ADU rules in Wichita

Wichita's zoning code (the joint Wichita-Sedgwick County Unified Zoning Code) calls an ADU an 'Accessory Apartment', defined as an accessory dwelling unit that 'may be wholly within, or may be detached from, a principal Single-Family Dwelling Unit' (Sec. II-B.1.b). Sec. III-D.6.a(1) allows one per lot, built as or within an accessory building. In SF-5 and TF-3, the districts that hold most single-family lots inside the city (SF-10, SF-20 and RR are intended for unincorporated areas), and in MH and NO, it is a Conditional Use that needs a Metropolitan Area Planning Commission public hearing. It is permitted by right in MF-18, MF-29, B, GO, NR, LC, GC and CBD, and not allowed in OW, IP-A, IP, LI or GI. A detached unit must also meet the accessory-structure setbacks and height limit of Sec. III-D.7.e.

The same definition covers a unit 'wholly within' the house (basement, attic or addition), and Sec. III-D.6.a(1) allows the unit to be 'within the Main Building'. The approval path is identical to a detached unit: a Conditional Use with an MAPC hearing in SF-5, TF-3, SF-10, SF-20, RR, MH and NO, and by right in MF-18, MF-29, B, GO, NR, LC, GC and CBD. Under the current text the host must be a single-family dwelling; an accessory apartment on a duplex lot is not provided for (the pending DER2025-00022 amendment would add duplexes).

Sec. III-D.6.a sets no square-footage or percentage-of-house limit on an Accessory Apartment. A detached unit is an Accessory Structure under Sec. III-D.7.e (RR through MH): 5 ft from the rear lot line or 10 ft from an alley centerline, no more than half of any required rear or side yard, at least 3 ft from the house, not nearer the street than the house, and no taller than 60 percent of the district height limit (35 ft in SF-5 and TF-3, so 21 ft) unless it meets the principal-structure setbacks. Because single-family districts handle it as a Conditional Use, the Planning Commission ties approval to the submitted site plan, which fixes the footprint case by case. The pending DER2025-00022 amendment would cap ADUs at 1,000 sq ft inside the Established Central Area and require every ADU to be smaller in floor area than the principal dwelling; the City Council had not adopted it as of 2026-10-08.

No provision requires the owner to live on the property. Sec. III-D.6.a(3) requires only common ownership: the unit 'shall remain accessory to and under the same ownership as the principal Single-Family Dwelling Unit, and the ownership shall not be divided or sold as a condominium.' A full-text search of the UZC for 'owner occupied' finds the phrase only in the short-term-rental rule (Sec. III-D.6.qq) and the Bed and Breakfast Inn definition. The standard conditions MAPC attached to accessory-apartment approvals in August 2026 repeat the same-ownership rule without any residency requirement, and Kansas has no ADU owner-occupancy statute.

The off-street parking schedule in Sec. IV-A.4 lists 'Accessory Apartment: One per accessory apartment' on top of one space per single-family dwelling, so a lot with an ADU needs two spaces. MAPD applies it that way: the 8-13-2026 staff report for CON2026-00086 says 'the applicant would be required to provide two (2) parking spaces'. Development in the CBD and OT-O districts is exempt from the parking schedule (Sec. IV-A.1). The pending DER2025-00022 amendment would change the line to 'Accessory Dwelling Unit: None required'; Sedgwick County adopted that for the unincorporated area, but the City has not.

In SF-5, TF-3, SF-10, SF-20, RR, MH and NO an Accessory Apartment is a Conditional Use: an application with a detailed site plan, a public hearing before the Metropolitan Area Planning Commission after at least 20 days' notice, and a decision that may 'approve, approve with conditions or modifications, or deny' (Sec. V-D.4, V-D.6). Protest petitions or appeals filed within 14 days send it to the City Council; MAPD describes the process as 60 to 90 days. In MF-18, MF-29, B, GO, NR, LC, GC and CBD it is permitted by right, subject to the III-D.6.a standards and a building permit. Kansas SB 418 Sec. 1(c)(1) (effective 7-1-2026) says ADUs meeting 'the criteria outlined in the zoning code' 'shall be approved by-right, without the need for discretionary review or approval by planning commissions'; MAPC kept hearing accessory-apartment conditional uses after that date (CON2026-00086 approved 9 to 1 on 8-13-2026), so the value follows the local text.

The UZC places no tenancy or lease-length limit on an Accessory Apartment; it bars dividing ownership or selling the unit as a condominium (Sec. III-D.6.a(3)) and requires water and sewer to come through the main dwelling's service (III-D.6.a(4)). Short-term rental is allowed in 'residential Dwelling Units and permitted Accessory Apartments' (III-D.6.qq(1)), but every unit needs an annual $225 City license under Chapter 3.40, with $250,000 liability insurance, a responsible party reachable 24/7 who can be on site within 30 minutes, and the license number on every listing. An owner-occupied STR (the owner's primary residence, with the owner on site during stays) is allowed by right; a non-owner-occupied STR in SF-10, SF-5, TF-3, MF-18 or MF-29 needs an Administrative Permit with notice to abutting owners, and a protest by more than half of them sends it to a Conditional Use hearing.