ADU rules in Nicholasville

Nicholasville's zoning ordinance has no accessory dwelling unit, accessory apartment or garage apartment use. In the single-family districts (R-1A through R-1F) the only accessory buildings allowed are one detached private garage plus a shed, or up to two sheds, with a combined 650 sq ft, and every principal residential building must sit on its own subdivided lot (§704). The R-1 districts also prohibit everything prohibited in A-1, which includes two-family dwellings, so a second house in the backyard is not allowed. The A-1 Agriculture district lists 'tenant homes, residences' only as accessories to working agriculture on 5-acre tracts, which is farm housing rather than an ADU.

No zone allows an accessory apartment inside a single-family home. The only route to a second unit in a house is a two-family dwelling (duplex), which is a by-right principal use only in the R-2 Two Family Residential district (8,000 sq ft minimum lot, or two lots of at least 3,429 sq ft split on a common wall). R-2 prohibits new single-family dwellings, so a lot must already be zoned R-2 or be rezoned through a Planning Commission hearing and City Commission ordinance. R-3 also keeps existing two-family dwellings. In the R-1 districts a resident family may take in up to two roomers or boarders, but that is not a separate dwelling unit.

Because the ordinance has no ADU use, there is no ADU floor-area cap. A two-family dwelling in R-2 follows the district's bulk rules: 8,000 sq ft minimum lot, 70 ft width, 25 ft front yard (50 ft on a state or federal highway), 6 ft side yards, 25 ft rear yard, 35 percent maximum lot coverage and a 35 ft height limit. In the single-family districts the detached garage and sheds together may not exceed 650 sq ft, must sit behind the back line of the house and 5 ft from other buildings and lot lines, and may not be used as a dwelling.

No owner-occupancy rule applies to the only available route, a two-family dwelling in R-2; both units may be rented. The ordinance's dwelling-unit definition contemplates owner occupancy or rental. The roomers-and-boarders allowance in the R-1 districts requires a resident family, but that is not a separate unit.

The parking schedule requires two off-street spaces for each unit of a single-family or two-family dwelling, so a duplex conversion in R-2 needs four spaces in total. The schedule also lists 'Accessory Dwellings' at two spaces per dwelling unit, but under the commercial heading, where it matches the apartments allowed above businesses in DB rather than any residential ADU use. Roomers or boarders need one space for every two.

Where a two-family dwelling is a permitted principal use (R-2), it needs a building permit issued by the Administrative Official under §320, with no Board of Adjustment hearing. Getting a single-family lot into R-2 is a different matter: it is a zoning map amendment that needs a Planning Commission public hearing and City Commission ordinance (Article 13). The R-1 districts have no conditional-use route for a second unit.

Nicholasville has no rental registration, rental licensing or short-term rental ordinance in its zoning ordinance or city code. Its dwelling-unit definition covers owner occupancy or 'rental or lease on a weekly, monthly, or longer basis.' Tourist homes are allowed only as a home occupation, which in the R-1A through R-2 districts is a conditional use needing Board of Adjustment approval. Hotels, motels and boarding or lodging houses are prohibited in the residential districts. Any rental of accommodations to transients, including one arranged through a booking platform, owes the city's 3 percent transient room tax under City Code §21-85.