Dunn County PR&D plans for Accessory Dwelling Unit standards to be in place by spring
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By LeAnn R. Ralph
MENOMONIE — If all goes according to plan, property owners in Dunn County will be able to start building Accessory Dwelling Units by the time construction season starts this spring.
Zoning staff have discussed the various standards in the draft ordinance three times, said Anne Wodarczyk, Dunn County zoning administrator, at the Dunn County Planning, Resources and Development Committee’s December 20 meeting.
The purpose of the ADU ordinance is to provide a broader range of opportunity for housing as family needs change and for the efficient use of existing infrastructure, Wodarczyk said.
The ordinance allows no more than one ADU per lot and would allow three different kinds of ADUs: Attached Accessory Dwelling Units; Detached Accessory Dwelling Units; and Junior Accessory Dwelling Units, Wodarczyk said, noting that any of the ADUs would have to be smaller than the primary dwelling.
The Junior Accessory Dwelling Units (JADU) could be either attached or detached, but could be no more than 500 square feet. Communication from the chair of the Town of Sherman states that 500 square feet might be too restrictive and that 750 square feet would be better, she said.
The Detached Accessory Dwelling Unit (DADU) would be 1,500 square feet of living area and would be a stand-alone structure separate from the principal structure, Wodarczyk said.
The Attached Accessory Dwelling Unit (AADU) is physically connected to the principal dwelling and must share at least one common wall and be structurally interdependent, she said.
“Living areas” would include the interior habitable area of a dwelling unit and would include basements but not attached garages, Wodarczyk said.
Square footage
The DADU and AADU must be smaller than the primary dwelling unit, but is that square footage or footprint? asked Mike Kneer, county board supervisor from Menomonie and a member of the PR&D committee.
Square footage or footprint would essentially be the same thing, Wodarczyk said.
Kneer noted that his house has a footprint of under 1,000 square feet, but the house has a second story, so the square footage is double the footprint.
Would the upstairs be included in the square footage for an ADU? he wondered.
The ADU size includes the interior habitable living area, so where a two story house is concerned, the main level and the upper level would be included in the square footage, and the ADU would have to be smaller than the square footage, said Tracie Albrightson, Dunn County zoning specialist.
In other words, the footprint of the ADU could be larger than the primary dwelling but it could not contain more square footage than the primary dwelling, Kneer said.
Duplexes
ADUs would be allowed for single family residences, so the zoning office is proposing updates for other zoning ordinances to better define single family dwellings, Wodarczyk said.
A definition also should be added to distinguish a duplex from an ADU addition, she said.
The ADU would be an independent living area for one or more people, and that would be different than a bedroom with a bathroom, Albrightson said.
A duplex is a separate dwelling unit, Wodarczyk noted.
Whether it is an addition or an attached ADU, it would be the same to the neighbors, Kneer said.
People could have an attached ADU in any zoning district that allows single family residences as long as it is not a duplex. When it is called an ADU, the Uniform Dwelling Code applies. The UDC standards require a certificate of occupancy before people can move in, Wodarczyk said.
Kneer asked about having two bedrooms in an ADU, whether attached or detached.
Michelle Hrdlicka would have to look at the situation to make sure the existing septic system is large enough to support more bedrooms, Wodarczyk said.
Hrdlicka is a planner/enforcement officer with Dunn County zoning who is the main contact for Private Onsite Wastewater Treatment Systems (POWTS).
Too large?
Kneer said that when he and his wife were first married, they lived downstairs in their farmhouse, and the living space was 900 square feet.
Having a 1,500 square foot ADU does not seem like it would be a subordinate dwelling, but rather, seems more like another house, he said.
The JADU is an interesting concept, but the 1,500 square foot ADU seems like it could be rented out as as AirBNB, Kneer said.
The junior Accessory Dwelling Unit can be attached or detached, so could it be built in the corner of an existing pole shed? he asked.
“Yes,” Wodarczyk said.
There are “a lot” of what would be considered ADUs already out there, Kneer said.
Dunn County zoning would want to get those into compliance since many of them “were built under the radar.” Sometimes people said there would be no bedrooms in an addition, and then they put in bedrooms, Wodarczyk said.
“We want to make it easier for them to comply with the ordinance,” she said.
Future use
The ADUs would be allowed for family, such as parents or children, but what about in the future if there was no family involved? asked Gary Bjork, county board supervisor from Colfax and a member of the PR&D committee.
If new owners buy the property, then the ADU could be rented out to anyone, he said.
“We need to look farther into the future,” Bjork said.
The standards for ADUs in the draft ordinance require occupancy by the property owner, either occupancy of the ADU or the primary dwelling, Wodarczyk said.
If the ADU is living quarters with a kitchen, then how is it different from a duplex? Bjork asked.
If the ADU is attached, it must be smaller and no more than 1,500 square feet. If the house is 1,000 square feet, then the ADU must be smaller than 1,000 square feet. If the house is 2,000 square feet, the ADU can be no more than 1,500 square feet, Wodarczyk said.
Duplexes are already allowed in Residential 2 and Residential 3 in Dunn County, and a duplex would be similar to an ADU but also different, she said.
Would the owner occupancy apply when the ADU is built or “forever,” asked Monica Berrier, county board supervisor from Menomonie and a member of the PR&D committee.
During the permitting process, it would be documented where the owner would be living, whether in the primary residence or the ADU. If Dunn County received a complaint that there was no owner living on the property, then zoning could enforce the ordinance, Wodarczyk said.
State statute does limit how much the county can limit occupancy, she noted.
Some advocates for ADUs argue against owner occupancy, and it is not universally required, said Diane Morehouse, county board supervisor from Menomonie and a member of the PR&D committee.
In some places, up to 35 to 40 percent of the housing is being bought by equity investors, said Tom Quinn, county board supervisor from Downing and chair of the PR&D committee.
If owner occupancy is not required, equity investors could buy up available housing in Dunn County and build ADUs to create another housing unit that could be rented, he said.
Not requiring owner occupancy would make housing in Dunn County a more enticing investment for equity investors, Quinn said.
There also could be an issue with “snowbirds” [people who go to a warmer climate for the winter], but that could be addressed in future drafts of the ordinance, Wodarczyk said.
Use chart
Wodarczyk included a use chart with the draft ordinance.
According to the chart, in Residential 1, attached Junior Accessory Dwelling Units would be a permitted use and detached Junior Accessory Dwelling Units would be by special exception, requiring the application to go before the Dunn County Zoning Board of Appeals.
Attached ADUs and Detached ADUs would not be allowed in R1 districts.
All of the ADUs — attached and detached and attached and detached junior ADUs — would be permitted uses in Residential 2, Residential 3 and General Agriculture districts.
The maximum size for an attached ADU and a detached ADU would be 1,500 square feet, and the maximum size would be 500 feet for an attached or detached junior ADU. In all cases, the ADU would have to be smaller than the primary dwelling.
The detached ADUs, whether regular or junior, could be no more than 300 feet from the principal structure.
The maximum height for all ADUs would be 35 feet, while the rear yard for all ADUs would have to be at least 25 feet, and the side yard would have to be at least 10 feet.
General ag
Bjork said he was not against attached ADUs but said he believed detached ADUs would detract from the rural character in General Agriculture areas.
An attached ADU for living quarters would not present a problem, but a detached ADU is more complicated, he said.
In GA zones, the ADUs would be keeping the rural character because it would not be taking land away from agricultural uses and using it for residential uses, and the ADU would have to be within 300 feet of the main house, Wodarczyk said.
If someone has a 40-acre parcel, the 300 foot requirement keeps the housing clustered, she said.
If someone has a 40-acre parcel, and ADUs are not allowed in GA, the landowner could do a land division and build a separate house. The ADU does not require a separate driveway, and the same septic can be used if it works, Albrightson said.
If it was a land division, then the town board could veto the land division, and the local officials would have more local control, Bjork said.
Land division
Land division does not deal with land use, said Tom Carlson, Dunn County surveyor.
If someone wants to make a four-acre parcel, the town board cannot deny the land division as long as it complies with the land division ordinance, he said.
The landowner can do any of the uses permitted under the zoning district, Carlson said.
The Town of Otter Creek, for example, has a five-acre minimum lot size, so someone could split off 40 acres into five parcels and have five smaller lots with houses, and those lots with houses could be sold to various owners, Albrightson said.
But if the landowner can have an ADU on the 40 acres, then the 40 acres can remain intact and still be used for farmland, she said.
General Ag districts have had the most interest to have family members living there, and 300 feet would keep the rural character and would minimize the rental aspects by keeping the primary dwelling and the ADU together, Traxler said.
Purpose and intent must be kept in mind. The ADUs are intended for family, but if committee members think the ADUs will become rental units, then the purpose statement must be changed to reflect more flexibility, she said.
More noticeable
Kneer pointed out that on his property, he has a barn and other outbuildings, and a detached ADU probably would not be very noticeable to the neighbors.
There are other houses on three or four acres, however that have no trees and no outbuildings, so a 1,500 square foot detached ADU would be more noticeable. There areas where there are several houses in a row on three, four or five acres, he said.
If the primary dwelling is on a farm, then an ADU would not create much of a change, but if there were many houses in a General Ag area where there are no farm buildings, then detached ADUs would change how the area looks, Kneer said.
There will be rentals, and the AirBNBs will happen if either the ADU or primary residence are not required to be owner occupied, he said.
Rentals could be regulated if they were seven days or fewer, Berrier said.
Under state statute, Dunn County could regulate short-term rentals, and a section could be added and kept separate from the ADU ordinance, Wodarczyk said.
Many farms have hired help and are renting a farmhouse down the road. ADUs could be an important economic benefit for a farmer, Quinn said.
Farming operations already can have two residences on one parcel if the annual income from the farming operation for someone living in the second residence is $7,000 or more.
The two Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) in the Colfax area rent houses in town, and one also uses a converted schoolhouse as farm laborer housing, Bjork said.
