ADU rules in Cody

Detached ADUs are allowed, but the path depends on the zoning district and the lot. The Residential Land Use Table marks 'Accessory dwelling unit' as an 'A' (permitted accessory use by right) in RR, R-2, R-2MH, R-3, R-4 and the Mobile Home Park district, and as a 'C' (conditional use, decided after a noticed public hearing) in R-1 Single Family Residential. Section 10-8-2(A)(1) allows the unit above or within a residential garage or other accessory building, or within a separate accessory building on the same parcel as a detached single-family dwelling. Two hard gates apply everywhere: the lot must be at least 7,000 square feet, and the ADU must be accessory to a detached single-family dwelling, so a lot already holding two or more dwellings cannot add one.

Attached and internal ADUs run on exactly the same permission track as detached ones: one land use row, one set of supplemental standards. Section 10-8-2(A)(1) lists placement 'Within a detached single-family dwelling, either initially at time of construction, or any time thereafter' and 'Within an addition to a detached single-family dwelling', and the zoning definition in 10-2-1 describes an ADU as 'An independent, self-contained dwelling unit within or attached to a detached single-family dwelling or building accessory thereto.' That means by right in RR, R-2, R-2MH, R-3, R-4 and MH Park, conditional use permit in R-1, and the same 7,000 square foot minimum lot. A basement conversion gets one break the detached form does not: where the ADU occupies one level of an existing building and the rest of that level cannot practically stay with the primary dwelling, the reviewing official may let the ADU take the whole level.

Section 10-8-2(A)(6) caps total living area at the lesser of 800 square feet or 75 percent of the primary dwelling's living area, with one exception: an ADU placed on a single level of an existing building (a basement, for example) may occupy that entire level when the remaining area cannot feasibly stay with the primary dwelling. 'Living area' is measured under 10-2-1 by excluding exterior walls, garages, basements with less than 6 feet 8 inches of ceiling height, and any area under 5 feet of ceiling. Three further envelope limits bite: no more than two bedrooms or sleeping areas (10-8-2(A)(8)); a detached building containing an ADU may cover at most 20 percent of the lot (10-8-2(A)(5)); and a single-story detached ADU 15 feet or less in building height uses accessory-structure setbacks while anything taller must meet the primary-residence setbacks in Table 10-6-2 (10-8-2(A)(4)). ADUs are exempt from the district minimum dwelling size and are not counted in density.

Owner occupancy is required only in the two lowest-density districts. Section 10-8-2(A)(10) provides that within the RR and R-1 zoning districts the owner must use either the primary dwelling or the ADU as their primary residence, and that the two dwellings may not both be occupied unless that is the case. Cody's own administrative ADU checklist carries a matching box asking RR applicants to state whether the owner will occupy the primary dwelling or the accessory dwelling. In R-2, R-2MH, R-3, R-4 and the Mobile Home Park district there is no owner-occupancy condition on the ADU itself, so both units may be leased long term. Note the separate short-term rental rule: R-2 and R-2MH allow an STR only when the owner is living on the property, which is an STR condition rather than an ADU condition. Wyoming has no statute that requires, caps or preempts local owner-occupancy rules, so this is purely local.

Section 10-8-2(A)(9) requires a minimum of one off-street parking space for an ADU, except where the property is zoned R-3 or R-4, sits east of 11th Street, and lies within the 1901 plat of the Town of Cody, the 1906 First Addition, the 1927 Second Addition, or fronts Beck Avenue between 16th and 20th Streets. Where a space is required it must meet the Chapter 16 off-street parking standards, and existing required parking may not be displaced by the ADU unless it is replaced elsewhere on the lot. The requirement is flagged '(SE)', meaning the Planning and Zoning Board can waive or modify it through the special exemption process in 10-14-2 without proof of hardship. Cody's ADU checklist applies exactly this one-space rule.

The review track turns on the zoning district. In RR, R-2, R-2MH, R-3, R-4 and the Mobile Home Park district the ADU is an 'A' use, permitted as an accessory use by right, and the process is administrative: Community Development verifies the zoning, the owner files the ADU checklist with the building permit application, and the Building Department issues the permit under a new ADU address (the city's ADU flowchart and the checklist's staff sign-off block both describe this). No Planning and Zoning Board meeting is triggered, because the pre-permit board review in 9-2-3 reaches only commercial buildings. In R-1 the ADU is a 'C' use and needs a conditional use permit under 10-14-1: a filed application, mailed notice to owners within 300 feet plus newspaper publication 21 days ahead, a public hearing before the Planning and Zoning Board, and a recorded permit; a written protest by owners of 20 percent or more of the lots inside the notice area moves the decision to the City Council and raises the approval threshold to two-thirds.

Long-term rental, defined in 10-2-1 as renting to one family for 30 days or more, is a 'P' use in every residential district, so an ADU may be leased long term anywhere it is allowed; in RR and R-1 the owner must still live in one of the two dwellings. Short-term rental is treated as a separate land use and is far narrower: the table shows 'Short-term rental, owner-occupied' as N in RR, R-1 and MH Park, A in R-2 and R-2MH, and P in R-3 and R-4, and 'Short term rental, not owner-occupied' as P only in R-3 and R-4. Section 10-8-2(S)(1) lists renting the ADU while the owner lives in the main dwelling, and renting the main dwelling while the owner lives in the ADU, among the four authorized owner-occupied methods. Every STR must register with the City before first use and annually by May 1, pay the $100 fee, pass a fire and life safety inspection, post the city certificate, and carry the city registration number in all online listings; guest counts are capped by bedroom count and only one booking at a time is allowed. Renting a dwelling for under 30 days outside these pathways is prohibited by 10-8-2(R)(4). The code sets no separate-sale or condominium-conversion pathway for an ADU.