Blackfoot planners review ADU, starter-home code changes ahead of Dec. 8 hearing
City staff said state law now requires accessory dwelling units to be allowed in all residential zones.
Blackfoot's Planning & Zoning Commission reviewed draft city code changes on accessory dwelling units, short-term rentals and starter-home subdivisions at a work meeting Tuesday, Nov. 10, according to the meeting agenda and recording.
City staff said a state law update requires every residential zone to allow an accessory dwelling unit, or ADU. The draft strikes the city's conditional-use permit requirement; staff said ADUs are to be allowed by right, "without an additional hearing or conditional use permit" (8:46), and that motorhomes, campers and RVs will be excluded from the definition.
The draft adds the state's short-term rental definition, though staff said the city is "not really interested in regulating that" (6:28). It also defines a starter home subdivision as at least four acres of single-family detached homes on smaller lots, no larger than 1,500 square feet (7:29).
Staff said the next hearing is Dec. 8. The deadline for public notices for that hearing had already passed, so a commissioner's proposed further ADU clarification will come back at a later work meeting (21:11).
Source: City of Blackfoot Planning & Zoning work meeting agenda, Nov. 10, 2026; meeting recording; Citizen Portal transcript.