May 13, the planning commission approved what it says may effectively become a second residential unit in a place where it wouldn’t otherwise be allowed.
“What we saw today is a workaround, and there will be more,” Commissioner Eric Sagerman said.
It was an accessory building intended to house an “accessory dwelling unit,” or ADU, which Community Development Director Peter Barnes called the county planning office’s “favorite can of worms.”
“Long before I came into the picture, they have allowed accessory units on every legal parcel in Summit County,” he told commissioners.
ADUs are small secondary residential units — like a guest house — that sit on the same lot as a larger primary home. They are seen by some as a way to increase the housing supply and reduce prices too.
May 13, the commission saw an application for a an accessory building in beside a home in Silver Creek Estates that the homeowner says will include an ADU for an elderly family member.
But the building was larger than the 1,000 square feet Summit County allows for ADUs. So the owner asked for a 2,500-square-foot accessory building, with a 1,000-square-foot ADU inside. ADUs can be standalone or inside other structures.
Commissioner Matt Nagie thinks it might not be what the county council intended policy-wise with ADUs.
“Legally speaking, I think it all seems above board, and that will certainly inform my vote on this item,” he said. “I guess I just want to say, for the record, it strikes me that we are potentially allowing second buildings that function as second homes.”
Barnes says that after ADUs proliferated across Summit County, planners went back in and set limits, such as the cap on square footage.
He says the planning office is looking at more changes to ADU rules. Sometimes they turn into unregulated Airbnbs or VRBOs.
“How do we stop those creating the negative impacts we might associate with short-term rentals?” Barnes said. “Well, the best we can do is say it's got to be a minimum rental of 30 days. Maybe we prefer 90. Maybe we’d prefer 180, but we haven't got the political will or the buy-in of the property owners to get that far.”
Planner Laura Kuhrmeyer says ADUs always have to be sold with the main building and parcel, and the land can’t be subdivided to turn them into two separate homes.
Commissioner Heather Peteroy agreed with Sagerman that there’s a housing need that will lead to more similar projects.
“If the pressure is on people who who need to live in the area, like an older relative, maybe a college student, someone who's working in the area. If there's not other approved development happening with either above-55 communities that are getting approved or smaller dwelling units in enough numbers, then I think we're going to keep seeing pressure on existing parcels,” she said.
State law gives planning commissions limited discretion, which means they’re usually required to approve projects that comply with code.
The Snyderville Basin planning commissioners approved the accessory building in Silver Creek Estates May 13. The ADU inside is a separate application that may come back to the commission in the future.
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