ADU rules in North Wildwood

The ordinance states that conditional accessory apartments that are not located within a single-family detached dwelling unit are prohibited. This same prohibition appears verbatim in all three districts where accessory apartments are a conditional use (R-1.5, MC-1, MC-2), so a freestanding backyard cottage or detached ADU is not permitted anywhere in the city.

Accessory apartments (a single additional dwelling unit within a single-family detached dwelling, per the § 276-7 definition) are allowed only as conditional uses, and only in three zoning districts: R-1.5 Single-Family Residential (§ 276-15.1C(1), amended 10-17-2023 by Ord. No. 1916), MC-1 Motel Commercial 1 (§ 276-24E(1)), and MC-2 Motel Commercial 2 (§ 276-24.1E(1)). In each district they may be developed as an optional development scheme subject to enumerated standards: located inside the single-family detached dwelling, no studio apartments, one per lot, entrance on the front elevation or the front third of a side elevation, RSIS parking compliance, and ADA plus N.J.A.C. 5:94-3.14 accessibility and adaptability compliance. A full-text search of the code found no other district that lists accessory apartments.

The definition's 25% cap and 500 square foot minimum sit in tension with the MC districts' 40% cap; the district-specific 40% language is the later-adopted text (MC-2 added 4-16-2024). Verify with the zoning officer which controls in the motel commercial zones.

The full enumerated conditional-use standards for accessory apartments in § 276-15.1C(1)(a) through (g), § 276-24E(1)(a) through (g), and § 276-24.1E(1)(a) through (g) were read in full and contain no owner occupancy requirement, and the § 276-7 definition imposes none. Note that units created under the city's affordable Accessory Apartment Program in § 276-90 carry income-eligibility tenant restrictions, but that is a rental restriction, not an owner occupancy rule.

The parking trigger is bedroom-count based, not a flat per-ADU space count; an accessory apartment that adds no bedrooms triggers no new RSIS parking demand under the ordinance text.

Accessory apartments are expressly listed under the heading 'Conditional uses permitted' in R-1.5 and 'Permitted conditional uses' in MC-1 and MC-2, and the R-1.5 purpose statement says the district exists 'to permit accessory apartments as a conditional use.' Conditional use approval in New Jersey runs through the planning board under N.J.S.A. 40:55D-67 (the statute the ordinance cites for its other conditional uses).

Market-rate (non-affordable-program) accessory apartments face no ordinance-stated minimum lease term; the 175-day threshold in § 344-2 only determines whether the rental permit requirement applies.