ADU rules in West Fargo

West Fargo's zoning code (Title IV) has no accessory dwelling unit use: the phrase never appears, and a detached accessory building may not be lived in. Accessory buildings in residential districts are capped at 1,000 sq ft and one story or 15 ft (Sec. 4-442), and Sec. 12-0714 (Ord. 1256, 2025) makes it a class B misdemeanor to reside or sleep in a building not designed or designated for residential occupancy. The only detached route is a second principal single-family house: Sec. 4-444 lets more than one principal structure stand on a lot 'in any district' if each meets the yard and other requirements 'as though it were on an individual lot', so the lot must be big enough to be two conforming lots (6,000 sq ft and 60 ft of width each in R-1A, 5,000 sq ft and 50 ft in R-1, for example), and each house needs street frontage and must meet the single-family dwelling standards (at least 900 sq ft on the main floor for a one-story house). In the R-R district the 1-unit-per-3-acres density cap applies, and city staff relied on it in 2024 to refuse a second house on an occupied lot.

There is no attached or internal ADU either, but adding a second unit inside or onto a house is lawful where a two-family dwelling is a permitted use: R-1 (One and Two-Family), R-1S, R-1SM, R-2 and R-3 (Secs. 4-423.2, 4-423-A.2, 4-423-B.2, 4-424.2, 4-425.2), plus the downtown DMU district, where all but three listed uses are permitted. Title IV defines a two-family dwelling as 'a detached residential building containing two dwelling units', and any separate housekeeping unit with its own cooking and sleeping facilities is a dwelling unit, so a basement or addition apartment turns the house into a duplex of two co-equal units. The lot must meet the two-family minimums: 7,000 sq ft and 70 ft wide in R-1; 6,000 sq ft and 60 ft in R-1S and R-1SM; 6,000 sq ft and 50 ft (lots created before 1970) or 60 ft in R-2 and R-3. In the single-family districts (R-L1A, R-1A, R-1B, R-1E, R-R) and the A district only single-family dwellings are allowed, and a use variance is barred, so a second unit there needs a rezoning or a PUD.

Because West Fargo regulates a second unit only as part of a duplex or as a second full house, there is no ADU floor-area or percent-of-house cap. A two-family dwelling is limited by lot and bulk standards: 35% coverage and 30 ft height in R-1 (Sec. 4-423.4), 45% and 30 ft in R-1S (4-423-A.4), 45% and 35 ft in R-1SM (4-423-B.4), and 40% and 30 ft in R-2 and R-3 (4-424.4, 4-425.4), with coverage counting the main building and all accessory buildings. A second detached house is a principal building, so it gets principal setbacks and height, and the single-family dwelling definition sets a minimum, not a maximum: 22 ft minimum width and depth, a 4:12 pitched roof and 900 sq ft of main-floor living space for a one-story house. For comparison, Sec. 4-442 caps every detached accessory building in a residential district at 1,000 sq ft (1,600 sq ft in R-R; larger only by conditional use in R-1E and R-R) and one story or 15 ft.

No ADU exists for an owner-occupancy rule to attach to, and neither lawful route carries one: two-family dwellings and single-family dwellings are listed as permitted uses with no residency condition. Title IV's definition of a dwelling unit (amended by Ord. 1254 in 2025) expressly covers three tenures, owner occupancy, rental or lease 'on a monthly or longer basis', and a licensed short-term rental, so the owner may live elsewhere. North Dakota has no statute that imposes or preempts ADU owner occupancy.

Table 4-1 (Ord. 1244, 2024) lists only 'Dwelling, single-family: 2 per DU' and multifamily (1 per efficiency or one-bedroom unit, 2 for two or more bedrooms); two-family dwellings are not listed, so the City Planner either applies the most similar listed use or sets the ratio from national parking references under the unlisted-uses clause (printed as Sec. 4-453.3). Sec. 4-452.2 requires additional spaces for 'any increase in the number of dwelling units'. Required spaces must be on the same lot, and for one- and two-family dwellings they must be in a garage, in the rear or side yard, or on the driveway leading to the garage (Sec. 4-455.1). A licensed short-term rental separately needs at least 2 off-street spaces open to guests (Sec. 10-1604(3)).

Where a second unit is possible, it is a permitted use handled through a building permit with no hearing: two-family dwellings in R-1, R-1S, R-1SM, R-2 and R-3 and single-family dwellings in every residential district are listed permitted uses, and Sec. 4-531 requires a building permit for any erection, addition or structural alteration, with the application stating 'the number of families, housekeeping units, or rental units the building is designed to accommodate' (Sec. 4-532). The City Commission approves the building-permit list as a routine item at each meeting. Elsewhere there is no administrative path: Title IV allows variances 'only for height, area, and size of structure or size of yards and open spaces' and bars any variance establishing a prohibited use, so a second unit in R-1A, R-1B, R-L1A, R-1E, R-R or A takes a rezoning or a PUD, both decided by the City Commission after a Planning and Zoning Commission hearing.

The Title IV dwelling-unit definition names rental or lease 'on a monthly or longer basis' as a normal use, and Titles V and X contain no long-term rental registration or licensing chapter. Chapter 10-16 (Ord. 1254, adopted 11-3-2025, effective 7-1-2026) bars operating any dwelling unit in the city's zoning jurisdiction as a short-term rental without an annual license from the City Auditor: a fire safety and compliance inspection, $500,000 liability insurance, at least 2 off-street parking spaces, occupancy set by bedroom size, no parties, the license number in every listing, and mailed notice to owners within 150 ft; the license is not transferable. The fee resolution of 11-3-2025 sets a $150 application fee and fines of $250, $500 and $1,000, and the city's STR FAQ (v4, 6-30-2026) says owner occupancy is not required and STRs are allowed in any licensed dwelling unit, including rooms within a unit. Because two-family dwellings are permitted 'including condominiums and two-unit townhouses', and twin homes on separate lots are a listed form, a duplex unit can be split off for separate sale through a condominium or a lot split meeting the twin-home minimums.