ADU rules in Beatrice

Beatrice's Zoning Ordinance has no accessory dwelling unit use and no guest-house or second-dwelling route. Single-family residential is defined as the use of a site for one dwelling unit, Section 705 allows more than one structure on a lot only for non-residential, townhouse and multiple-family uses, and the residential accessory uses listed in Section 608(B) (garages, recreation, home occupations, garage sales) do not include a dwelling. Section 405 prohibits every use not listed as permitted or permitted by Special Use Permit, so a backyard cottage with its own kitchen is not allowed in any district.

There is no attached or internal ADU use, but a Duplex (two dwelling units within a single building on one lot) is permitted by right in the R-3 Urban Family Residential, R-4 Multiple-Family, RC Residential-Commercial and O Office districts, so a house there can be converted to or built as two units if the lot meets the site area per unit (3,000 sq ft per unit in R-3, 2,750 in R-4, 2,500 in RC and O). Duplexes are not allowed at all in the AG, RR, R-1 and R-2 districts, which cover most single-family neighborhoods, so an internal second unit is unavailable there.

Because Beatrice has no ADU use, the code sets no ADU floor-area cap. Detached accessory buildings in R-1 to R-4 are limited to 1,200 sq ft combined (1,800 sq ft with a Special Use Permit), two per site and 18 ft to the ridge (22 ft with a Special Use Permit), and can only serve the accessory uses Section 608(B) lists, not a dwelling. A duplex has no unit-size cap; it is controlled by site area per unit, building coverage (40 percent in R-1 and R-2, 50 percent in R-3 and R-4) and height.

No ADU standard exists to impose owner occupancy, and the Duplex use (the only lawful second unit inside a building) carries no owner-occupancy condition in Article Three, Table 4-2 or Article Six. The 'family' definition limits each dwelling unit to no more than three unrelated persons, which applies to both units of a duplex.

Article Nine requires 2 off-street spaces per dwelling unit for single-family detached houses and 1.5 spaces per dwelling unit for duplexes, so converting a house to a duplex means providing 3 spaces in total. No ADU-specific parking rule exists because the code has no ADU use.

Where a duplex is permitted by right (R-3, R-4, RC, O), the route is a building permit and a certificate of zoning compliance from the Building Official under Section 1306, with no hearing. No permit route of any kind exists for a detached dwelling or for a second unit in AG, RR, R-1 or R-2, where only a rezoning would open the duplex use; Special Use Permits (decided by the Planning and Zoning Commission after a public hearing under Section 1303) cover only larger or taller accessory buildings, not a dwelling.

Nothing in the zoning or city code restricts long-term rental of either unit of a duplex, and the city code has no rental registration or licensing chapter. Article Three defines Bed and Breakfast as 'conversion of a structure or group of structures for lodging use, including Airbnb', and Table 4-2 makes it permitted by right in AG, RC, O, LC, GC and CBD but only by Special Use Permit in RR, R-1, R-2, R-3 and R-4. City Code §24-109 to §24-111 levy a 3 percent lodging occupation tax on hotels, a term that includes a bed and breakfast or tourist home, for stays up to 30 days. Neb. Rev. Stat. 18-1758(2) and (6) bar a city from effectively prohibiting short-term rentals and require land-use rules to treat them like similar property, so the residential Special Use Permit requirement may be preempted.