Deschutes County Planning Commission to hold public hearing on standards for rural accessory dwelling units

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- The Deschutes County Planning Commission will conduct a public hearing to receive testimony on proposed local standards for rural accessory dwelling units (ADUs) on Thursday, September 22 at 5:30 p.m.

Community members can provide testimony in person at the Deschutes Services Building in Bend or virtually. Additional information on proposed local standards and the submission of written or virtual testimony is available at www.deschutes.org/adu.

After deliberating, the Planning Commission will make a recommendation on the proposed amendments to the Deschutes County Board of Commissioners. The Board of Commissioners is expected to hold a second public hearing on rural ADUs later this year.

The primary purpose of proposed amendments is to create local standards for rural ADUs as allowed by Senate Bill 391.

In 2021, SB 391 established baseline state requirements for rural ADUs, including:

• Lot or parcel must be two (2) acres or larger
• One single family dwelling must be sited on the lot or parcel
• ADU must be located on a lot or parcel served by a fire protection service provider
• ADU must comply with all applicable state laws relating to water supply, sanitation and wastewater disposal. (Future applicants will likely require a site evaluation from the Environmental Soils division for onsite wastewater treatment/septic.)
• ADU is limited to 900 square feet of useable floor space
• ADU must comply with County siting standards

State requirements, as outlined in SB 391, also prohibit ADUs from:

• Being located more than 100 feet from the existing single family dwelling
• Being used for short-term vacation occupancy

SB 391 also includes numerous requirements relating to wildfire hazard mitigation, which are being addressed at the state level.

No properties in Deschutes County will be eligible for rural ADUs, despite any adoption of county standards, until a new Statewide Map of Wildfire Risk is formally released by the Oregon Department of Forestry. Additional information concerning the Statewide Map of Wildfire Risk can be located at https://www.oregon.gov/odf/fire/pages/wildfire-risk.aspx

For more information, please contact Kyle Collins, Associate Planner at kyle.collins@deschutes.org or (541) 383-4427.