The City Plan Commission met 06/09/2021 and took up a couple items related to the creation of regulations that would permit the building of Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) and Junior Accessory Dwelling Units (JADUs) within the city of Appleton.
Before I get into the recap, I’ll mention here since I expect this is not an uncommon concern or question held by Appleton residents, staff was asked if there was a way to prevent these units from being turned into Air BnBs. Apparently, there isn’t. They would be subject to the existing codes surrounding Air BnB-type establishments, but they can’t be regulated separately or have a different code applied to them. Additionally, the State limits the ability of local municipalities to regulate Air BnB-style establishments. They didn’t expect very many people to build ADUs to begin with, and it was stressed that the intention behind this resolution was to create another long-term, affordable housing option for residents of the city.
City staffer Don gave some background. This was in response to resolution #1-R-21 Accessory Dwelling Units. Staff had worked with Alderpersons Denise Fenton (District 6), Brad Firkus (District 3), and Vered Meltzer (District 2) as well as staff from the City Attorney’s office, Public Works, the Inspections Division, the Fire Department, and the Finance Department to create the proposed text amendments.
They created two sections–one that deals with Accessory Dwelling Units both attached and detached, and a second that deal with Junior Accessory Dwelling units–because there are specific definitions of terms related to ADUs and JADUs.
They were proposing that ADUs and JADUs be permitted on residential zoned properties in conjunction with an existing or proposed single family dwelling unit or with a two family zero lot line dwelling unit. [I’m interpreting a two family zero lot line dwelling unit to be a duplex, but he never used the term duplex.]
There were options for creating a detached or an attached ADU or JADU, but there were combination limitations. A person could build a detached ADU with a junior or an attached ADU with a junior, but they could not build both an attached and a detached dwelling unit.
They also created site development standards related to building height, set backs from property lines, lot coverage, unit size, some design standards, and construction standards that would include foundation standards. A permit would need to be reviewed and applied for, and the Uniform Dwelling Code would be required to be followed as well as city specific regulations related to connections to infrastructure.
The staff recommendations also include a deed restriction requirement that ADUs and JADUs be sold together with the principal dwelling unit on the same lot. However, the staffer noted that that would not preclude an owner from proposing a lot division and separating an ADU onto it’s own parcel provided it satisfied all the applicable zoning and municipal code regulations.
There was a public hearing component to this action item. Although no members of the public showed up to speak on this issue, there were some alderpersons who were not on the commission who attended the meeting and Mayor Woodford asked that they make their comments and ask their questions during the public hearing portion of the meeting instead of waiting until the commission began its discussion.
Alderperson Sheri Hartzheim (District 13) had several questions. She asked them all at once, but, for readability’s sake, I’m going to separate them out with the questions followed by the answers.
Firstly, she had a constituent who wanted to build a pool house with a bathroom and that constituent was under the impression that that would be allowed under these new ADU rules. She wanted to know if that was correct.
Karen Harkness, the city’s Director of Community and Economic Development said they encourage residents to contact the city early on when planning a project. Sometimes it may seem like a really simple project, but typically there turns out to be more involved than residents expect. The city likes to be in on the front end of that conversation so they can help the homeowner navigate the process, make things as easy as possible, and have a successful project. The best thing to do is to explain the project in writing and submit a drawing (even if it’s just something on the back of a napkin), so staff can get a better understanding of the project. Staff may have to confer with other departments such as the Fire Department.
Mayor Woodford noted that the proposed project may not have anything to do with ADUs but instead would be covered by a different section of the Municipal Code.
Director Harkness added that sometimes deed restrictions and covenants for particular subdivisions come into play, although the city is not a party to that and do not enforce them.
Alderperson Hartzheim said another alderperson who couldn’t be there for the meeting had asked her to ask how assessments would be affected or changed as a result of ADUs. She mentioned street reconstructions and sewer laterals. Would ADUs or JADUs be assessed separately?
A city staffer named Ross answered that additional water or sanitary services would be governed by the city’s assessment policy. He said property owners could reach out to the Public Works Department with specific questions.
Mayor Woodford asked about assessments in terms of property taxes.
Director Harkness said that parcels are assessed as a unit, so they would assume each part of the parcel would have the same owner. If, as Don had alluded to earlier, the parcel was separated, then the property value assessment would become more involved.
Mayor Woodford acknowledged that these were not necessarily satisfying answers given that both the answer were essentially “It depends on the circumstances”, but that was true.
Alderperson Harzheim also wanted to know why water service did not need to be separate but electrical service did need to be separate from the main dwelling unit. She also said another alderperson wanted to know about garbage service for ADUs and JADUs.
A staffer explained that for a detached ADU its electrical service would need to be separate from the main dwelling unit. That is required by the State building code. If an ADU was attached there would be the option to not provide separate electrical service as long as the tenant has access to the control panel so that they can restore power if a circuit breaks. If the tenant did not have access to the control panel then it would be preferred that they have their own electrical service.
He also answered her question about getting an extra garbage or recycling can, but another staffer jumped in and spoke over him and I couldn’t hear what either person was saying. My impression though was that additional garbage or recycling cans would be an option.
Alderperson Hartzheim’s final question was if there was anything within city code, or was there a need for something to be put into city code, that would allow property owners to have ADUs but prevent them from becoming AirBnBs. She understood that the option to build an ADU was probably not going to be used all that often, but if it was allowed within the municipal code would there be anything that would prevent the city from regulating how those units are used, so that they don’t run into a problem with neighbors later saying they have a constantly changing neighborhood with new people coming in every few days or week.
Mayor Woodford said that question didn’t really fit in with the specifics of what was in front of the commission that day, but he asked Director Harkness to speak to it.
She said that simple answer was that being used as an AirBnB was a permitted use for an ADU.
A city staffer said, based on the current municipal code, if someone wanted to make an application to turn an ADU into an AirBnB tourist room they would work with the Health Department and go through the same process that they would for a full house. The ADU proposal before the commission that day did not prohibit their use as a tourist room.
Another staffer added that State Statutes and legislation have major authority over how short term rentals and tourist rooming houses are regulated and pretty severely limit the city’s ability to prohibit and regulate those.
Director Harkness mentioned that they were on the cusp of launching some sort of informational publication aimed at educating residents about tourist rooming homes and answering some of the questions community members had raised. That would be going up on the city’s website soon.
Alderperson Firkus (one of the sponsors of the resolution) said that their aim with allowing ADUs and JADUs was to try to provide more affordable housing within the city of Appleton. They wanted to allow for more construction and more affordable housing without people having to rely on the development of subdivisions and apartment complexes. This would give the city and its residents an option to gently fill in areas where there is already existing infrastructure and provide more housing to those areas without drastically changing those areas through large construction projects. Their goal definitely was to provide homes, not hotels, for people
But he could also see where it would be very difficult to have a set of rules for homes vs ADUs. He thought that many people who were worried about what was going on in their community were not just worried about someone running a hotel out of their backyard but someone running a hotel out of any house or property in their neighborhood. He thought it would make sense as the conversation developed to create one set of rules about that issue for all dwelling units and not just ADUs.
Alderperson Fenton also wanted to get on the record how extensive and thorough was the work done by city staff. All of the affected departments presented the sponsoring alderpersons with reports and many options and clarified those options. She agreed that their goal was to get more affordable housing in the city. This was not just a way to get additional housing stock, but also a potential option for seniors who may own their homes free and clear but have difficulty with upkeep and taxes, so building an ADU would possibly allow them to rent out their home either to family or unrelated people and stay in the apartment. She referenced an article in the Post Crescent that pointed out what a serious problem Appleton has with affordable housing. She thought they needed to do things as creatively as they could within the city code to address that issue.
Mayor Woodford asked if someone on staff could give an overview of the process that went into creating these recommendations.
Director Harkness said ADUs had been on the staff’s wishlist to accomplish for about three years until eventually Alderperson Firkus expressed interest in it which let them know the Council was interested in learning about it.
Don said he had a draft already worked up years ago, but it was set aside as he worked on other things. He researched communities in Wisconsin and California that allow ADUs and read studies from research institutions on ADUs. He also looked at the policies from the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Finally, he used his own experience of being with the city for over 20 years to try to figure out how ADUs would mesh with the city’s current code and stay in line with state statutes, regulations, and building codes.
After putting together all that information, he created a draft that he shared with the alderperson and went over with them what city staff’s thought process was and what the alderpersons were hoping to accomplish to make sure they were on the same page. They also consulting internally with our city’s attorney’s office to make sure they were in line with state and city code, the city’s engineering division, the inspections division, and the fire department regarding fire regulations. They wanted to create a code in which health, safety, and welfare concerns were addressed and which also took into consideration design standards such as setbacks from property lines, etc. They tried to come up with standards that allowed flexibility for situations that occur on different parcels in the city such as smaller corner lots or double frontage lots, so that these property owners wouldn’t have to go the the Board of Zoning Appeals to get a variance. They also tried to articulate the rationale behind the standards to give to the Council, the planning commission, and the public so that they would understand why they made the recommendations they did. They sent the draft out to their technical review group and had the city attorney’s office draft the deed restriction that will be associated with the permit. They worked through how the Police and Fire Departments would respond to calls at those locations. They also worked with the Finance Department which handles the city’s billing process regarding water and connections to the city’s infrastructure.
Director Harkness added that the technical review group he mentioned is not just internal. It’s composed of over 50 people which include representatives of WE Energies and the school district. They also had contact with the realtor’s association, so the whole community had an opportunity to craft this.
The City Plan Commission voted unanimously to approve the two items related to ADUs which were (1) Resolution #1-R-21 Accessory Dwelling Units and (2) the request to approve proposed text amendments to the Municipal Code to formalize the rules that would allow property owners to build ADUs.
View full meeting details and video here: https://cityofappleton.legistar.com/MeetingDetail.aspx?ID=867051&GUID=FEF0983F-128E-4A28-A4FC-1C34BFFE5653&Options=info|&Search=
One thought on “City Plan Commission Approves Resolution And Regulations Allowing The Construction Of Accessory Dwelling Units In Appleton”