Cottages, attached apartments latest options to improve housing stock in Manatee County
They’ve been a long time coming.
After ironing out the details over the past 10 years, the Manatee County Commission has voted to add Accessory Dwelling Units as another form of available housing.
Accessory Dwelling Units, also known as ADUs, are small units that can be built in addition to the main house on a property. Commissioners hope ADUs can provide better local options for multi-generational housing.
The units are very similar to guest houses, which are already allowed under Manatee County’s Land Development Code. The main difference is that ADUs may include a stove in the kitchen, unlike guest houses. In practice, ADUs are full-fledged apartments that exist on private property.
County staff provided examples of different ways for homeowners to add an ADU to their property. The units can stand alone in the backyard, such as a so-called “mother-in-law’s cottage,” but they can also be attached to the main home or sit on top of a garage. Only one ADU may be built on a property.
These units allow families to live together on the same property, without actually living together, commissioners said. For example, an ADU could serve as a home for aging grandparents or young adults who cannot afford their own place to stay.
According to the guidelines board members approved Thursday, ADUs can be built up to 750 square feet in residential neighborhoods, as long as they meet certain setbacks and parking requirements. In agricultural zoning areas, ADUs can be built up to 1,000 square feet.
Florida law prevents county officials from regulating short-term vacation rentals such as Airbnbs, but county staff added a provision to prevent the ADU units from turning into a neighborhood nuisance. In order to build an ADU, the homeowner must live on the same property.
County staff emphasized that adding an ADU to your property won’t come cheap. Due to the rising cost of construction material, building one of the units could cost at least $100,000.
“If you think a primary resident is going to spend a couple hundred thousand dollars building a 750-square-foot tiny house in their backyard and then rent it out to spring breakers while they’re literally living in the primary residence, I just don’t see that happening to any extent that’s going to become meaningful to neighborhoods,” Commissioner George Kruse said.
The city of Bradenton has allowed ADU units for 10 years. The Board of County Commissioners has been slower to adopt ADUs into its building code for unincorporated parts of the county, but Thursday’s vote finalized the process.
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“We’ve spent a decade trying to get this done,” Kruse said. “This is a solution we’re all comfortable with and I’m ready to get this on the books.”
“I’m very much in favor of ADUs. They work well and they help us provide housing,” Commissioner Misty Servia added.
Commissioners are still working to determine how impact fees, which builders pay in order to compensate for their impacts on county services, will apply to ADUs.
County staff are expected to provide a report on impact fees later.
This story was originally published August 20, 2021 at 6:00 AM.
