Residents will no longer have to get special permission from zoning board, but plenty of rules still apply.
DOYLESTOWN, PA—Doylestown Township on Tuesday night made it easier for homeowners to add an in-law suite to houses by eliminating a trip to the zoning board—and by allowing nonrelatives to live in the units.
The township has long allowed what are now called accessory dwelling units, or ADUs, but homeowners had to go through the zoning board to get special permission. Under a new ordinance approved on June 16, a zoning board review is no longer necessary. ADUs are now recognized by the township as a “by-right” use that doesn’t require special approval.
Homeowners will still have to meet other township regulations and other new requirements to create an ADU. The unit, for example, has to be an existing structure that’s either part of the house or in a detached structure like a garage. The ADU can’t account for more than 25% of the floor area of the house, and no more than two people can live in the unit.
ADUs will also need to meet other zoning regulations, like setbacks from other properties and rules about how much impervious surface can be on a property. There is no requirement that properties must be a certain size to contain an ADU.
There’s one other change: The ordinance passed by the township’s Board of Supervisors does not require ADUs to be occupied by a relative of the homeowner, which is a change from previous township regulations.
Officials have said that the goal of that change is to open up affordable housing options, which are in notoriously short supply in Doylestown, to people who can’t currently afford to live in the township.
The change, for example, could allow a home health care worker taking care of an elderly resident of the house to live in the ADU. It could also allow residents to create ADUs that they rent out for income.
One resident who spoke at the meeting was unhappy about the new rules for ADUs. Kelly Sarosky said she worried that the new rules for ADUs would lead to a wave of homeowners building small rental units on their property.
“This is not a small change we’re talking about,” Sarosky said. She worried about ADUs and tiny houses “butting up to our borders.”
Township officials said the new rules will not lead to a wave of homeowners building ADUs on their properties. That’s because the new ordinance doesn’t allow homeowners to build a new structure—either an addition to a house or a freestanding building—and then use it as an ADU or a tiny house.
“That detached garage has to be built today … to take advantage of this ordinance,” said Township Manager Stephanie Mason. “You’re not going to be able to build it tomorrow and take advantage of this ordinance. It has to be existing.”
Sarosky had plenty of other concerns, from the strain adding more people will place on wells and septic systems to limited parking. (The new ordinance requires that ADUs have at least one dedicated off-street parking spot in addition to the two required for every house.) Sarosky also didn’t like the idea that nonfamily members would be allowed to live in ADUs.
She worries that homeowners bringing in renters will change the character of Doylestown neighborhoods and lower property values. “I personally would never have bought in Doylestown Township” if this rule were in place, Sarosky added.
Officials noted that Doylestown Township has had in-law suites for decades. Since 1993, the township has approved 56 family accessory apartments (out of a total of about 6,000 properties).
Earlier this year, Township Manager Mason said that the township has seen six or seven applications a year for residents to ADUs move through the zoning process.
After discussing concerns, Doylestown’s Board of Supervisors passed the new ordinance on ADUs unanimously.