ADU rules in Paterson

Paterson's Land Development Ordinance has no accessory dwelling unit provision and bans habitation in accessory buildings outright. In all residential zones, § 500-3.6.B.1 states that no accessory building or structure shall be used for human habitation, and § 500-3.4 adds that no lot in an R-1 or R-2 zone shall contain more than one principal building or use unless specifically permitted, and that no building used as a one or two family dwelling may be constructed, altered or moved in the rear of another building on the same lot. The § 500-2.2 residential use schedule lists no accessory dwelling row for R-1 through R-4 or R/C-3 and ends with the catch-all that any use not specifically listed as permitted shall be deemed prohibited. In non-residential zones § 500-3.6.C.4 permits an accessory building to be used for dwelling purposes only for watchmen, caretakers or other domestic employees whose work relates to the principal building.

No attached, internal or basement accessory dwelling category exists. The § 500-2.2 schedule permits one-family detached dwellings in R-1 through R-4 and two-family dwellings in R-2, R-3 and R-4 as principal uses, while the only permitted accessory uses in residential districts are private garages, carports and greenhouses, swimming pools, home offices, home businesses (R-3 and R-4 only), family child day care homes and antennas. Section 500-3.15 allows a basement apartment only where the basement floor sits no more than three feet below grade and bars occupying a cellar for dwelling purposes at any time, but that is a habitability limit on a dwelling unit the district already allows, not authority for an extra unit. Adding a second unit inside a house is therefore treated as a conversion to a two-family dwelling, which is possible in R-2, R-3 and R-4 (and as a two-family townhouse in R/C-3) subject to the bulk schedule and to § 500-3.19's rear exterior access stairwell for all new two-family dwellings, while § 500-2.1.A strictly prohibits two-family dwellings in R-1 and any conversion of residential dwellings into them.

Section 500-3.6.B.2 caps accessory buildings and structures in residential zones at 15 feet in height, and B.3 caps floor or ground area at 500 square feet or one-third of the first floor ground area of the principal building, whichever is lesser; B.1 forbids human habitation in them, so this envelope is not an ADU envelope. Where an added unit is lawful as part of a two-family dwelling, the § 500-2.3 bulk schedule governs instead (R-2 two-family: 5,000 sq ft minimum lot area, 50 ft lot width, 20 ft front and 20 ft rear setbacks, 35 feet and 3 stories maximum height, 40% lot coverage), and § 500-3.9 sets minimum floor area per dwelling unit for apartments at 300 sq ft for an efficiency, 600 for one bedroom, 900 for two, 1,100 for three and 1,300 for four.

No owner-occupancy standard for accessory units exists, because the ordinance authorizes no accessory dwelling unit to attach one to. Owner occupancy does carry weight elsewhere in Paterson's rental law, and a homeowner adding a lawful second unit will meet it in three places: § 175-2 excludes from 'housing space' a two-family dwelling in which the owner occupies one unit and rents the other, so an owner-occupied two-family needs no certificate of re-rental approval on turnover; § 381-3E applies rent leveling to owner-occupied dwellings only at three or more units, against two or more when the dwelling is not owner-occupied; and § 275-18A exempts an owner-occupied home where the owner is present from the Eastside unattended short-term-rental ban.

Section 500-7.3 sets residential off-street parking by reference to N.J.A.C. 5:21 (the Residential Site Improvement Standards) together with its own Schedule of Required Off-Street Parking for Residential Uses, whose 'One and Two-Family Dwellings' rows carry the per-unit ratios above. The same section requires a reviewing board to accept alternative standards where an applicant shows they better reflect local conditions, listing household characteristics, availability of mass transit, urban versus suburban location and the availability of off-site parking sources as factors. Because Paterson recognizes no ADU use, there is no reduced, waived or transit-proximity ADU parking rule; a second unit counts in full.

There is no ADU permit path at all. Every use needs a Zoning Permit from the Zoning Officer under § 300-1.1.A before any construction permit or certificate of occupancy issues, and § 300-1.3.C directs that a Zoning Permit application for a use not specifically listed as permitted in a particular zone district shall be denied, with the Zoning Officer stating what approvals or variances would be needed. For an accessory dwelling that means a use variance from the Zoning Board of Adjustment under § 200-2.2.D, the local restatement of N.J.S.A. 40:55D-70(d), which requires special reasons, a showing of no substantial detriment to the public good under § 200-2.2.F, and five affirmative votes. The § 300-3.1 fee schedule prices a residential use variance at $500 plus escrow of $1,000 for lots under 3,000 sq ft or $2,500 at or above that. By contrast, converting to a two-family dwelling where the zone permits it is an ordinary administrative Zoning Permit, with Planning Board site plan review only if otherwise triggered.

Chapter 187, Conversions, Illegal (adopted 8-6-1985 by Ord. No. 85-068), defines an impermissible unit as a residential unit for which no certificate of occupancy has been issued, one in excess of the number of such units for a particular building or zone under the Zoning and Land Development Ordinance, or one created without the required plumbing, electrical or building permits (§ 187-1); § 187-2 bars renting or suffering occupancy of one, § 187-3 makes the landlord pay the displaced tenant's moving and relocation expenses, security deposit and pro rata rent, and § 187-4 sets $100 to $1,000 fines or up to 90 days in jail with each day a separate violation. A unit that is lawful as half of a two-family dwelling can be rented long term, subject to a certificate of re-rental approval before each new tenant takes possession (§ 175-3), which an owner-occupied two-family escapes under the § 175-2 definition of housing space, and to rent leveling under Chapter 381 where the dwelling has three or more units when owner-occupied or two or more when it is not (§ 381-3E). Short-term rental is regulated only geographically: §§ 275-17 and 275-18 (added 4-9-2024 by Ord. No. 24-023) ban rentals of 28 or fewer consecutive days inside the Eastside area bounded by 11th Avenue, East 43rd Street and McLean Boulevard, 20th Avenue and Vreeland Avenue and East 33rd Street, except in an owner-occupied home where the owner is present, with fines up to $2,000 per day.