Grand Forks City Council says no accessory dwelling units
Apr. 22—GRAND FORKS — The Grand Forks City Council decided it will not explore amending its zoning codes to allow accessory dwelling units in the city.
The council voted 5-1 Monday evening to not pursue modifying the city's ordinances, with City Council Vice President Bret Weber dissenting and council member Tricia Lunski absent. Accessory dwelling units, colloquially known as "mother-in-law apartments," are additional housing units on a property in addition to the main building. These units are typically smaller and complementary to the other units on the property. The city had gotten a request about putting an additional unit above a garage, which the Planning and Zoning Commission discussed but referred to the City Council for further consideration about policy.
"This is a request to change zoning and increase the density of property all across the city," said Council President Dana Sande. "I don't think it's fair or reasonable for us to ask homeowners that have been here for all these years to change the zoning of their property."
Sande said he may have been OK with it in new developments, but not in older, established neighborhoods in the city. Many on the council were concerned about what they could be allowing and what it could mean for neighborhoods.
"It could push a lot of people out of our community, especially on the north end," said council member Rebecca Osowski. "If we start getting more and more compact there are going to be a lot of issues."
The Planning and Zoning Committee was "cautiously interested" in the idea, according to Deputy City Planner Andrea Edwardson.
"There was more support for the unit when one of the units on site was owner-occupied," Edwardson told the council. "Definitely supportive as a way to increase property values and tax base."
Under the city's current zone codes, the city doesn't allow more than two units per property in its R-2, one- and two-family residential districts where the request was located. In low-density settings, like R-2, the maximum density allowed is a duplex; triplexes and quadplexes are not allowed. There were a few ways the council could have allowed accessory units, like a conditional use permit that would have had to be approved by the council, but decided against pursuing any of them at this time.
Accessory dwelling units are allowed in some areas in North Dakota. Bismarck and Mandan both allow them with stipulations, including whether the landowner lives there and size. These units are also recommended by the city's land use plan to increase housing, which is in short supply.
"These are one of the tools that communities are adapting across the nation to try to deal with that because housing shortages are a common problem across the country," Weber said. "These have the benefit of not requiring new infrastructure, new roads, new pump stations, etc."
In other news, the council:
* Discussed the tax increment financing agreement for the
Beacon by Epic development.
The developers would like to amend the agreement, since they are unable at this time to pursue building its third building, upon which parts of the agreement hing. The council postponed taking action until it could get more information about its options and will discuss the topic further at its next meeting.
* Recommended approving a plan that would transition the withdrawal management center from Grand Forks Public Health to the Grand Forks Housing Authority. The program would shift into a low-barrier emergency shelter and many of the withdrawal management programs would be shifted to ShareHouse, which does similar programs.
