The James City County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday to amend the county’s ordinance pertaining to accessory apartments, adding language that specifies rules for detached apartments and several other regulations.
A cap of 400 square feet was set for detached accessory apartments, which may only be used by the property owner or immediate family members.
Attached accessory apartments no longer require special-use permits in any residential districts except the multi-family residential district, while the detached accessory apartments are allowed by special-use permit in all residential districts besides mixed use and multi-family residential.
The process to modify the ordinance started in January, when the James City County Planning Commission adopted an initiating resolution to consider ordinance changes to accessory apartments, according to a memorandum to the supervisors from the James City County Planning Division. After taking into account feedback from the commissioners and from a citizen survey, the ordinance changes passed Tuesday were created by planning staff.
The detached apartments are required to meet all zoning requirements and should be built to resemble single-family homes.
“I think a lot of people our age are caretakers now and I think this is something that’s going to become a reality,” Planning Commissioner Robin Bledsoe (Jamestown) said in April when the policy committee was considering the ordinance changes. “I think our family dynamics are changing for a number of reasons right now.”
Any application for a detached apartment requires approval from the Health Department for properties served by well or septic systems. Offstreet parking is required for all accessory apartments.
By using the special-use permit process to regulate detached accessory apartments, neighbors of properties where an apartment is proposed can share their thoughts prior to apartment being approved.