ADU rules in Overland Park

Overland Park allows an accessory dwelling unit in only three districts: PRN Planned Residential Neighborhood (18.245.020 K lists 'Accessory dwelling units' as a permitted use), MXD Planned Mixed Use (18.275.020 P 'Accessory residential units', with the Type X Accessory Unit building type allowed in the Core, Center, General and Edge sub-zones under MUDS 4.4), and the Downtown Form District, whose Detached and Townhouse/Small Apartment frontages allow an Accessory Unit at the rear of the lot. The standard single-family districts (R-1, RP-1, R-1A, RP-1A, RP-1N, RE, RP-OE, RP-OS) and R-2 list no ADU use, and 18.390.140 L bars any building accessory to a family dwelling from being used for residential purposes, so a backyard cottage behind a house in those districts is not allowed. A full-text search of the code for 'accessory dwelling' returns only the PRN sections and the 2026 by-right chapter, and the Council's June 15, 2026 UDO policy paper still asked whether ADUs should be allowed in the City at all.

Attached and internal ADUs follow the same three-district map. In MXD, MUDS 4.4.12 and 4.4.13 let an accessory unit on a single-family lot be attached or detached from the main structure; in the Downtown Form District an Accessory Unit is defined as 'a building or addition for living purposes', and the Townhouse/Small Apartment frontage allows one English Basement unit or one accessory unit per lot; the PRN text permits 'accessory dwelling units' without specifying a form. Outside those districts there is no ADU use: a second unit with its own kitchen inside a house makes the building a two-family dwelling (18.110.225), which the single-family districts do not list.

Size limits depend on the district. In PRN only one ADU is permitted per lot, it must be at least 400 square feet, and it may not exceed 50% of the primary dwelling unit's square footage; accessory structures may not exceed the height of the main structure (18.245.030 B.2). In MXD the General and Edge sub-zones allow one accessory unit per main structure at no more than 50% of the main structure's furnished space excluding garages and basements, while the Core and Center sub-zones print 'No Applicable Standard'. In the Downtown Form District an Accessory Unit has a maximum footprint of 650 square feet (an English Basement unit may use the footprint of the main structure), and a side wing or ancillary structure is capped at 18 feet (measured to the eaves on Detached frontages).

None of the ADU provisions (18.245.050 I in PRN, MUDS 4.4 and 4.6 in MXD, the Downtown Form-Based Code frontage standards and definition, or the 2026 by-right Chapter 18.376) requires the owner to live on the property. A full-text search of the municipal code for 'owner occupied', 'owner-occupied' and 'owner occupancy' finds no zoning provision (the hits are a business definition, problem-property registration, the residential building code scope, and hunting and firearms sections). Kansas has no statewide ADU owner-occupancy rule either way. Renting a unit to anyone other than the owner's immediate family does require a city rental license under Chapter 5.75, which is a licensing step, not a residency test.

No section sets ADU-specific parking, so the district rates per dwelling unit apply. Section 18.430.150 requires 1 to 2 spaces per unit in PRN in Area A and 1 to 2.5 per unit in Area B of the Map of Parking Rates, and a project outside the range must provide Demand Reduction Amenities. MXD follows MUDS 7.1: no minimum (maximum 2 per dwelling unit) in the Core sub-zone and a minimum of 1 and maximum of 2.5 per unit in the Center, General and Edge sub-zones, with adjacent on-street spaces countable toward the minimum. The Downtown Form District requires one reserved space per residential unit plus a quarter space of shared parking, which may be provided within 1,300 feet walking distance (DFD 703). Counting an ADU as a 'unit' under these tables is a reading of the code rather than an express ADU rule.

Where the district allows an ADU, approval is administrative. Ordinance ZRR-3527, adopted on the September 14, 2026 consent agenda to implement Kansas SB 418, added Chapter 18.376: housing developments 'including single-family homes, townhouses and accessory dwelling units (ADUs)' that meet the UDO criteria 'shall be approved by-right' without Governing Body or Planning Commission review; the Director decides, a complete application is deemed approved unless denied within 30 days, and a denial can be appealed to the Planning Commission or to district court under K.S.A. 12-760. In the Downtown Form District all development also needs a Certificate of Conformity from the Director (DFD 204). The discretionary steps sit upstream: PRN and MXD are planned districts reached only by rezoning with a preliminary development plan, and in PRN 'any changes in the type of dwelling units' proposed for a block is a substantial change requiring a public hearing (18.140.200 A.2.m).

Chapter 5.75 requires a rental license before any 'Dwelling, or portion of a Dwelling' is offered for rent to anyone other than the owner and the owner's immediate family; licenses are issued and renewed biennially, and the city conducts an exterior inspection of the premises before issuing or renewing one (5.75.110). The code contains no short-term rental zoning, permit or primary-residence rule: Charter Ordinance No. Ninety-Nine (effective 10-4-2020) treats a short-term rental advertised through an online platform as a 'hotel, motel or tourist court' for transient guest tax purposes, and Ordinance TGT-3530 (adopted September 14, 2026, effective October 1, 2026) levies that tax at 9% on transient guests staying no more than 28 consecutive days. Nothing provides for selling an ADU separately; the by-right chapter defines an ADU as subordinate to the primary dwelling 'on the same lot'. The state's World Cup short-term rental window under 2026 HB 2481 expired 7-25-2026.