Town will review casita-related code

Oct. 12—Town planners are working to clarify and tweak Gilbert's Land Development Code regulating secondary dwelling units and accessory structures built on single-family residential properties.

Planning Manager Eva Cutro said last week that the code contains multiple terms that confuse both staff and the applicants.

"Recently there's been a demand for guest homes, secondary dwelling units and larger accessory structures," Cutro said at the Oct. 4 meeting.

"There's been a recent trend in the town for large structures that are not primary structures, not guest quarters because they have no overnight bedrooms but they are larger than what we would typically consider an accessory structure.

"We've had a few indoor basketball courts, gymnastic studios and even large hobby rooms — carpentry shops, things of that nature. So we would like to have better standards and definitions for those uses since they are becoming more popular."

She said that the applications for adding second units have increased from six in 2021 to 20 so far for this year, which is "certainly an up tick in demand."

The Town also annually permits hundreds of accessory structures such as storage sheds, detached garages and parking canopies, according to Cutro.

"We are not unique in this," she noted. "Many other towns are in a similar situation."

The conversation came on the heels of Phoenix City Council's passage last month of a zoning code amendment that allows one accessory dwelling unit in all single-family detached zoning categories in order to meet its goal of increasing its housing supply by 50,000 before 2030.

Cutro said that Gilbert is a bit ahead of the game in that it already allows for secondary dwelling units on land that is zoned for single-family home on 6,000 acres and single-family home on 4,300 acres.

Unlike Phoenix which allows one accessory dwelling unit per lot, "the Town of Gilbert allows one guest home, one secondary unit in addition to the primary dwelling unit per lot," Cutro said.

In Gilbert, guest homes, which can't have kitchens, cannot be rented but secondary dwelling units with kitchens can be, she said.

Also, incidental dwelling units should be subordinate to the primary unit but the town doesn't have standards like Phoenix to define what it means by subordinate, Cutro said.

Besides getting rid of some terms and adding new ones, Cutro said that staff also should look at the design criteria.

"The City of Phoenix has the subordinate language but they had standards that went along with it," she said.

"So perhaps Gilbert should adopt height restrictions for subordinate structures, maybe a size restriction in comparison to the primary residence or even address the placement on the lot. Can an accessory structure be in front of the main structure or should they be in the rear of the lot similar to the City of Phoenix?"

Phoenix's standards include that accessory dwelling units can't exceed 1,000 square feet in size on lots under 10,000 square feet and on lots larger than 10,000 square feet, the secondary unit can't exceed 3,000 square feet, Cutro said.

"And no accessory dwelling unit could exceed 75% of the square footage of the primary dwelling unit," she said. "They also limited the height of accessory dwelling units to one story and no more than 15 feet.

"In addition, they placed a restricted covenant that would have to be signed by the owner applicant who was requesting the accessory dwelling unit that either the accessory dwelling unit or the primary dwelling unit would remain owner-occupied.

"This was to prevent a spread of short-term rental units or two rental units on a single-family property."

Cutro said the issue will return in the November meeting for the official initiation of the text amendment and to conduct a citizen review meeting.

"At that time staff will have more information," she said. "We will look at the terms and delete or add terms as necessary."

Currently the town is facing legal actions over its approval of a secondary dwelling unit for a homeowner in southeast Gilbert.

Two residents in the Poco Bueno Ranchos neighborhood have filed a notice of claim for $750,000 each against the Town for allowing the construction of a three-level, 5,000-square-foot house on a roughly 1-acre property zoned single family-35.

The house is being built in front of the existing property owner's home and is taller than the surrounding single-story homes.

The residents claim that the house is actually a multifamily dwelling unit and violates the "Town's Land Development Code and engineering standards."

The property owner, however, has told town officials that the house is for family members to live in.

According to spokeswoman Jennifer Harrison last week, the claims are still under review.