ADU rules in Independence

Section 4.05.J.2.f lets an ADU be attached to or detached from the primary dwelling, one per single-family or two-family lot of at least 5,000 sq ft. Which zones allow it was narrowed by Ordinance 2025-O-16 (second reading November 3, 2025), which revised the zones listing ADUs as permitted or conditional uses; as adopted it reportedly allows ADUs by right only in Residential Rural Estate (R-RE, 1-acre minimum lots), as a conditional use in Residential Large Lot Subdivision (R-LLS), and not at all in R-CVS, R-CPS and R-M. The online code has not absorbed that ordinance and still shows the 2020 table (permitted in R-RE, R-LLS and R-CVS, conditional in R-CPS and R-M), so the exact post-2025 zone split rests on the ordinance title plus contemporaneous reporting; the amended table (Attachment A) was not found posted.

Attached ADUs (inside or added onto the house) follow the same zone split as detached ones: after Ordinance 2025-O-16 they are by right only in R-RE and need a Board of Adjustment conditional use permit in R-LLS, and are not allowed in the conventional, compact or mixed subdivision zones where most city lots sit. An attached ADU may have only one entrance on the front of the house (a second entrance goes on the side or rear) and must meet primary-structure setbacks. The zone split is read from the ordinance title and reporting because the amended use table was not found online.

An ADU may be no larger than 75 percent of the primary dwelling's living area or 800 square feet, whichever is less, and may not exceed the height of the primary structure. It counts toward the cumulative accessory floor area limits (in R-RE and R-LLS, accessory buildings may cover at most 50 percent of the rear yard), and the lot must be at least 5,000 square feet. Ordinance 2025-O-16 did not touch these numbers; it changed the zones and added the residential character standards.

The property owner must live in either the primary dwelling or the ADU. The text sets no end date, so the requirement is ongoing rather than only at application.

Table 10.1 requires one off-street parking space per accessory dwelling unit, in addition to the primary home's requirement (2 spaces beyond any garage spaces for a detached single-family home, or 4 where no on-street parking exists).

Where Table 4.1 marks the ADU "P" (R-RE after Ordinance 2025-O-16) it is a use by right needing only a zoning permit, subject to the Section 4.05 standards; where it is "C" (R-LLS) it needs a conditional use permit from the Board of Adjustment after a hearing under KRS 100.237, and the Board may attach conditions. The split between by-right and conditional zones holds under both the codified 2020 table and the 2025 amendment; only which zones fall where changed.

Nothing bars long-term rental of an ADU, but because the owner must occupy one of the two units, only one can be rented. Short-term rental of an ADU is allowed only where short-term rentals are permitted; an owner-occupied short-term rental is a conditional use (Board of Adjustment) in every residential district, while non-owner-occupied short-term rentals are barred in R-RE, R-LLS, R-CVS and R-CPS. Stays are capped at 29 days, at least one night, and a short-term rental may be in the primary structure and one ADU. No separate sale of the ADU is contemplated (it must sit on the same lot as the principal use).