Many homes in Draper have mother-in-law suites, carriage houses, granny flats, and the like. But not every one of those is an ADU. 

“Just because a house has a second kitchen doesn’t mean you have an ADU. You have to have a door with a locking unit. Typically, it’s locked off or walled off from the main home. You’re creating a full, second dwelling unit on your property,” said Jennifer Jastremsky, community development director for Draper City. 

There are two types of ADUs:

1) Detached ADUs (DADU)-detached from the primary dwelling. One example is an apartment above a detached garage.

2) Internal ADU (IADU)-contained within the footprint of the primary dwelling. A basement apartment is an example.

“All ADUs are required to get an ADU permit with the city, whether it’s being rented or not,” Jastremsky said. 

The initial application fee is $450 and annual renewal costs $50. “With the permits, we’re able to verify that the ADU complies with code such as additional parking space and owner occupancy of the property. In addition, the property owner can get a separate mailing address for the ADU and our emergency services know there’s a separate address,” Jastremsky said. That separate address can be vital for emergency services to find whomever it is that needs help when time is of the essence. 

A complicated issue

For several years, the city has been trying to get a handle on the situation, knowing that ADUs are out there that don’t have the permit and are not in compliance with city code. But ADUs are a complicated issue. “There are a lot of ways you can configure your property to incorporate an ADU, but you’re also creating a bigger demand for traffic and utilities that can tax a neighborhood’s resources,” Jastremsky said.

Because affordable housing is a big problem, many people are looking to rent a place to live while landlords and investors see an opportunity to make money. Some homeowners are looking for creative ways to supplement their income or help pay their mortgage, including renting a portion of their home as an ADU. 

The legislature is also in the mix. “State regulations require cities to allow for internal (IADU) units. The city can require street parking for that unit, permits and things like that. The state has not addressed DADUs. The state updated their laws and their goal was to create affordable housing,” Jastremsky said. When state law changed, the city revamped their code to comply in the fall of 2021. “With those changes, the city council approved a grace period to allow property owners to come in and apply for that permit and not face any enforcement action. We advertised the new code and the grace period on our website and social media. We did have quite a few applications come in right away. Some didn’t qualify for a permit and some had to make modifications to their homes in order to comply with building code, but we got quite a few to come in. I do think there are more out there that haven’t come in and we’d like to see them do that to come into compliance,” she said.

According to Jastremsky, the city currently has about 35 active ADU permits. “I know there are more out there. Those properties really need to come in at this point and get a permit,” she said. 

Neighborhood issues

ADUs have been particularly problematic in a South Mountain neighborhood between Highland Drive and Vestry Road near Oak Hollow Elementary. Jastremsky said the area has “quite a few ADUs that seem to be creating issues for that neighborhood.”

Established in the early 1990s, about half of the homes were built with detached garages and apartments above them per South Mountain development guidelines. City code at the time didn’t allow for those units to be rented out separate from the home. Parking is at a premium because the homes were built to be alley-loaded and the neighborhood was designed with more narrow roads than are typically seen in Draper. Further complicating the matter, with updates to city code in 2021, Draper designated a minimum lot size of 12,000 square feet in order to qualify for a detached unit. But most of the lots in this particular neighborhood are under 12,000 square feet. To remedy that, the city passed an ordinance exempting the neighborhood from the 12,000- square-foot lot size standard. “But they still have to comply with all other requirements within the code, including owner occupancy,” Jastremsky said. 

City employee Todd Taylor told the council there are about 80 units in this neighborhood and he estimates the new ordinance will bring about 40 of them into compliance. “The intent is to bring these units into compliance to seek an ADU permit,” Taylor said. Approximately 21 are investor owned, some of those owners don’t live on the premises, and some homes have multiple units being rented out separately (the main unit, the basement unit, and detached garage). 

An Aug. 6 public hearing brought many people to speak to the council about the issues in this specific neighborhood. 

Owner/investor Ken Murdock said his family has owned three homes in the area for more than 27 years, one of which has three units rented separately (the basement apartment, the main unit and the garage). “That home has four people. It could have seven. Not all of these are packed to the gills,” Murdock said. 

Dave Bennett said he owns a home in the neighborhood that he does not occupy. “I want to publicly state I believe I’m grandfathered,” Bennett said, adding he and his attorney believe he has a legal, non-conforming use and units above garages were intended to be rented. “I urge you to make a motion to approve but modify for non-owner occupied,” Bennett said. 

Homeowner and resident Josh Christensen told the council the neighborhood has changed for the worse and there are issues, including parking, that require enforcement. “There is a disconnect with not having a homeowner there to see what’s happening,” he said. Christensen described a situation where a renter whose landlord doesn’t live on the premises was arrested for dealing drugs after it was reported and police responded. 

Abby and Cameron Shaha took turns cradling their infant while the other addressed the council. They own and occupy their home with their family. “It is disheartening that people admit they don’t intend to comply. It does change things when the person (owner) doesn’t live there,” Abby said. She described soaring prices on 3,000-square-foot homes for sale in the neighborhood because of investor interest. “We’re sympathetic to the housing crisis. Two homes are currently listed for over $1 million. That is not how housing should be appraised, but that’s what happens when people can rent them out,” Abby said. 

Homeowners who occupy their homes want to see the city enforce parking and ADU codes immediately. Homeowners who don’t currently occupy the homes they rent do have another option to come into compliance. “They can rent the entire household. That’s not an ADU, that’s an entirely different thing,” Jastremsky said. 

Following public comment, the council unanimously approved making an exemption for ADUs on smaller lots in this specific neighborhood, but not to exempt owners from the owner-occupancy requirement. 

“I’m glad we’re addressing this. I think it’s important we follow up with enforcement,” Councilmember Fred Lowry said. λ