just how we interpret our existing code. 2 Coon Rapids X Allow additions to houses that contain kitchen, bathroom and living space but they have to have full access to the rest of the house. We do not allow separate second dwelling units. 3 Brooklyn Park X They are only allowed in the R4 zoning district under certain lot size requirements. They must be attached to the main house. In other districts, we allow for suites, as long as they are internally connected. 4 Plymouth N/A X Attached are the regulations (see p. 7 of the specialized housing section). Plymouth also has a few districts (FRD, RSF-1, and RSF-R) where you can have a caretaker apartment with a separate entrance with an interim use permit (page 5 of Section RSF-1) and I can remember one request for this type of apartment. We’ve also got a couple new mother-in-law suites that are accessed internal to the home (with no separate access). We don’t consider those separate dwellings. 5 Brooklyn Center X 6 Shoreview X Ordinance, Section 207.010, and the application form, which includes the code requirements. We do not receive many requests for these. 7 Cottage Grove X They need to be within the owner occupied principal structure. Inspections are required with the modifications. http://www.sterlingcodifiers.com/codebook/index.php?book_id=500&chapter_id =27143#s1012841 8 Lakeville X 9 Andover X Andover does not allow dwelling units separate (in a different structure) from the principal structure.  We do allow “mother-in-law apartments” within the principal structure as long as there is access to the “mother-in-law apartment” through an unlocked door. 10 Columbia Heights X 11 Inver Grove Heights X The city council is just now looking at an ordinance amendment to allow accessory dwelling units. We received a zoning application from a resident who wanted to covert a detached structure into an ADU and that’s what kicked off our discussion.  The City’s Housing Committee has had the topic on their list of things they would like the council to look at, so the issue has come up here before we received an application. I have attached a draft ordinance that the Council considered for the first reading last night. Our ordinance language is taken from many other metro cities that allow these. Nothing ground breaking here. I found info from Bloomington, Shoreview, Richfield, Roseville, Apple Valley, Eagan, Farmington, Lakeville and Plymouth. One thing the Council added last night was that any detached ADU on a lot with well and septic, the ADU must utilize the same septic and well as the house. No separate systems allowed. 12 Eden Prairie X 13 Big Lake X 14 Rogers X 15 Hopkins X 16 Otsego X 17 Golden Valley X 18 Maple Grove X 19 Fridley X 20 Vadnais Heights X 21 Arden Hills X 22 Hopkins X 23 Woodbury X 24 Anoka X 25 New Hope Accessory Dwelling Units Summary of Email Responses Lakeville Allows for accessory dwelling units subject to Zoning Administrator review and approval. F. Separate living quarters that include kitchen facilities for housing multiple generations as an accessory use within a single-family dwelling provided that: 1) The design and construction of the principal building is not a two-family dwelling as defined by this title. 2) There shall be an interior connection between the main living area and accessory living quarters tha t is able to be unlocked from each side of the connection and that is not secured by a deadbolt or keyed lockset. 3) The principal building shall be served by single municipal water, sanitary sewer, gas and/or electric utility service lines each with a single meter for the respective utility where applicable. 4) The principal building shall have one heating and air conditioning system. 5) The property shall have one postal address. 6) There shall be a minimum of three (3) garage stalls having direct exterior access (no t in a tandem arrangement) attached to the principal building with a driveway access in front of each stall so as to allow direct vehicle maneuvering to each of the stalls. Ramsey We allow a ‘version’ of this if there is an internal connection. Door can be locked between two units. Not currently allowed as a completely separated unit or within detached accessory structures. There’s no specific language on it, just how we interpret our existing code. One primary structure/one dwelling per lot is allowed. An internal connection allows us to interpret this as a single dwelling from a code standpoint. There is no physical separation and the parcel must remain a single parcel (as not to have two separate owners). Coon Rapids In a modified form. We do allow additions to houses that contain kitchen, bathroom and living space but they have to have full access to the rest of the house. We do not allow separate second dwelling units. Brooklyn Park They are only allowed in the R4 zoning district under certain lot size requirements. They must be attached to the main house. In other districts, we allow for suites, as long as they are internally connected. Plymouth Very few requests. Plymouth also has a few districts (FRD, RSF-1, and RSF-R) where you can have a caretaker apartment with a separate entrance with an interim use permit (page 5 of Section RSF-1) and I can remember one request for this type of apartment. We’ve also got a couple new mother-in-law suites that are accessed internal to the home (with no separate access). We don’t consider those separate dwellings. Brooklyn Center Good Morning Chris: we go back and forth on this issue once or twice a year with various residents. Our R1 Code (noted below) allows the “renting” of sleeping rooms as a permitted, accessory use – and we sometimes have arguments with residents what constitutes a “sleeping room” – and I usually end it by responding: “One bedroom equals a sleeping room. The entire basement or open upstairs does not correlate into a sleeping room.” Of course-some have wanted to install a small kitchen and bathroom in the “sleeping room” for their approved family member or “resident” - and we have rejected this for many reasons. Section 35-310. R1 ONE FAMILY RESIDENCE DISTRICT. 1. Permitted Uses a. One family dwellings. b. Accessory uses incidental to the foregoing principal uses or to the following special uses when located on the same property with the use to which it is accessory, but not including any business or industrial accessory uses. Such accessory uses to include but not be restricted to the following: 9) The renting of not more than two sleeping rooms in the principal building by a resident family, provided adequate offstreet parking is provided. We do not allow two-family residences in the R1 Zone, but do in our R2-Two Family or higher. We do have some grandfathered two-families in our R1 Zones-but slowly they are going away due to most owners do not want to deal with our very aggressive rental registration program. We have given in to some residents demands that insist on providing a “downstairs kitchen and bathroom” for the convenience of “other family members” – which we usually let go, once they convince us they are not going to use this lower living area as rental space or income generator. I used to get a notice from our city assessors when they discovered these “added units” during inspections - and we’ve had to make determinations if the property is being used by related family members –or as rental property. It’s so much fun trying to make that call. We absolutely forbid residential units in garages or similar accessory structures; or allowing a separate “little house” built on the same lot. Big Lake The City does not allow a separate unit. If there is only one house entrance or an entrance through the garage to another space, and there aren't full kitchen facilities, then we allow it. But a full unit wouldn't be allowed in our single-family district. Shoreview See Section 207.010, and the application form, which includes the code requirements. We do not receive many requests for these. 207.010 Accessory Apartments. Accessory apartments must comply with the following standards: A. The accessory apartment shall be clearly a subordinate part of the singlefamily dwelling. In no case shall it be more than thirty (30) percent of the building's total floor area nor greater than eight hundred (800) square feet nor have more than two (2) bedrooms. B. The principal unit shall have at least 850 square feet of living space remaining after creation of the accessory apartment exclusive of garage area. Accessory apartments shall have at least 500 square feet of living space. Living space square footage for the accessory apartment shall be exclusive of utility rooms, common hallways, entryways or garages. Living space for the accessory apartment shall include a kitchen or cooking facilities, a bathroom and a living room. C. No front entrances shall be added to the house as a result of the accessory apartment perm it. D. The house must be owner-occupied. E. A minimum of three off-street parking spaces must be provided, two of which must be enclosed. F. The accessory apartment and principal unit must meet the applicable standards and requirements of the Shoreview's Development Code, Building Code, Ramsey County Health Codes and Fire Codes. G. The building and property shall remain in single ownership and title and shall only have one mailing address. H. Only one accessory apartment permit may be issued per detached single famil y home. Cottage Grove The City ordinance does allow for accessory apartments. They need to be within the owner occupied principal structure. Inspections are required with the modifications. 1.Accessory apartments. A. Purpose: The purpose of this entry is to permit the installation of no more than one accessory apartment in an existing single-family dwelling. Because this opportunity is allowed in neighborhoods with established recreation facilities, utility systems, parking, traffic patterns and architectural character, the installation and use of accessory apartments must be strictly controlled to avoid adverse physical, social, economic, environmental and aesthetic impacts. By allowing only those accessory apartments that are in compliance with all of the performance standards of this entry, the character and quality of existing neighborhoods will be protected. B. Permit Procedures: (1) Permit Required; Application; Fee: No one shall install an accessory apartment without first having obtained a permit from the director of community development. Application for the permit shall be made on such form(s) as may be designated by the director of community development and shall be accompanied by the required permit fee, established by city council ordinance. (2) Issuance Or Denial Of Permit; Appeals: Within ten (10) working days after receiving the application, the director of community development shall review the application and inspect the property to determine whether or not the proposed accessory apartment meets the perfor mance standards. He/she shall deny or approve the application based upon a statement of findings relative to the standards. The decision to issue or deny the permit may be appealed to the planning commission. (3) Renewal Of Permit: The permit shall be renewed biennially, subject to an inspection and the permit renewal fee. (4) Revocation Of Permit; Appeals: Violation of the performance standards shall be grounds for revocation of the permit. Notice of intent to revoke the permit shall be sent by the director of community development to the permit holder, stating the grounds for revocation. The holder of the permit shall have ten (10) days from the receipt of the notice to file an appeal to the planning commission. Failure to file an appeal within ten (10) days forfeits any challenge to the revocation. At the expiration of the ten (10) day appeal period, the permit shall be revoked. Operation of the accessory apartment shall cease within sixty (60) days from the date of revocation. C. Performance Standards: (1) All remodeling for the addition of the accessory apartment shall be on the inside of the structure. Exceptions to this condition will be made only if the applicant submits exterior elevation drawings determined by the director of community development to be architecturally compatible with adjacent structures. (2) At least four (4) paved off street parking spaces shall be available on the site, in a location other than in a required front yard. (3) Detached accessory structures shall not be converted to living space. (4) Both the principal and accessory unit must meet the applicable standards of the building code. (5) The owner(s) of the residence in which the accessory unit is created shall occupy at least one of the dwelling units on the premises, except for temporary absences. (6) No more than ten percent (10%) of the single-family dwellings in any one block may contain an accessory apartment. A "block" shall be interpreted to be an area enclosed on its perimeter by streets. In some cases, a block may also be bordered by a body of water or a municipal boundary line. (7) If the dwelling utilizes an on site sewage disposal system, additional capacity shall be added to the system if needed for the accessory unit. All systems shall be inspected by a licensed contractor or inspector prior to issuance or renewal of the accessory apartment permit. The system shall be pumped as necessary. (8) House numbers shall be placed on the principal structure to indicate that the structure contains an accessory apartment. Andover Andover does not allow dwelling units separate (in a different structure) from the principal structure. We do allow “mother-in-law apartments” within the principal structure as long as there is access to the “mother-in-law apartment” through an unlocked door. Columbia Heights The City’s Code does not specifically address Accessory Dwelling Units (mother-in-law apartments) in this context. I copied the section of code that deals with dwellings below: (D) Dwellings. (1) General requirements. The following standards shall apply to all dwelling units within the city: a. All single-family dwelling units shall be a minimum of 20 feet wide at the narrowest point. b. No accessory building or recreational vehicle shall be used at any time as a dwelling unit. c. basement dwelling (basements without upper floors) shall be used at any time as a dwelling unit. d. No more than three unrelated adults shall be tenants in any single dwelling unit. By the above standards, my interpretation would be that we would allow a mother-in-law type apartment as long as it was part of the principal structure on the lot. So if the home had a code compliant (Fire and Building Code) apartment in the attic or basement for example, this would be permitted. City Code would not allow for a dwelling unit to be located in an accessory structure. Inver Grove Heights The city council is just now looking at an ordinance amendment to allow accessory dwelling units. We received a zoning application from a resident who wanted to covert a detached structure into an ADU and that’s what kicked off our discussion. The City’s Housing Committee has had the topic on their list of things they would like the council to look at, so the issue has come up here before we received an application. I have attached a draft ordinance that the Council considered for the first reading last night. Our ordinance language is taken from many other metro cities that allow these. Nothing ground breaking here. I found info from Bloomington, Shoreview, Richfield, Roseville, Apple Valley, Eagan, Farmington, Lakeville and Plymouth. One thing the Council added last night was that any detached ADU on a lot with well and septic, the ADU must utilize the same septic and well as the house. No separate systems allowed. Draft 1st Reading CITY OF INVER GROVE HEIGHTS DAKOTA COUNTY, MINNESOTA ORDINANCE NO._____ AN ORDINANCE AMENDING INVER GROVE HEIGHTS CITY CODE, TITLE 10, (ZONING ORDINANCE) CHAPTER 15 REGARDING ALLOWING ACCESSORY DWELLING UNITS (ADU) IN SINGLE FAMILY RESIDENTIAL ZONING DISTRICTS THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF INVER GROVE HEIGHTS ORDAINS AS FOLLOWS: Section One. Amendment. Title 10, Chapter XX, of the Inver Grove Heights City Code is hereby amended to read as follows: 10‐XX: ACCESSORY DWELLING UNIT: Accessory dwelling units (ADU) may be permitted as an accessory use to a single family  dwelling in the A, E‐1, E‐2, R‐1A, R‐1B and R‐1C zoning districts subject to the following:   1.  A rental license for the non‐owner‐occupied unit shall be required pursuant  to Chapter __ of City Code.     2.  Each accessory dwelling unit shall require a city registration pursuant to  requirements of City Code.  3.  An accessory dwelling unit shall be clearly a subordinate part of the single‐ family swelling.  In no case shall the ADU be more than 1000 square feet, nor less than  250 square feet.     4.  An accessory dwelling unit may be permitted within a detached accessory  structure provided the lot size on which the unit would be located is one (1) acre or  greater.      5.  A detached accessory dwelling unit may be allowed in a detached accessory  structure provided the detached structure’s gross floor areas is 1000 square feet or less  on lots less than or equal to 2.5 acres and 1,600 gross square feet or less on lots greater  than 2.5 acres in size.  In no case shall the ADU be more than 1000 square feet, nor less  than 250 square feet.     6.  No more than one accessory dwelling unit shall be allowed on a lot.    Ordinance No. _______  Page 2      2  7.  The property owner must reside in either the primary residence or the ADU as  their permanent residence.       8.  An ADU may not be subdivided or otherwise segregated in ownership from  the primary residence structure.   9.  The exterior design of an accessory dwelling unit shall incorporate a similar  architectural style, roof pitch, colors, and materials as the principal building on the lot,  and shall be compatible with the character of the surrounding residential buildings.      10. The total number of occupants in the accessory dwelling unit shall not  exceed three (3) persons.     11.  Lots with accessory dwelling units shall provide at least two (2) off‐street  parking spaces in addition to the one (1) off‐street parking space required for the  primary residence.      12.  Accessory dwelling units in combination with their associated single family  dwelling unit must conform to all city code requirements for single family dwellings,  including but not limited to setback, height, impervious surface and accessory structure  standards.     13.   The accessory dwelling unit and the associated single family dwelling unit  must meet current state building, plumbing, electrical, mechanical and Fire Code  provisions including fire emergency vehicle access to any accessory dwelling unit.     14.  A accessory dwelling unit in a detached accessory structure shall have a  separate address from the principal dwelling unit on the lot and shall be identified with  address numbers assigned by the City and pursuant to size and location regulations of  the city code.  Section Two. Amendment. Title 10, Chapter 2-2, DEFINITIONS, of the Inver Grove Heights City Code is hereby amended to add the following:   ACCESSORY DWELLING UNIT (ADU): A subordinate habitable dwelling unit,  which has its own basic requirements of shelter, heating, cooking and  sanitation, added to or created within a single‐family dwelling or  detached accessory structure.  Section Three. Effective Date. This Ordinance shall be in full force and effect upon its publication as provided by law. Ordinance No. _______  Page 2      3 Passed in regular session of the City Council on the ____day of _______________, 2015. CITY OF INVER GROVE HEIGHTS By: ________________________________ George Tourville, Mayor ATTEST: ________________________________ , City Clerk 115.07 Accessory Dwelling Units (City of Kirkland Washington) One (1) accessory dwelling unit (ADU) is permitted as subordinate to a single-family dwelling; provided, that the following criteria are met: 1. Number of Occupants – The total number of occupants in the principal dwelling unit and the ADU combined shall not exceed the maximum number established for a single-family dwelling as defined in KZC 5.10.300. 2. Owner Occupancy – One (1) of the units must be the principal residence of the property owner(s). 3. Subdivision – Accessory dwelling units shall not be subdivided or otherwise segregated in ownership from the principal dwelling unit. 4. Scale – a. Attached ADU: The square footage of the accessory dwelling unit shall not exceed 40 percent of the primary residence and accessory dwelling unit combined. If the accessory unit is completely located on a single floor, the Planning Director may allow increased size in order to efficiently use all floor area. Garages, sheds and outbuildings are excluded from the square footage calculation for the primary residence and the ADU. b. Detached ADU: 1) An accessory dwelling unit will be considered to be “detached” from the principal unit if it has any of the following characteristics: a) It does not share a common roof structure with the principal unit. b) It is not integrated into the footprint of the principal unit. c) The design is inconsistent with the existing roof pitch, siding treatment, and window style of the principal unit. 2) The square footage of the detached ADU shall not exceed the lesser of 800 square feet of gross floor area or 40 percent of the primary residence and accessory unit combined. Garages, sheds and outbuildings are excluded from the square footage calculation for the primary residence and the ADU. When calculating the square footage of the ADU see KZC 5.10.340, definition of “gross floor area.” The gross floor area shall not include: a) Area with less than five (5) feet of ceiling height, as measured between the finished floor and the supporting members for the roof. b) Covered exterior elements such as decks and porches; provided, the total size of all such covered exterior elements does not exceed 200 square feet. See KZC 115.08 for additional size and height limitations. 5. Location. The accessory dwelling unit may be added to or included within the principal unit, or located in a detached structure. Detached structures must conform with the setbacks, height restrictions, lot coverage and other applicable zoning regulations required for single-family dwellings in the applicable use zone; provided, that an accessory dwelling unit shall not be considered a “dwelling unit” in the context of Special Regulations in Chapters 15 through 60 KZC which limit the number of detached dwelling units on each lot to one (1). 6. Entrances. The primary entrance to the accessory dwelling unit shall be located in such a manner as to be clearly secondary to the main entrance to the principal unit and shall not detract from or alter the single-family character of the principal unit. 7. Parking. There shall be one (1) off-street parking space provided for the accessory dwelling unit. 8. Small Lot Single-Family and Historic Preservation Subdivisions. Accessory dwelling units are prohibited on lots smaller than the required minimum lot size approved using the small lot single-family and historic preservation subdivision regulations contained in KMC 22.28.042 and 22.28.048. 9. Applicable Codes. The portion of a single-family dwelling in which an accessory dwelling unit is proposed must comply with all standards for health and safety contained in all applicable codes, with the following exception for ceiling height. Space need not meet current International Building Code (IBC) ceiling height requirements if it was legally constructed as habitable space. 10. Permitting a. Application 1) The property owner shall apply for an accessory dwelling unit permit with the Building Department. The application shall include an affidavit signed by the property owner agreeing to all the general requirements outlined in this section. In the event that proposed improvements in the accessory dwelling unit do not require a building permit, a registration form for the unit must be completed and submitted to the Planning Department. 2) The registration form as required by the City shall include a property covenant. The covenant must be filed by the property owner with the City for recording with the King County Department of Records and Elections to indicate the presence of the accessory dwelling unit, and reference to other standards outlined in this section. The covenant shall run with the land as long as the accessory dwelling unit is maintained on the property. 3) If an ADU was or is created without being part of a project for which a building permit was or is finaled, an ADU inspection will be required for issuance of an ADU permit. The ADU inspection fee will cover a physical inspection of the ADU. This fee will be waived if the ADU existed on January 1, 1995, and the ADU permit is applied for by December 31, 1995. b. Eliminating an Accessory Dwelling Unit – Elimination of a registered accessory dwelling unit may be accomplished by the owner filing a certificate with the Planning Department, or may occur as a result of enforcement action. c. Appeals. The decision of the Planning Official is appealable using the applicable appeal provisions of Chapter 145 KZC. .300 Family One (1) or more persons (but not more than five (5) unrelated persons) living together as a single housekeeping unit. For purposes of this definition and notwithstanding any other provision of this code, persons with familial status within the meaning of Title 42 United States Code, Section 3602(k) and persons with handicaps within the meaning of Title 42 United States Code, Section 3602(h) and RCW 35A.63.240 will not be counted as unrelated persons. “Adult family homes,” as defined by RCW70.128.175, shall be included within this definition of “family.” Facilities housing individuals who are incarcerated as the result of a conviction or other court order shall not be included within this definition of “family.”