Ald. Manaa-Hoppenworth Co-Sponsors Additional Dwelling Unit Expansion Ordinance
Ald. Manaa-Hoppenworth has signed on as a co-sponser of the Additional Dwelling Unit (ADU) Expansion Ordinance.
In 1957, regulations such as density limits and parking requirements were added to the zoning code, effectively outlawing conversion units (basement/garden apartments) and coach houses. In 2020, the City Council passed the Additional Dwelling Unit (ADU) ordinance. This ordinance established five pilot areas around the city in which these previously outlawed housing types would be exempt from the 1957 regulations and limits. The entire 48th ward was included in this pilot program.
Ald. Manaa-Hoppenworth is co-sponsoring an ordinance to expand this program. Review the ADU Expansion Ordinance summary below to learn more about the proposed changes to the original ADU ordinance:
Background
In 2020, the City Council passed the Additional Dwelling Unit (ADU) ordinance. This ordinance established five pilot areas around the city in which certain housing types–basement/garden and attic apartments (“conversion units” under the ordinance) and coach houses–which have historically been common in many city neighborhoods but were largely outlawed by regulations added to the zoning code in 1957 (i.e. density limits and parking requirements) are permitted and exempt from the aforementioned density limits and parking and open space requirements in the zoning code which would otherwise prohibit them. The five ADU Pilot Areas were drawn with the intention of including a representativecross-section of different neighborhood housing market types throughout the city.
Within these established ADU Pilot Areas, the 2020 ordinance allowed owners of residential properties with Residential (“R”) zoning that are at least 20 years old that contain 1-4 dwelling units to add either a conversion unit or a coach house, and owners of buildings containing 5+ dwelling units to add conversion units within the existing building envelope to increase the total number of dwelling units in the property by up to 33% (zoning lots that contain a residential property with 5 or more units are not eligible to have a coach house and no zoning lot may contain both a conversion unit and a coach house). Dwelling units added through the ADU ordinance are exempt from certain density limits, parking requirements, and open space requirements which would otherwise prohibit them.
Since the passage of the ADU Pilot ordinance, the Department of Housing (DOH) has issued 504 preapprovals for ADUs.
Summary of Changes in Draft ADU Expansion Ordinance
The proposed ADU expansion ordinance makes several changes to the initial ordinance passed in 2020 which are summarized below:
Eliminates the five pilot areas allowing conversion units and coach houses that conform to both the regulations established in the ordinance and building code citywide
Amends the 2020 ordinance by allowing ADUs in residential properties within Business (“B”) and Commercial (“C”) districts (previously ADUs were only allowed within Residential (“R”) zoning districts)
Under the proposed ordinance, both conversion units and coach houses in RS-1 and RS-2 districts would require a Special Use from the Zoning Board of Appeals
Under the proposed ordinance, outside of the B2 Neighborhood Mixed-Use District, a conversion unit would only be permitted below the second floor of a multi-story building if the ground floor is occupied by at least 40% of front property line-adjacent commercial space
Removes the requirement for ADU applicants to send written notice to adjacent property owners, but requires either written notice from the applicant or electronic notice to the local alderman
Removes the prohibition in the original ordinance on the establishment of a conversion unit and coach house on the same zoning lot while specifying where a coach house can be established on a zoning lot within a B or C district (within the rear 30 feet of the lot depth)
Allows the Zoning Administrator to grant an administrative adjustment to waive accessory parking requirements and removes the separation requirement between a principal residential building and coach house to more easily allow for the establishment of a coach house on lots with substandard depth
Eliminates the square footage caps on coach houses established in the original 2020 ordinance
22 ft height limit and 3 ft interior lot line separation requirements in original ordinance are maintained to ensure adequate fire safety (i.e. CFD access to second floor units and to avoid utility line conflicts)
Extends the minimum lot area (MLA) per unit and open space requirement exemptions which in the original ordinance only applied to R-zoned properties–to B-and C-zoned properties
Open Space Impact Fee (OSIF) would apply to the establishment of coach houses
Eliminates the unit cap for coach houses which in the original ordinance limited a coach house to only one dwelling unit.
