In these strange times and accessory dwelling unit can have many uses. They can produce extra needed income, serve as an isolation space, act as a studio space or home office, provide affordable housing, encourage multigenerational dwelling. I am creating a series of blog posts to help navigate through the design, construction and regulations issues related to creating an ADU. I hope that these will be helpful for those contemplating an ADU on their property.
This first post will go through the planning and regulations for an ADU. Here is a link to A Guide To Accessory Apartments in Charlottesville, VA. This is a very helpful document that goes through the procedures for planning an ADU. This is specific to the zoning regulations of Charlottesville, but that is where STOA Design + Construction is based. Other jurisdictions will have similar guidelines, though they may not have a document such as this that easily explains the local zoning and planning regulations. We can help walk you through the steps to plan, design and build your accessory apartment. Due to the small scale of these projects, they are easier to construct while dealing with restrictions due to COVID-19.
The first step is determining whether or not you want or are allowed and attached (Interior Accessory Apartment) or a detached structure (Exterior Accessory Apartment). They both have restrictions as to how big the ADU can be. In both cases the owner of the property will have to reside in the main unit or the accessory unit in most jurisdictions. You will not be able to rent out the whole property according to the zoning laws of most municipalities. An interior accessory apartment will have to have a seperate entrance and in many cases will have to abide by the building code which may include fire-rated assemblies separating the units. There are also size restrictions based on a calculation of the total floor area of the main house. Exterior accessory apartments will have to abide by zoning restrictions, such as setbacks and rear yard requirements. There is also a size restriction bases on the footprint of the existing house. This is a confusing process to follow, but the guide that I imbedded a link to does an excellent job in relating the restrictions and requirements for ADU’s. An architect will be able to help this process along as well.
I will leave you with this link to Dwell Magazine’s 29 Granny Flats That Put Guests Up In Style. It has some very nice modern ADU’s.