ADU rules in Sarasota

An ADU may be created by constructing a detached accessory dwelling unit on a zoning lot with an existing detached or attached single-family dwelling, or by building a new dwelling with a detached ADU. Detached ADUs are capped at 24 feet in height, must be screened with landscape buffer A or a solid wall or fence where they encroach into a setback, and must match the character of the principal dwelling as closely as reasonably possible. By definition an ADU shares its zoning lot with a detached or attached single-family dwelling. The residential structure-type tables list the ADU as permitted in RSF-E, RSF-1 through RSF-4, RSM-9 and RTD-9 (Table VI-202) and also in the multiple-family, several commercial, downtown, urban mixed-use and Missing Middle overlay districts (see caveats).

ADUs may be created by converting existing living area, attic, or garage; by adding floor area to the living area or garage of an existing single-family dwelling; or by constructing a new dwelling with an internal ADU. Additions must match the principal dwelling in exterior finish, roof pitch, trim, windows, and eaves, and the ADU may not have its own separate entrance on the front facade of the principal dwelling.

The size of the accessory dwelling unit may be no more than 650 square feet of floor area, and by definition an ADU is always smaller than the principal dwelling. Detached ADUs have a separate 24-foot height cap. ADUs do not count toward maximum density.

Only in the RSF-E and RSF-1 through RSF-4 zones: either the principal dwelling or the ADU must be owner-occupied, with owner occupancy determined by homestead status, and the building permit applicant must file an affidavit agreeing to reside in one of the units. Subsection (2.1) is expressly limited to those five zones, and the code states no owner occupancy rule for the other districts where ADUs are permitted, including RSM-9, RTD-9, the multiple-family, commercial, downtown and urban mixed-use zones, and the Missing Middle overlay.

No additional parking space is required for an ADU created on a lot with an existing single-family dwelling when at least one abutting street allows on-street parking. One additional space is required when no abutting street allows on-street parking or when the ADU is built at the same time as the house. ADUs never need off-street parking in the DTN zone (Sec. VII-602(cc)(3)c.2), in any of the five downtown zones (Sec. VII-206(8)b), or in RTD-9 (Sec. VII-206(10)a.2).

Accessory dwelling units are listed with a P (permitted use) in the residential structure-type tables for the single-family zones (Table VI-202), the multiple-family zones (Table VI-302), the CND, CSD, CRD, CGD and CSC commercial zones (Table VI-502), the WFR and CRT zones (Table VI-702), all five downtown zones (Table VI-1002), the MU-1 to MU-3 urban mixed-use zones (Table VI-1102) and the Missing Middle overlay (Table VI-906), subject to Sec. VII-602(cc). The one exception is the Governmental (G) zone, where Table VI-702 lists an ADU as a major conditional use. Approval otherwise runs through a building permit; the ordinance frames its affidavit requirements around the applicant for a building permit, not a hearing.

In the RSF-E and RSF-1 through RSF-4 zones, the building permit applicant for a new ADU must file an affidavit stating that if the ADU is rented, it will be rented at an affordable rate to persons with a household income at or below 120 percent AMI. Citywide, residential tenancy must be arranged for periods longer than one week; stays of a week or less are treated as transient lodging, not a residential use (Sec. II-304(b)), and the city's vacation rental page states a 7-night minimum stay. Chapter 34.5 of the City Code requires a vacation rental certificate of registration, inspection and occupancy limits for dwelling units rented for less than 30 days in the single-family and multiple-family zones, but does not apply where the owner resides on the property and is present on site during the stay (Sec. 34.5-2). Sec. VII-602(cc) itself states no minimum lease term.