New housing options coming to Topeka

TOPEKA (KSNT) - New options for housing are coming to Topeka.

Tuesday, July 30, Topeka's City Council approved having accessory dwelling units (ADU) within single-family zoning districts. ADU's are already legal in multi-family districts and downtown districts. This will allow for a smaller independent houses to be on the same lot as a single-family home.

The goal for this is to fill gaps in the city housing market and increase affordability.

"We'll have standards related to size, so there will be size limitations," Planning Division Director Dan Warner said. "We'll have requirements that one of the two units has to be owned or occupied, so meaning the owner has to live on the property. We'll have some design review then also one additional parking spot off the street is required for the ADU."

Warner says rules for these accessory dwellings will be getting published next week.

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