Accessory Dwelling Units

(a)Accessory Dwelling Units

(ADUs)are secondary studio or bedroom dwelling units that include a separate entrance, kitchen, and bathroom facilities, detached from or attached to the primary single-family home on the zoning lot. For attached ADUs, the entrance may be shared with the primary single-family home. Nothing in this Section shall be construed to exempt ADUs from compliance with existing regulations of the Section 8 program.

(b)Accessory dwelling units may be allowed as a permitted use in an R1, A, or R2 zone, subject to the following conditions:

(1)The maximum size of each accessory dwelling unit shall be four hundred square feet (400 sq. ft.) for lots between three thousand five hundred (3,500) and four thousand nine hundred ninety-nine square feet (4,999 sq. ft.), and up to eight hundred square feet (800 sq. ft.) for lots between five thousand (5,000) and nine thousand nine hundred ninety-nine square feet (9,999 sq. ft.) or more.

(2)Shall comply with the Yard and Area Regulations as provided in 21 GCA, Chapter 61, Article 5, except as otherwise provided in § 61142 of this Subarticle.

(3)Accessory dwelling units are not permitted:

(A)on lots with a lot area of less than three thousand five hundred square feet (3,500 sq. ft.); or

(B)on lots that have more than one

(1)dwelling unit, including, but not necessarily limited to, more than one

(1)single-family dwelling, bed and breakfasts, duplexes, short-term vacation rental units; and any other permitted or conditional use structure in an A, R1 or R2 zone; or

(C)on lots without access; or

(D)on lots where existing Type 2 septic tank and leaching field sewage disposal systems are not adequate for the additional occupancy or cannot be upgraded to adequately serve the occupancy increase because of an ADU.

(4)The property owner or owners or persons who are related by blood, marriage, or adoption to the property owners, or designated authorized representative, shall occupy the primary dwelling unit or the accessory dwelling unit; except in unforeseen hardship circumstances including, but not limited to, active military deployment or serious illness, which prevent the continued occupancy of the primary dwelling unit or the accessory dwelling unit. For purposes of this Section, “designated authorized representative(s)” means the person or persons designated by the property owner or owners to the Department of Land Management, who are responsible for managing the property;

(5)One

(1)off-street parking space per accessory dwelling unit must be provided.

(6)The accessory dwelling unit may only be used for long-term rental or otherwise occupied for periods of at least six

(6)months, and cannot be used as a bed and breakfast or short-term vacation rental.

(7)The owner or owners of the lot shall record deeds running with the land with the Department of Land Management stating that:

(A)neither the owner or owners, nor their heirs, successors or assigns of the owner or owners will submit the lot or any portion thereof to a condominium property regime to separate the ownership of its primary dwelling unit; and CH. 61 ZONING LAW OF GUAM

(B)the deed restrictions lapse upon removal of the accessory dwelling unit, and all of the foregoing covenants are binding upon any and all heirs, successors and assigns of the owner or owners. The covenant must be recorded on a form approved by or provided by the Director of the Department of Land Management and may contain such terms as the Director deems necessary to ensure its enforceability. The failure of an owner or of an owner’s heir, successor or assign to abide by such deed will be deemed a violation and will be grounds for enforcement by the Director pursuant to law.

(8)All other provisions in Guam law applicable to the construction and occupancy of structures in A, R1, and R2 zones shall apply, including, but not limited to, setback requirements, water, wastewater and power requirements, except as otherwise explicitly provided in § 61142 of this Subarticle.

(9)All rentals of an accessory dwelling unit, or of the primary dwelling unit if the property owner or owners, or persons who are related by blood, marriage or adoption to the property owner or owners, or designated authorized representative(s) who choose to receive rent for the primary dwelling unit and occupy the accessory dwelling unit, must be evidenced by a written rental agreement signed by the owner and the tenant for a lease period of at least six

(6)months, provided, that after the initial lease period is concluded, the owner may allow the same tenant to continue renting the accessory dwelling unit on a consecutive month-to-month basis. All provisions in Guam law relative to business licensing requirements for rentals of property shall still apply.

(10)At the time of application for a building permit, the applicant shall first obtain written confirmation from the responsible agencies, including the Guam Waterworks Authority, the Guam Environmental Protection Agency, and the Department of Public Works, that wastewater treatment and disposal, water supply, and access roadways are adequate to accommodate the accessory dwelling unit.

(11)An accessory dwelling unit may be created by building a new structure detached from the primary dwelling unit or through conversion of a legally established structure that is either attached to or detached from the primary dwelling unit subject to meeting all pertaining zoning requirements, except as otherwise explicitly provided in § 61142 of this Subarticle.

(12)The owner of a structure constructed without a building permit prior to the effective date of this Subarticle who wants to convert that structure to an accessory dwelling unit shall obtain an afterthe-fact building permit. In addition to fulfilling the base requirements of the after-the-fact building permit, any adjustments to the structure must conform to the accessory dwelling unit regulations enumerated in this Section and any additional adopted policies and rules.

(13)The Department of Land Management and the Department of Public Works must be notified upon removal of an accessory dwelling unit and appropriate procedures and regulations for demolition permits shall still apply.

(14)If an accessory dwelling unit is advertised as a bed and breakfast or short-term vacation rental, the existence of such advertisement will be prima facie evidence of the following:

(A)that the owner of the advertised unit disseminated or directed the dissemination of the advertisement in that form and manner; and

(B)that a bed and breakfast or short-term vacation rental, as applicable, is being operated at the location advertised. CH. 61 ZONING LAW OF GUAM

(C)The burden of proof is on the owner to establish otherwise with respect to the advertisement and that the subject property either is not being used as a bed and breakfast or short-term vacation rental, or that it is being used legally for such purpose.

(15)A building permit and all approvals required for an ADU unit shall be considered and approved ministerially without discretionary review. The permitting or reviewing agency shall either approve or deny the application for an ADU within sixty

(60)days from the date the agency receives a completed application if there is an existing single-family dwelling on the lot. If the permit application for an ADU is submitted with a permit application to create a new single-family dwelling on the lot, the permitting or reviewing agency may delay approving or denying the permit application for the ADU unit until the permitting agency approves or denies the permit application to create the new single-family dwelling, but the application for the ADU shall be considered without discretionary review. If the applicant requests a delay, the sixty (60)-day time period shall be tolled for the period of the delay. If the agency has not approved or denied the completed application within sixty

(60)days, the application shall be deemed approved. The permitting agency may charge a fee to reimburse it for costs incurred to implement this Subsection, including the costs of adopting or amending any regulation that provides for the creation of an ADU. If the permitting or reviewing agency denies an application for an ADU pursuant to this Subsection, the permitting or reviewing agency shall, within the sixty

(60)day time period described in this Subsection, return in writing a full set of comments to the applicant with a list of items that are defective or deficient and a description of how the application can be remedied by the applicant.

(16)The following public agencies are required to service lots with ADUs:

(A)Adequacy of sewage disposal system shall be secured in writing from the Guam Environmental Protection Agency

(GEPA)and the Guam Waterworks Authority (GWA).

(B)Adequacy of fire protection for all lots served by private streets shall be secured in writing from the Guam Fire Department.

(C)The lot must have direct access to a street that meets fire code requirements for fire apparatus access roads.

(17)Lease agreements executed under this Subarticle are subject to 21 GCA, Chapter 48 (Guam Landlord and Tenant Rental Act of 2018), except as may conflict with this Subarticle.

(18)All provisions in Guam law relative to fair housing and taxes, including, but not limited to, income taxes, property taxes, gross receipts taxes, insurance, and rentals shall apply, except as may conflict with this Subarticle.

(19)Lots zoned in an R1 zone shall be limited to one

(1)detached or one

(1)attached ADU. Lots zoned in an A or R2 zone shall be limited to one

(1)detached ADU or one

(1)attached ADU.

(20)Where an ADU is to be created as an attached or detached unit on a lot located within the Groundwater Protection Zone and within two hundred

(200)feet of a sewer main, the ADU shall be permitted only if the primary residential unit and the ADU are both connected to sewer. Where an ADU is to be created on any other properties island wide within fifty

(50)feet of a sewer main, the ADU will be permitted only if the primary residential unit and the ADU are both connected to sewer.

(21)Where a maximum of one

(1)ADU is to be created as an attached or detached unit on a lot located within the Groundwater Protection Zone, the lot must be a minimum of nineteen thousand two hundred square feet (19,200 sq. ft.) in size, and both the primary and ADU unit shall be served by a Type 4 sewage treatment/disposal system. CH. 61 ZONING LAW OF GUAM