ADU rules in Beaufort

The Beaufort Code (the city's form-based development code) allows a detached accessory dwelling unit, which it calls a carriage house, as an accessory use to a residential dwelling. The carriage house building type is permitted in the T3, T4, T5, RMX and IC districts, which cover every district where single-family homes are allowed by right (T3-S, T3-N, T4-HN, T4-N). Up to 2 detached units are allowed per lot, or 1 in T3-S. The lot must have public water and sewer. A draft rewrite of Sec. 4.5.3 reviewed at a joint council and Planning Commission work session on 10-8-2026 would cut this to 1 per lot, with a second unit only by ZBOA special exception. That draft has not been adopted.

Sec. 3.11.2.D allows 1 attached accessory dwelling unit per lot as a use accessory to a residential dwelling. All Sec. 4.5.3 standards apply to it. Any additional entrances must be on the side or rear of the main house, and extra external stairways or fire ladders are discouraged, allowed only at the Fire Marshal's discretion. The city's ADU application form covers units 'within the primary dwelling' as well as in accessory structures.

Detached and attached units share the same limits. The footprint may not exceed 50% of the primary building's footprint or 1,500 square feet, whichever is smaller, and it must be at least 240 square feet. Each unit may have at most 2 bedrooms. The administrator may approve converting an existing accessory structure that is larger than the cap if there is no adverse impact on neighbors. All accessory structures together must stay within the district's roof and impervious coverage limits, with no more than 4 accessory structures per lot. No fixed height cap applies to the unit itself: it must be compatible in height with the main house, and a unit above a garage may be taller than the main house (Sec. 4.6.1.E).

Neither Sec. 3.11.2 nor Sec. 4.5.3 requires the owner to live on the property. A full-text search of both Municode products for 'owner-occupied' found only the short-term rental definitions and an affordable-housing fee section, neither of which regulates ADUs. Sec. 4.5.3.A describes the carriage house as 'often used for rental housing'.

Sec. 4.5.3.B.9 requires 1 clearly defined parking space per carriage house, and Sec. 3.11.2.D applies that rule to attached units too. Variances from this ADU parking rule are prohibited (Sec. 9.14.1.C). The citywide parking table rewritten by Ord. No. 2025/18 (8-19-2025) lists 'Accessory Units' at 1 space for a studio or 1-bedroom unit and 1.75 for a 2-bedroom unit, so a 2-bedroom ADU may be held to the higher figure. Sec. 4.5.3 still points to the repealed Sec. 7.3 for parking standards.

ADUs are accessory uses with objective standards, approved by staff. The ADU application ($50) goes to Community Development, followed by a building permit. The zoning permit is 'Ministerial', with no public notice: the Administrator approves or denies it based on compliance with the code (Sec. 9.4.2). Sec. 3.1.1.B defines even a 'conditional use' as permitted by right once its conditions are met. Two discretionary routes exist. In the Beaufort Historic District, a new habitable accessory building needs a major Certificate of Appropriateness from the Historic District Review Board. Departing from the placement rules (such as an ADU in front of the house) takes a ZBOA variance.

The code places no limit on long-term rental of an ADU and describes carriage houses as 'often used for rental housing'. Short-term rentals (under 30 days) are a conditional use in T3-S, T3-N, T4-HN, T4-N, T5-DC, T5-UC and IC. The condition is a city business license under Code of Ordinances Chapter 18 (Ord. No. 2026-11, 4-28-2026). That chapter expressly lets accessory dwelling units and carriage houses be STRs, but allows only one STR per parcel, so the main house and the ADU cannot both be rented short term. STRs are capped at 4% of eligible parcels in the listed neighborhoods and 3% inside the National Historic Landmark District, with a waitlist. Other rules: 300-foot spacing between STRs, a 2-night minimum stay, an inspection, a monitored fire alarm, HOA confirmation where covenants apply, and an annual fee. An owner who takes the city's carriage house property tax reimbursement (Code of Ordinances Sec. 5-2025(b)) may not use the unit as an STR for ten years.