A. A guesthouse shall be used only by the occupants of the principal dwelling or their nonpaying guests. Short-term rental of a guesthouse is not permitted.

B. The guesthouse shall not be leased or rented independently of the main dwelling. A deed restriction in a form approved by the city prohibiting the lease or rental shall be recorded against the property, with proof to the community development director or designee, prior to issuance of a building permit for the guesthouse.

C. A guesthouse shall only be permitted on a lot containing an area of eight thousand (8,000) square feet or larger which has an existing owner-occupied single-family dwelling unit, or where a building permit has been issued and construction is in process for the single-family dwelling unit. A guesthouse may be constructed on lots of less than eight thousand (8,000) square feet in an approved planned development (PD) zone; provided, a guesthouse is an allowed use within the project’s PD text, and other standards in section 10-17A-1 are met.

D. Only one (1) guesthouse or accessory dwelling unit shall be permitted per lot of record.

E. The guesthouse shall be located outside of all setback areas. The guesthouse shall meet the setback requirements for the main dwelling.

F. The guesthouse shall not have less than one hundred fifty (150) square feet of floor area or more than four hundred (400) square feet of floor area.

G. There shall be no kitchen or cooking facilities within a guesthouse. A microwave, compact refrigerator (less than seven and three-quarters (7¾) cubic feet and thirty-six inches (36") or less in height), and wet bar sink (twelve inches (12") wide or less) is permitted.

H. Architectural design, materials, and construction shall match the primary residential structure.

I. Utilities shall not be metered separately for a guesthouse.

J. Building lot coverage including the guesthouse and other accessory structures shall not exceed twenty-five percent (25%) of the rear lot area if the guesthouse is located in the rear yard. (The rear lot area is the area lying between the rear lot line and rear wall of the single-family dwelling extended to the side lot lines.)

K. The guesthouse shall not exceed a height of fifteen feet (15') for gable roofs, and twelve feet (12') for shed roofs (flat roofs), as measured from the adjacent grade to the highest part of the roof.

L. Separation distance from the main dwelling and guesthouse shall conform to the requirements of the adopted building and fire codes.

M. A site plan shall be submitted to the community development department to determine compliance with the requirements herein prior to issuance of a building permit. A fee as established by the city council shall be paid for the site plan review. The site plan shall be drawn to scale, clearly showing the location of all existing and proposed structures, walls, parking, driveways, and walkways.

N. Guesthouses shall be of new construction only; existing accessory structures (shed, garage, workshop, gazebo, etc.) may not be converted to a guesthouse.

O. A guesthouse may not be used as, attached to, or converted into a garage.

P. A guesthouse may be used as a pool house.

Q. A guesthouse may not be placed in the front yard setback or side yard setback areas. (Ord. 2019-10-002, 10-10-2019)