Sitka ordinance would cut ADU requirements from 14 to eight, and drop R-2 lots

Sitka's rules for second dwellings on residential lots could change under an ordinance up for first reading Tuesday, Sept. 22, before the Sitka Assembly. Ordinance 26-23 would cut the requirements a second unit must meet to be built outright from 14 to eight, and would bar them from R-2 lots.

Ordinance 26-23 would amend Title 22, "Zoning," of the Sitka General Code to promote construction of accessory dwelling units, according to the meeting agenda, which includes a staff memo and highlighted code changes. Assembly members Katie Riley, Kevin Mosher and Scott Saline sponsored it.

Under Sitka General Code 22.20.160, an accessory dwelling unit is a second dwelling on the same parcel as the primary single-family home. The city's ADU rules allow one per parcel, permit them in the R-1 and R-2 districts, zoned for one home and for up to three units, on lots served by a publicly maintained right-of-way, and bar them from parcels holding a duplex or more.

ADUs must meet the primary dwelling's setback, lot coverage, and design standards. Short-term vacation rentals and bed and breakfast use are barred. Sitka's code bars renting one for less than 90 consecutive days, the one requirement the memo says no permit could waive. The ordinance would add a three-year, non-transferable short-term rental permit for a new ADU, cap ADUs at 800 square feet and allow tiny houses on chassis.

The Planning Commission held a special August meeting on the ADU amendment, filed as case ZA 26-02. It recommended approval unanimously Aug. 24. A municipal land search narrowed to about eight buildable acres, and the Sitka Community Land Trust has asked the city to waive parking requirements and shrink lot sizes on Halibut Point Road.

Alaska Department of Labor figures put Sitka's rental vacancy rate at 5.8% in its March survey, down from 6.1% a year earlier.

The Assembly meets at 6 p.m. in Assembly Chambers at 330 Harbor Drive. The agenda includes two public comment periods, listed as Persons to Be Heard, one early for items off the agenda and one later for items on or off it. Testimony is capped at three minutes per speaker.