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1 YOU ASKED, WE ANSWERED. HOW WILL PARKING BE REGULATED? HOW MANY ADUs ARE ALLOWED ON ONE LOT? Residents in Millcreek are very concerned about parking in single-family neighborhoods. We want the draft ADU ordinance to reflect this concern. Some ordinances only require one additional parking space per ADU. Some parking requirements are counted by the number of additional bedrooms. Possible ordinance proposal: 2 spaces per unit. To be defined as an “Accessory Dwelling Unit” means a habitable living unit added to, created within, or detached from a primary single-family dwelling and contained on one lot . By this definiton you are prohibited to have more than one ADU on a single-family lot. PLEASE NOTE: MILLCREEK HAS NOT MADE AN OFFICIAL DRAFT ORDINANCE YET. WHILE WE HAVE AN IDEA OF WHAT THE ORDINANCE MIGHT LOOK LIKE WE WANT THE PUBLIC COMMENT TO HAVE AN IMPACT ON HOW WE REGULATE ADU’S IN THE CITY. IN THIS PACKET WE SHARE SOME OF OUR IDEAS AND WOULD LIKE TO KNOW IF YOU AGREE OR DISAGREE WITH HOW WE THINK THEY SHOULD BE REGULATED. PLEASE ATTEND ONE OF OUR FUTURE OPEN HOUSES TO COLLABORATE AND ASK QUESTIONS. WHAT LOTS WILL QUALIFY FOR AN ADU? Millcreek would like to create standards for ADU’s that will prevent people from over building on single-family lots. It’s possible that only lots 8,000 sq ft might be eligible for ADU. QUESTIONS FROM MILLCREEK RESIDENTS ABOUT ACCESSORY DWELLING UNITS ---PAGE BREAK--- 2 WHAT HAPPENS TO ADUs THAT ALREADY EXIST? ADUs + AIRBNB ? HOW MANY PEOPLE CAN LIVE IN AN ADU? WHY ARE THERE ILLEGAL ADUS NOW? It depends on the ADU. If you have an accessory dwelling that is attached to your main house, such as a basement apartment, then you will be able to continue to use that as an ADU. If you plan on renting it to a third party by current City Code, you will need to obtain a valid Millcreek business license. If you have a currently existing detached ADU, then you will need to make sure your ADU meets certain requirements before obtaining the proper permit to use it. Millcreek currently thinks that ADUs should not be rented as a short-term rental. This would mean that VRBOs and would not be allowed. Some residents disagree with this view. What do you think? Attend one of our upcoming open houses to let us know. (dates for the open houses not yet determined but will be posted in our newsletters) Millcreek would like to keep our current standards for occupancies of single-family households. This means any number of people living together related by blood OR four unrelated people living together, provided they have the correct number of bedrooms. Please note: our current standards require any unrelated person to have their own designated off-street parking space. Some of the ADU’s have existed before the City incorporated. Rather than continuing to ban ADUs and uproot residents, the City would like to make then legal and regulate them properly. ---PAGE BREAK--- 3 HOW WILL ADUs BE REGULATED? DOES THE OWNER HAVE TO LIVE ON THE PROPERTY? DO RVs AND TINY HOMES COUNT? Currently, anyone who plans to rent out a dwelling in Millcreek must obtain a business license. These business licenses are subject to building inspections which will require all rental units to be up to code and maintained in good condition. Through the business license we also regulate their parking requirements and other land use regulations such as setbacks and height. Millcreek is also currently researching other methods to regulate rental ADUs such as adopting a good landlord program. That is one possibility that Millcreek is currently reviewing. We would like to know if people agree with that proposal. No. To qualify as an ADU you MUST be attached to a built foundation and you MUST be attached to utilities on the property. An ADU is not a home that can be moved off of the property. PROPERTY TAXES? The only property tax this affects would be the owner of the ADU. Adding an additional dwelling unit to your property increases the value and thus increases the owners property tax. This does not affect adjacent properties. ---PAGE BREAK--- 4 SETBACKS ? WHY HIGHER DENSITY? HAVE YOU LOOKED AT OTHER CITIES? ARE WE INCREASING THE NUMBER OF RENTERS? Millcreek would like to maintain reasonable setbacks from the property to not encroach upon the privacy of adjacent neighbors. We are not sure what those setbacks look like yet. The cost of single family houses has gone up 91% since 2004, making the option for young families to buy a house almost immpossible. The increase in property tax also makes it difficult for families to hold on to their current properties now. As families get bigger they are looking for options to keep their loved ones close and not lose their current housing situations. Many residents in Millcreek just want more space to take care of loved ones. Yes! We are so lucky to have other neighboring cities who have adopted these ordinances. We have looked at several cities in the Valley including Salt Lake, Sandy, Murray, South Jordan and others. A lot of residents who ask about ADUs in the Millcreek have expressed that they would like to expand the living space on their lot for their family. In fact, some research shows that 41% of people who have ADUs use them for family members and don’t rent them. The intent is to allow more housing options for people living in Millcreek not necessarily increase rental units. ---PAGE BREAK--- 5 CAN YOU CONVERT AN EXISTING GARAGE? HOW DOES THIS EFFECT MULTI- FAMILY ZONED PROPERTIES? WHO CAN OPERATE AN ADU? We can forsee situations where residents will want to convert a portion of their garages to studio or one bedroom ADUs. It is possible this might be an option with the new ordinance. Would you like to see this as an option? Attend one of our open houses to let us know. It doesn’t. This ordinance will only apply to single-family properties that qualify for an ADU. Any property owner in Millcreek can operate an ADU. If someone would like to rent the ADU they must get a valid Millcreek Business License. WHEN WILL THIS ORDINANCE BE ADOPTED? There is no set date of adoption. Ordinances get adopted when they have gone through a robust public process, and when the City Council deems the ordinance complete. ---PAGE BREAK--- 6 DESIGN AND LAYOUT RESTRICTIONS? ARE YOU TURNING SINGLE- FAMILY HOMES INTO DUPLEXES? WILL THERE BE HEARINGS TO DISCUSS THIS? WILL THERE BE INSPECTIONS? Millcreek would like to have some design restrictions as well as restrictions on layout. We are not sure what those regulations look like yet. No, because Millcreek would like to require that the property owner must live on the property in one of the dwellings. So they cannot rent out both units and operate as a duplex. Millcreek would also like to restrict ADU use to the designated property owner. If the property changes owners then the new owner must fill out a new application and live on the property. Yes, Millcreek will provide multiple opportunities for residents to speak to the City about their comments or concerns. Be on the look out for our open houses which will be posted in the newsletters. (To sign up for the newsletter go to millcreek.us) Yes. If the property owner wishes to rent an ADU they will be required to bring their rental up to building code. If they build a new detached ADU they will be required to build to current standards. These will both be inspected by City building inspectors. ---PAGE BREAK--- 7 PROCESS FOR APPROVAL? CAN YOU SELL ADUS SEPARATELY? HOW DO YOU THINK ADUs SHOULD BE REGULATED IN MILLCREEK? Millcreek would like to allow basement ADUs as a permitted use with a small ADU application and affadavit. As well as any neccessary building permits required. Millcreek thinks that detached ADUs should be approved as a conditional use permits which require a longer application process. No. You cannot sell an ADU to anyone. You also cannot divide a lot with the intent to sell the lot with the ADU separately as its own parcel. Fill out our new survey and tell us why or why not ADUs should be allowed. at Dwelling-Units-ADUs Please attend one of our open houses regarding ADUs in Millcreek. (dates not yet determined) Make sure to sign up for our e-newsletter to receive updates about the ADU ordinance at millcreek.us