Turning a garage into housing? This Pierce County city is relaxing its rules about ADUs
More accessory dwelling units might begin emerging in Sumner.
The City Council unanimously approved changes to its code regarding accessory dwelling units (ADUs) during an Aug. 15 council meeting. ADUs are small residential units located on the same property lot as a single-family home.
The changes allow ADUs on smaller lots than before. The city code previously only allowed ADUs in low-density residential areas on lots that were at least 12,000 square feet. Now attached and detached ADUs are allowed in low-density residential areas on lots that are between 6,000 and 12,000 square feet. They’re also allowed on lots that are about 4,000 square feet — but they must be attached to the home.
Most low-density residential areas that allow ADUs are in the southeast part of Sumner, according to the city zoning map.
Other changes include increasing the allowed ADU height from 16 feet to 18 feet. Limiting the height to 16 feet prevents people from building an ADU above a garage, senior planner Ann Siegenthaler said during the Aug. 15 council meeting.
“Garages have one of the greatest potentials for conversion to ADUs,” Siegenthaler said, because it’s cheaper to convert an existing structure such as a garage compared to building one from scratch.
Another change pertains to windows as some residents expressed privacy concerns to the city and through a survey. Windows would be required to face the front or interior of the lot.
“This isn’t the first time that ADUs have been addressed by the City Council,” Siegenthaler told The News Tribune. “This was relaxing some of the standards to expand where they can be built.”
The ADU code changes stemmed from a Housing Action Plan that the City Council adopted in 2021. ADUs are one of many topics the city planned to tackle to address housing needs in the region.
Another topic included expanding the Multifamily Tax Exemption program to the East Sumner neighborhood. The City Council approved this in July. The exemption is offered to developers who make 20 percent of the total units in their project affordable housing.
