ADU rules in Harmony

Harmony has no ADU use; its detached equivalent is the garage apartment, which Sec. 27-115.C permits as an accessory use by right only in the R-2, C-1 and C-2 districts: one apartment on the second floor of a garage used only for residential auto storage, with a deed covenant against later subdividing it off onto a nonconforming lot. It is not listed for R-1, which Sec. 27-107 says contains most of the land and the bulk of the housing in the borough and is designed exclusively for single-family use, so most homeowners cannot build one. In R-2 a second dwelling building on the same lot is also contemplated by Sec. 27-115.A, subject to full yards and 20 feet between buildings and the two-unit cap.

The attached equivalent is the conversion apartment, defined as a dwelling unit established from a portion of a larger unit. It is a permitted principal use by right in R-2 (Sec. 27-109.A.6, also carried into C-1 by Sec. 27-110.A.1), but in R-1 and C-2 it is allowed only by Zoning Hearing Board special exception under Sec. 27-117.B.3, and only inside a single-family dwelling that existed before the ordinance was adopted (Ord. 372 of 2005). Because R-1 covers most of the borough, the ordinary route for most houses is a discretionary hearing.

Chapter 27 sets no maximum size for a conversion or garage apartment. The R-1 and C-2 special-exception standards require each conversion apartment to have at least 400 square feet, a private bathroom, separate cooking and food storage, and two means of egress, and allow up to four apartments in one converted single-family dwelling. A garage apartment must occupy the second floor of the garage building, yet every district caps accessory structures at 15 feet in height, so a two-story garage apartment building may need a variance or a zoning officer interpretation. Accessory structures must sit at least 10 feet from side and rear lot lines.

Neither the conversion apartment provisions (Sec. 27-109, Sec. 27-117.B.3) nor the garage apartment provision (Sec. 27-115.C) requires the owner to live on the property, at application or afterward. The only resident-owner language in the chapter applies to bed and breakfasts in the Historic Overlay District. The garage apartment deed covenant concerns subdivision, not occupancy.

The parking table in Sec. 27-118.C has no row for conversion or garage apartments; the residential rows it does have (single family dwelling; duplex, triplex or quadruplex; town house; apartment building) all require two spaces per dwelling unit, so the zoning officer would most likely require two more spaces for the added unit. On a single-family lot a garage and its access drive may count toward required parking. Sec. 27-117.A.2 also requires special-exception applicants to show the location and number of proposed parking spaces, and the Zoning Hearing Board may add conditions.

In R-2 (and C-1) a conversion apartment and, in R-2, C-1 and C-2, a garage apartment are permitted uses needing only a building permit from the Zoning Officer under Sec. 27-122.E. In R-1 and C-2 a conversion apartment needs a Zoning Hearing Board special exception after a public hearing (Sec. 27-117, Sec. 27-120), and a garage apartment is unavailable in R-1. Inside the Harmony Historical District (most of the old core around the Diamond), any new structure or exterior change also needs a HARB-recommended Certificate of Appropriateness issued by Borough Council before the permit can issue (Chapter 11; Sec. 27-114.A).

Chapter 27 places no rental, tenancy or occupancy-by-relative limits on conversion or garage apartments, and the borough has no rental licensing (Chapter 13 Licenses covers only pinball and video games and soliciting). The only sale-related rule is the garage apartment deed covenant against subdividing it onto a nonconforming lot. Short-term rentals are not addressed; the Zoning Officer's July 2026 report told an inquirer there is currently no STR ordinance but likely will be, and at the August 4, 2026 council meeting the Planning Commission reported working on a draft short-term rental ordinance adapted from another community.