ADU rules in Yukon

Yukon's Unified Development Code (Chapter 215, adopted as Ord. 1438 effective August 2023) lists an accessory dwelling unit in its permitted use table but leaves every district column blank, and the table footnote says ADUs 'are not allowed by right in any zoning district' and 'may be approved as a part of a PUD or SPUD.' A PUD (5 acres or more) or a simplified PUD (under 5 acres) is a rezoning heard by the Planning Commission and decided by the City Council, so no ordinary residential district (A, R-1, R-2, R-3, RR) allows a backyard cottage on its own. The code defines the ADU as a dwelling 'erected as an accessory structure to a principal dwelling unit,' that is, a detached unit, and caps it at one per parcel where a PUD or SPUD allows it.

No attached ADU use exists: the only ADU the code defines is a detached accessory structure, and it is allowed only through a PUD or SPUD rezoning. A two-unit house is possible by right as a 'Dwelling, duplex' (a building containing two dwelling units on one lot), which the permitted use table marks P in the R-2 (medium density) and R-3 (multifamily) districts; R-1, A and RR allow only single-family detached homes. In R-2 the lot must have at least 7,000 sq ft and 3,500 sq ft per unit, and duplexes must meet the Sec. 215-509.A design standards (durable exterior materials, no plain concrete block or corrugated metal, garage placement).

The UDC sets no floor-area limit specific to an ADU; because one can exist only inside a PUD or SPUD, the size would be fixed by that district's master design statement. The general accessory-building rule in residential districts limits all accessory buildings to 'four percent of the square footage of the lot or ten percent of the square footage of the house,' within 40 percent total lot coverage (the code's own illustration shows 240 sq ft on a 6,000 sq ft R-1 lot), no taller than the house, with an extra foot of setback per foot over 10 ft and an absolute 30 ft cap. A duplex unit on the by-right R-2 or R-3 route has no unit-size cap, only district bulk rules (35 ft height; 50% coverage in R-2, 60% in R-3).

Nothing in the UDC requires the owner to live on the property. Sec. 215-306.C.1 requires only that 'the principal use and accessory use shall be under the same ownership,' and C.2 exempts an approved ADU from the shared utility meter rule. A PUD or SPUD could add its own conditions in its design statement, and Oklahoma has no statute on ADU owner occupancy either way.

Table L.1 of the parking section lists 'Accessory dwelling unit; Dwelling, above the ground floor' at 1 space per dwelling unit, which applies to an ADU approved inside a PUD or SPUD. On the by-right duplex route in R-2 or R-3, the table requires 2 spaces per dwelling unit. Orphaned conditional-use standards in Sec. 215-308.B.1 would also have an ADU take access from the alley or use the existing driveway cut without widening.

On the only route an ordinary homeowner has, a duplex in R-2 or R-3, the use is permitted by right ('P') and needs only a building permit and plan review. An actual ADU needs a PUD or SPUD rezoning: the Planning Commission holds a public hearing after 15 days' published notice and recommends, and the City Council holds its own hearing and decides, with a three-fifths council vote needed if 20 percent of nearby owners protest; the city's development guide adds that every rezoning must be platted. Sec. 215-308.B.1 still prints conditional-use standards for an ADU (corner lot or alley access, one per lot), but no district column in the use table carries a 'C' for it, so that path is not available.

The UDC has no rule barring long-term rental of an ADU or a duplex unit. Short-term rentals ('no more than 30 consecutive days') are an 'SP' use in the A, R-1, R-2, R-3 and RR districts and the Urban Core Overlay: the owner needs a pre-inspection, a Planning Commission hearing and City Council approval of a special use permit, then an annual short-term rental license from the City Clerk under Chapter 18, Article VI, with life-safety inspections. The permit expires if the property is sold, guests must stay at least one night and no more than 30 days, events and amplified sound are banned, and operating without the permit and license costs $200 to $650 per day. There is no primary-residence requirement and no separate-sale rule.