ADU rules in Coeur D’Alene

Coeur d'Alene has allowed ADUs citywide since 2007, and 17.06.650(B) permits them in all residential and commercial zoning districts as a subordinate use to a single-family dwelling; no conditional-use hearing is involved. A detached ADU may sit in the rear yard (18 foot height for a one-story unit, 24 feet above a detached garage with second-story step-backs) or within the principal building envelope at up to 32 feet. Existing detached garages and sheds may be converted if they can meet current building code (17.06.660(K)). One ADU is allowed per lot with an existing single-family dwelling.

Under 17.06.660(H) the ADU may be added to or included within the principal unit, including a basement conversion. Attached and internal units share the 800 square foot cap and may reach 32 feet when built within the principal building envelope. The house may present only one entrance per front or street side for the ADU (17.06.660(I)), and additions must match the principal dwelling's roof pitch, siding, and windows (17.06.660(J)).

Section 17.06.660(G) sets no minimum size, a maximum of 800 square feet of finished area (unfinished basements do not count), and a cap of 75 percent of the primary dwelling's total square footage excluding the garage. Height limits are 32 feet within the principal building envelope, 18 feet for a one-story rear-yard ADU, and 24 feet above a detached rear-yard garage (17.06.660(A)). The 800 square foot ceiling now sits below state law: Idaho Code 67-6541(2)(d), effective 7-1-2026, requires cities over 10,000 to amend their codes by February 1, 2027 to prohibit limiting ADU size to less than 1,000 square feet or 75 percent of the primary dwelling. Until that amendment passes, 800 square feet remains the operative local number.

The ADU code imposes no owner-occupancy requirement for ordinary long-term use; the only local trigger is short-term rental use, where 17.06.660(D) requires a majority owner to occupy either unit more than six months a year. That STR-linked clause became unenforceable on 7-1-2026: Idaho Code 67-6539(2)(a)(i) now lists requiring owner occupation for any amount of time among the forbidden different restrictions or obligations on short-term rentals. By February 1, 2027, 67-6541(2)(e) separately obliges the city to prohibit any owner-occupancy requirement for the primary dwelling or the ADU in its land use regulations.

Section 17.06.660(C) requires one parking space for the ADU beyond that required for the principal dwelling (the city's handout describes it as one ADU space plus two for the main house). Idaho Code 67-6541(2)(b) requires the city, by February 1, 2027, to prohibit requiring any ADU off-street or guest parking unless the principal dwelling unit does not have off-street parking, or the street is not paved and designed or constructed for on-street parking, or the principal dwelling is within one-fourth mile of transit, an employment area, or commercial services. The one-space rule remains the operative local text until that amendment. The extra parking space for STR-used ADUs in 17.08.1040(G)(2) is already unenforceable under 67-6539(2)(a)(vii), which bars requiring additional parking for short-term rentals.

ADU approval is administrative and ministerial: under 17.06.670(D), once the application shows compliance with 17.06.650 through 17.06.670, an accessory dwelling unit permit will be issued; there is no hearing or discretionary review. The owner applies with a signed affidavit, and approval requires recording a notice with the Kootenai County Recorder that runs with the land (17.06.670(A), (C)). The planning fee schedule before the council on 8-4-2026 lists ADU review at 150 dollars. This track already satisfies Idaho Code 67-6541(3), which since 7-1-2026 requires conforming ADU projects to be approved administratively and as a matter of right.

The ADU chapter was written with rental in mind (17.06.650(A)(1) cites rental income from either unit), and an ADU cannot be subdivided or sold separately from the principal dwelling (17.06.660(F)). For stays under 30 days, 17.06.660(L) routes owners to the short-term-rental article, ch. 17.08 art. X (Ord. 3594, 2017), which as printed requires an annual city STR permit, majority-owner or family occupancy of one unit more than six months a year, an impact fee before a post-2017 ADU may be an STR, and bars renting both units short-term concurrently. Idaho Code 67-6539, rewritten effective 7-1-2026, nullifies that scheme: no city may require a license, fee, permit, certification, or registration to operate an STR, and owner-occupancy ties, extra parking, inspections, signage, and neighbor notices are all forbidden. The city has caught up operationally even though the code text has not: the July 7, 2026 council minutes describe a voluntary registration system built following changes in state law that limit the City's ability to regulate short-term rentals, and the August 2026 fee resolution drops STR permit fees as a result of legislation. Read ch. 17.08 art. X as largely preempted text pending formal repeal.