ADU rules in Waukee

Waukee's zoning code (Chapters 165 to 169) never mentions accessory dwelling units: no definition, no use listing and no standards. Iowa Code 364.3(23) fills the gap on its own terms: the city 'shall allow a minimum of one accessory dwelling unit on the same lot as a single family residence', and the definition expressly includes a detached unit, including one that is part of a detached garage. Since 7-1-2026 (SF 2369) the right applies in every district where a single-family residence is an allowed principal use, which in Waukee means A-1, AR, R-1 and R-2 (and dwellings in planned developments). The city has started to conform through its building code: Ord. 3189 (6-15-2026) adopts the 2024 IRC including Appendix BC, Accessory Dwelling Units.

An attached or internal ADU (basement apartment, addition, conversion) is equally protected: the statute defines an ADU as a unit 'either attached to or detached from the single family residence'. The local text that would otherwise block one sits in the rental code, not zoning: §156.10 (re-enacted by Ord. 3190) says a single-family zoned address may have only one kitchen, one electric, gas or water meter, and no walls separating the house into more than one unit. Applied to an ADU those criteria conflict with 364.3(23) and are void to that extent under 364.3(23)(d). R-2 separately allows converting a single-family house into a two-family dwelling.

Ord. 3189 amends IRC Appendix BC101.2 condition 5.1 to read: 'An accessory dwelling unit shall not exceed 1,000 square feet or 50% of the size of the single-family residence, whichever is larger', matching 364.3(23)(a)(2). Since 7-1-2026 (SF 2369) unfinished basements are excluded from the ADU's size and 'size' means the house's gross living area excluding garages, decks and unheated porches; the city text does not say so yet, but the statute controls. The zoning limits on accessory buildings (14 ft and one story in §165.06(4) and the district tables, 30 percent of the yard area, six feet from the house with no breezeway, materials similar to the house) are stricter than the house rules (40 ft or 3 stories in R-1) and cannot be applied to an ADU under 364.3(23)(b)(1); the house's own setbacks and height govern.

No Waukee ordinance requires the owner to live on the property with an ADU, and Iowa Code 364.3(23)(b)(4) bars any requirement that the property owner be a resident or that the occupants be related. Ord. 3189 deletes several of the model Appendix BC conditions (BC101.2(3), (5.2) to (5.3) and (7)) rather than adopting them. Owner occupancy matters only to the rental code: an owner-occupied single-family home is outside the rental certificate program (§156.02(1)).

Waukee's parking table requires 2 spaces 'per dwelling unit' for a single-family dwelling and has no ADU row. Iowa Code 364.3(23)(b)(3) forbids requiring 'additional parking beyond that required for a single family residence or payment of a fee in lieu', so the lot needs only the house's 2 spaces; any reading of the per-dwelling-unit rule that would add spaces for the ADU is void.

An ADU goes through the ordinary building permit (§166.03, 'No building or other structure shall be erected ... without a permit issued by the administrative official') and certificate of zoning compliance (§166.05), now under the 2024 IRC and its ADU appendix (Ord. 3189). There is no ADU hearing or special exception in the code. Iowa Code 364.3(23)(c) requires approval 'without discretionary review or hearing' on the single-family timeline, with any denial in writing stating the remedy.

Chapter 156, re-enacted by Ord. 3190 on 6-15-2026 (2024 IPMC), says no person shall rent 'any dwelling unit or any portion of any dwelling unit ... unless they hold a valid rental certificate', with inspections every three years and fees from the city fee schedule. That general program is lawful under 364.17 and 364.3(23)(b)(2). The rental-unit definition exempts 'a dwelling unit that intends to be rented for a period of 90 days or less in a single calendar year', and no Waukee ordinance regulates short-term rentals specifically; Iowa Code 414.1(1)(e) bars any such regulation and any short-term-rental licence or fee. Waukee's code has no separate-sale rule for ADUs.