Hampton City Council unanimously approved a series of ordinances Wednesday to allow property owners to create accessory dwelling units citywide as a way to potentially increase the city’s housing stock.

Accessory dwelling units are smaller secondary housing units containing their own kitchen, bathroom and bedroom that sit on existing plots, including attached additions to existing homes or detached spaces like garages or basements that are converted into rental apartments. Previously, the city only permitted units in the Buckroe Bayfront Districts. The city does not have an estimate on the current number of ADUs in Hampton.

The new regulations, which will take effect Dec. 31, will establish rules for the size of the units and also prevent them from being used as short-term rentals.

There is not minimum lot size to construct an accessory dwelling unit, but each lot is capped at one unit and detached units must sit at least five feet away from the principle dwelling. Units are capped 800 square feet, half the median single-family dwelling in Hampton, and cannot take up more than 20% of a rear yard. They cannot exceed 16 feet tall or the height of the principle dwelling and must have separate entrances.

Additionally, the property owner must live in either the principle or accessory unit, and lots without on-street parking must provide additional off-street parking for accessory units.

However, accessory dwelling units cannot be used as short-term rentals, according to city planner Quinn Heinrich, as the goal of the ordinances is to increase the city’s housing stock.

“Staff considers both ADUs and short-term rentals to be important uses for the city going forward, but they serve separate purposes, and we don’t want them to be in competition with each other,” Heinrich said. “This does not affect existing short-term rentals that may be located within ADUs, but any new ADU that’s constructed may not be used as a short-term rental.”

The city’s enforcement process will include investigating complaints, sending a notice of violation followed by a 30-day grace period. The city will then re-inspect the property and issue criminal summons if violations are not corrected.

The approval comes nearly a year after staff began looking into accessory dwelling units as a solution to the city’s housing shortage, according to Hampton Community Engagement Division Manager Monica Meharg.

“We thought that this would encourage a more economic and efficient use of existing parcels,” Meharg said.

Part of that research included looking at other cities’ approaches to accessory dwelling units. Several cities, including Newport News on the Peninsula, have some form of accessory dwelling program. However, the requirements and regulations vary across localities.

The city also conducted various community engagement efforts, including a survey that heeded more than 350 responses. In it, respondents said they wanted to prioritize multi-generation living and housing affordability, and nearly half said they would consider adding an accessory unit to their property.

Meharg added the approach was meant to balance community voices and developers with the groups of people the city envision capitalizing on the new opportunity.

“Since we do foresee accessory dwelling units being optimized by our travelling nurses and seniors, as well as our disabled population and our college students, we really wanted to  get a good spread of those voices in the conversation,” Meharg said.

Devlin Epding, 757-510-4037, devlin.epding@virginiamedia.com

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