East Wenatchee’s New ADU Law Explained

Building and maintaining accessory dwelling units (ADUs) can be a challenge, but in East Wenatchee it just got a little less onerous.

The city announced Wednesday that it’s moving full steam ahead with Ordinance 2024-02. According to a press release, “this ordinance introduces several key changes intended to remove obstacles and simplify the ADU construction process.”

The American Planning Association defines an ADU as “a smaller, self-contained dwelling unit located on the same lot as a detached (i.e., single-family) home.”

“Indoor, attached and detached ADUs have the potential to increase housing affordability (for both homeowners and renters), create a broader range of housing options in the community, enable seniors to remain close to family as they age and facilitate better use of existing housing fabric in established neighborhoods.”

“We really hope that the change in ordinance will help with housing affordability,” says East Wenatchee spokeswoman Trina Elmes. “As you know, rent prices are sky high. We hope that ADUs will help people find places to live.”

“It also adds diversity to our housing market,” Elmes says. “ADUs are newer; until recently, we didn’t pay much attention to them. But with the housing crisis, we’re trying to diversify our housing options.”

Let us now get to the heart of Regulation 2024-02. Regulation:

• Removes the minimum plot size requirement that previously limited property owners
• Allows for not one, but two ADUs on a residential lot
• Removes the owner occupancy clause; property owners now have unlimited discretion over how they would use their ADUs
• Eases the subdivision process, meaning greater flexibility in ADU construction