ADU rules in Fargo

Fargo's operative Land Development Code (Chapter 20) has no accessory dwelling unit use, and it gives no route to a second, detached dwelling on a house lot in any district. A 'House, Detached' is defined as a dwelling unit 'located on its own lot', a duplex must be 'a single structure', and §20-0703 lets a lot carry more than one principal building only for nonresidential uses and multi-dwelling (3+ unit) structures. A backyard cottage or garage apartment with its own kitchen would therefore need a lot split or a PUD rezoning. The August 2026 public review draft of the new LDC would allow ADUs, but only attached, internal, or inside an existing accessory building such as a garage. It has not been adopted.

Fargo has no ADU use. This value describes the duplex route: a house can become a duplex (two primary units in one structure) by right in SR-3, SR-4, SR-5, MR-1, MR-2, MR-3, UMU, NO, NC, MHP and DMU, and by conditional use in GO, LC and GC. Duplexes are not allowed in AG, SR-0, SR-1 or SR-2. The lot must also meet the district density cap for two units. Under SR-3's 8.7 units per acre, that works out to about 10,000 sq ft of lot for a duplex, so many SR-3 lots are too small. SR-4 (12.1 units per acre) needs about 7,200 sq ft and SR-5 (14.5) about 6,000 sq ft. Under the Dwelling Unit definition, a second kitchen makes the building a multi-dwelling structure unless the extra cooking facilities are 'clearly accessory', so an in-law suite with a kitchen counts as a second unit.

Because Fargo has no ADU use, it has no ADU floor-area limit. A duplex's two units are both 'primary dwelling units', so neither unit has a size cap. The structure is limited only by the district's dimensional standards: maximum density, maximum building coverage (40% of the lot in SR-3, 45% in SR-4, 50% in SR-5, 35% in MR districts), the setbacks and a 35 ft height limit (45 ft MR-2, 60 ft MR-3 and UMU). Detached accessory buildings such as garages may not exceed 15 ft in height in SR-1 through SR-5, MR and UMU, and their coverage may not exceed that of the principal building or 700 sq ft, whichever is greater. These limits do not apply to an ADU today, since a detached building may not hold a dwelling. The unadopted August 2026 draft would cap an ADU at 1,000 sq ft or 80% of the principal structure, whichever is smaller.

Fargo has no ADU use, so it has no ADU owner-occupancy rule. The duplex route that stands in for an attached ADU is a plain 'P' (by right) in Table 20-0401 with no use-specific standards, and Chapter 20 has no owner-occupancy requirement for either unit. The only 'owner occupied' text in Chapter 20 is the purpose statement of the UMU district (§20-0216), which imposes no occupancy requirement. North Dakota has no ADU statute, so state law neither requires nor forbids owner occupancy. The unadopted August 2026 draft would require an ADU to be 'occupied as a principal place of residence', which is not an owner-occupancy rule.

Off-Street Parking Schedule A requires 2 spaces per dwelling unit for all household living other than multi-dwelling structures, so converting a house to a duplex requires two more off-street spaces. A change of use must add parking 'in proportion to the extent of the change'. Residential development in the DMU (downtown) district is exempt from off-street parking, and residential development in UMU needs 1.25 stalls per unit. An Alternative Access Plan can modify the schedule. The unadopted August 2026 draft would require 1 space per unit for up to two units and no parking in its MX-3, MX-5 and MX-D districts.

Where the duplex route is available (SR-3, SR-4, SR-5, MR, UMU, NO, NC, MHP, DMU), it is a use permitted by right: the Building Official issues a building permit after checking the plans against the LDC and the building code, with no hearing. In DMU and UMU, the Zoning Administrator also does an administrative Site Plan Review (§20-0910). In the GO, LC and GC commercial districts, a duplex needs a conditional use permit, which goes to a Planning Commission hearing under §20-0909. Exterior work in the H-O Historic Overlay needs a Certificate of Appropriateness. No ADU permit type exists because the code has no ADU use.

Either unit of a duplex may be rented long term: the Municipal Code has no rental registration or licensing requirement for dwellings and no owner-occupancy rule. The LDC defines Household Living as tenancy 'arranged on a month-to-month or longer basis'. Shorter tenancies are 'transient lodging', and 'Lodging in a dwelling unit' rented on less than a monthly basis is classified as hotel or motel use in the Retail Sales and Service category. Table 20-0401 does not allow that category in AG, SR, MR, MHP or NO districts. Fargo has no short-term-rental permit, and the city's lodging-establishment health rules (Article 13-14) expressly exclude residential dwelling units. Rentals of fewer than 30 consecutive days are subject to the city's 3% lodging tax (Article 3-13). The unadopted August 2026 draft would prohibit using an ADU as a short-term rental.