ADU rules in Shawnee

Shawnee's zoning ordinance (SMC Title 17) has no accessory dwelling unit use in any district. The Table of General Use Regulations (§ 17.51.010) lists single-family detached dwellings as the only residential use in the AG, R-1, PSF, RS and RE/CE districts and states that a blank cell means 'Use not permitted'; there is no ADU, accessory apartment, guest house or similar row. The definition of 'Accessory' (§ 17.04.001, Ord. 3386, 2021) adds that no residential building 'shall be considered as accessory to any other residential building except as is expressly provided', and no section expressly provides one. Residential accessory structures are limited to garages, tool sheds, pools, tennis courts and similar structures (for example R-1 § 17.20.030(D)), with one accessory building or structure used for storage per lot in the residential districts (§ 17.60.010(B)).

There is no attached or internal ADU category either. A dwelling unit is 'a building, or part thereof, containing complete housekeeping facilities for only one (1) family' (§ 17.04.106), so a second unit with its own kitchen inside or attached to a house turns it into a two-family dwelling, which § 17.51.010 permits only in the DU (Duplex) district. The single-family districts instead allow 'Keeping not more than one (1) transient boarder or roomer' as an accessory use (R-1 § 17.20.030(A), and likewise in AG, RE, RS, PSF and the age-restricted PSF-AR), which is a lodger within the household rather than a separate unit. Ord. 3419 (2022) also prohibits co-living groups (four or more unrelated adults) and rooming houses in R-1 (§ 17.20.040(I)).

Because Title 17 authorizes no ADU, it sets no ADU size standard. The only caps on backyard buildings are the accessory structure limits in § 17.60.010(C), which govern garages, sheds and similar structures that the code does not allow as dwellings: on residential lots of one acre or less, 250 square feet for each 3,000 square feet of lot area up to 1,000 square feet, covering no more than 30% of the required rear yard and never exceeding the total finished living area of the house. Lots between one and 4.99 acres add 250 square feet per additional acre (pro rata for fractions), and lots over five acres are capped only by the house's finished living area. Structures of 250 square feet or more must meet the district's side and rear setbacks, smaller ones sit at least 5 feet from side and rear lines, and all go in the rear yard (§ 17.60.010(A)).

Shawnee allows no ADU of any form, so no owner-occupancy rule exists. Title 17 contains no owner-occupancy requirement for any accessory use, including the one-boarder allowance in the single-family districts. Kansas has no statute that requires or preempts ADU owner occupancy.

With no ADU use there is no ADU parking standard. Section 17.70.030(B)(1) requires 'Two (2) spaces per dwelling unit' for single-family, duplex, multiple-family and mobile home park uses, and § 17.70.030(A)(2) sets the same ratio for residential use on agricultural land, so a second unit created lawfully as a duplex in the DU district needs two more spaces. Kansas has no ADU parking preemption.

No ADU permit path exists. A special use permit can be granted only for uses the Table of General Use Regulations marks 'S' in a district (§ 17.88.020(A)), and the table has no ADU row; an unlisted use is matched by interpretation to a similar listing (§ 17.51.010), and the closest listed use for a second household unit, the two-family dwelling, is permitted only in DU. Adding a unit therefore means rezoning (to DU, or a planned unit development under Chapter 17.54) through a Planning Commission hearing and Governing Body vote. Kansas 2026 SB 418 (the by-right housing development act, approved 4-7-2026) requires by-right approval of ADUs that meet 'the criteria outlined in the zoning code and land use regulations', but it does not create an ADU use where the local code has none, so it changes nothing in Shawnee until the city adds one.

Chapter 5.71 (Ord. 3483, 2024; effective March 26, 2024 per the city) defines a short-term rental as 'a residential premise, or portion thereof, used for lodging accommodations to occupants for a period of less than thirty (30) consecutive days' and bars operating one without a city license. The license number must appear on every listing, an agent within 40 miles must accept service, occupancy is capped at two adults per bedroom plus one (10 persons maximum), events are prohibited, and licenses are non-transferable and run October 1 to September 30. The city's licensing page describes the rule as covering properties 'renting the entire premises for less than 30 days', while the code text also reaches a portion of a premises. Long-term rental needs no business license, but Chapter 15.24 subjects single-family rental property that draws three or more violation notices in 12 months to an interior inspection; renting rooms is limited by the one-boarder accessory use and the R-1 ban on co-living groups and rooming houses.