Sec. 10-2.1705. Guest houses.

        Guest houses are subject to the approval of design review and conditional use permits in compliance with Articles 20 and 24 of this chapter, and shall be located, developed, and operated in the following manner:

(a)    Guest houses shall only be allowed in an agricultural, residential, or the VMU Zoning District.

(b)    The minimum parcel area shall be 20,000 square feet for properties located in an agricultural or residential zoning district, and no minimum parcel area shall be required for properties in the VMU Zoning District.

(c)    The maximum floor area of the guest house shall not exceed 640 square feet; provided, however, that a guest house on a parcel of five (5) acres or more may exceed 640 square feet of floor area, but shall not exceed 1,000 square feet of floor area.

(d)    Any guest house constructed within 300 feet from an existing sewer line shall be required to connect to the sewer line before first occupancy. All public utility services to the guest house shall be installed underground.

(e)    Guest houses shall not be allowed on parcels where a second dwelling unit, as defined in Article 35 of this chapter, presently exists.

(f)    Construction of the guest house shall comply with the following regulations of the subject zoning district:

(1)    Parcel coverage;

(2)    Front, side, and rear setbacks; and

(3)    Height and stories.

(g)    All street improvements required by the Director of Public Works in connection with the construction of the guest house shall be met.

(h)    No design review and conditional use permits for a guest house shall be granted unless the following findings, supported by substantial evidence, are first adopted in addition to those identified in Section 10-2.2406. The guest house would:

(1)    Be appropriate to the size and character of the parcel on which it would be located and to the character of the neighborhood;

(2)    Not overload the capacity of the neighborhood to absorb the guest house (in terms of parking, intensity of land uses, and the like) or cause a concentration of guest houses sufficient to change the character of the single-family neighborhood in which the guest house would be located; and

(3)    Not detract from the privacy of the surrounding residents.

(§ 3, Ord. 771, eff. February 13, 2004)