ADU rules in McCall

A detached backyard ADU is allowed outright in every McCall residential zone. Table 3.3.02 lists 'Dwelling unit, accessory (including guesthouses)' with a P (permitted) in RR, RE, R1, R4, R8 and R16, and MCC 3.8.11.01(B) says an ADU 'shall be separate from, a part of, or added to the principal dwelling unit', which covers the detached form. One ADU is allowed per lot as subordinate to an existing principal dwelling, or on a property that already holds a development permit for one, and more are possible only through the Local Housing Density Bonus Program in 3.8.21. ADUs do not count toward development density under 3.8.11.01(C), so no extra lot area is needed beyond the zone's minimum for the principal dwelling.

Attached and internal ADUs are treated the same as detached ones: MCC 3.8.11.01(B) allows a unit that is 'a part of, or added to the principal dwelling unit', and the 3.2.02 definition covers a unit 'either within or attached to the principal residence or in a detached structure'. One important local gloss: the City Planner's Administrative Determination of 9-24-2021 holds that 'Only dwelling units that do not share internal access with the primary residence will be considered accessory dwelling units', so a basement or garage conversion that keeps an interior stairway or door to the main house is not an ADU at all but an ordinary remodel needing only a building permit. A converted space with its own entrance and no interior connection is an ADU and goes through administrative design review.

MCC 3.8.11.01(F) caps the ADU at 1,500 square feet 'unless the unit has been dedicated as a local housing unit', in which case the cap disappears. The parallel accessory-structure rule in 3.8.11(B) uses the same 1,500 square foot number with the same local-housing exemption. There is no percent-of-primary-dwelling formula and no separate ADU height cap: the zone's dimensional standards in Table 3.3.03 govern, which means 35 feet in RR, RE, R1, R4 and R8 and 50 feet in R16, with anything over 35 feet requiring a conditional use permit. Practical note: design review stays with the Administrator only for building heights under 30 feet in a residential zone.

McCall has never required the owner to live on site simply to have an ADU; MCC 3.8.11.01 contains no owner-occupancy condition. The one trigger was rental-specific: the second sentence of 3.8.11.01(I)(1) said that 'In the situation where there is a short-term rental on a property, either the accessory dwelling unit or the principal residence shall be owner occupied or a deed restricted local housing unit', mirrored in 3.13.09(C)(8). That sentence is struck by Ordinance 1038, the HB 583 conformity ordinance heard at the July 2, 2026 council public hearing, and it is independently unenforceable because Idaho Code 67-6539(2)(a)(i), as rewritten by 2026 ch. 22 effective 7-1-2026, forbids 'Requiring owner occupation for any amount of time' as a short-term-rental obligation. The American Legal code text still shows the deleted sentence because it is codified only through Ord. 1033 of 1-8-2026.

MCC 3.8.11.01(G) is a single sentence: 'Parking: No additional parking is required.' The vehicle parking schedule in Table 3.8.062 sets 2 spaces for a single-family or two-family dwelling and has no ADU line, so the ADU adds nothing to the site's requirement. This already sits below the floor Idaho set for larger cities in 2026, so nothing changes if McCall's population ever crosses the 10,000 threshold in Idaho Code 67-6541(6).

ADUs are a permitted use, not a hearing item. Table 3.3.02 marks 'Dwelling unit, accessory (including guesthouses)' P in all six residential zones, and MCC 3.8.11.01 conditions them only on Chapter 16 design review, which MCC 3.16.03(A)2(n) assigns to the Administrator: accessory dwelling units are on the list of applications the Administrator reviews and decides without public notice or a hearing. Two routing exceptions to watch: the Administrator 'shall have the discretion of placing applications on the planning and zoning commission's consent calendar' where compliance is uncertain, and the city's Single Family Residential Development Guide notes that a structure otherwise eligible for administrative review but taller than 30 feet goes to the Commission. In commercial zones Table 3.4.02 lists 'Dwelling, accessory' as A (administrative permit) in NC and P in CC and CBD.

MCC 3.8.11.01(I)(1) allows an ADU to be leased or rented on obtaining 'a business license for rental pursuant to Title 4 BUSINESS REGULATIONS'. Short-term rental is where 2026 changed everything. McCall ran one of Idaho's strictest STR regimes: an annual STR permit and fee under Title 4 Chapter 13, a McCall Fire District inspection, mailed notice to owners within 300 feet, occupancy capped at 2 per bedroom plus 2 with a conditional use permit above 10 persons, and the owner-occupancy tie in 3.8.11.01(I)(1) and 3.13.09(C)(8) when an ADU and a primary residence shared a lot. Idaho Code 67-6539, rewritten by H0583 (2026 ch. 22, signed 3-16-2026, effective 7-1-2026), bars all of that: subsection (5) says no city 'shall require a license, fee, permit, certification, or registration to operate a short-term rental', and subsection (2)(a) lists owner occupation, inspections, notices to neighbors, extra parking, day limits, numeric caps and conditional use permits in residential zones as forbidden. McCall's own June 2, 2026 notice to operators says HB 583 'prohibits the City from requiring operational permits or registrations for short-term rentals after July 1, 2026', the council directed staff on 6-19-2026 to stop enforcing the conflicting sections, and Ordinance 1038 repealed Title 4 Chapter 13 outright. The 8% local option tax on stays of 30 days or less still applies, and generally applicable noise, nuisance, parking and traffic rules still apply under 67-6539(6).