Mayfield Town to hold work session, public hearing on detached accessory dwelling units

MAYFIELD – The Mayfield Town Council is planning a public hearing on April 8 ahead of any decisions on how to accommodate detached accessory dwelling units (ADU) within town limits. That public hearing and a work session on the topic were announced during the town council’s regular March 11 meeting.

Currently, Mayfield Town ordinance only allows internal accessory dwelling units. During a Feb. 4 town planning commission meeting, there was an initial review of internal and detached accessory dwelling unit ordinances. During that meeting, Mayor Travis Good said he would welcome input on detached ADUs at a public hearing.

“What we’re trying to do is just get ahead of the state mandate to allow detached ADU use,” Good said. “We’re trying to be in compliance so that it’s not a huge impact to our town and our community. What we’re really trying to do is define what an ADU looks like.”

According to Planning Commission Chairman Steve Anderson, any new ordinance to allow the external dwelling units would result in a change to the current ordinance on the lot size required for an ADU.

Currently, an owner who would like to create a housing or rental unit within his or her existing home needs a lot of just over 20,000 square feet (about a half acre). With a detached unit, the minimum size would increase to 30,000 square feet (a little more than two-thirds of an acre).

Accessory dwelling units are small, self-contained residential units located on the same property as an existing home. The units typically include living spaces such as a kitchen and bathroom and provide an independent living space while remaining part of the main property.

ADUs are known by many different names depending on their structure, location or intended use. When referring to their placement or design, they may be called backyard cottages, garden apartments or basement apartments. Units created though conversions of existing structures are sometimes known as garage apartments, carriage houses or coach houses.

In planning-and-zoning contexts, ADUs are frequently referred to by technical terms such as secondary dwelling units, accessory apartments or accessory structures.

On Feb. 11, 2026, the council adopted Ordinance No. 2026-1 establishing regulations for internal accessory dwelling units (IADU). The ordinance complies with Utah law and defines an IADU as a self-contained living unit located entirely within the footprint of an existing single-family residence.

The measure requires the property to be owner-occupied, allows only one IADU per lot, and restricts rentals to occupancy of 30 days or more. The ordinance also sets development and safety standards, including compliance with adopted building and fire codes, septic system approval from the Central Utah Public Health Department, additional off-street parking and maintaining the home’s exterior appearance. The ordinance became effective in February 2026.

“We’ll obviously have some debate about this next month when we have the public hearing on this (external ADUs),” Good said. “We’re trying to say that the health department has to come and approve your septic for your accessory building. And so I think we’ve stated that in there pretty well; if we’ve maybe overstated that that’s understandable.”

According to Good, he wants the council look at the issue before its April 1 work session, in order to identify any changes to the plan that need to be made. The public hearing April 8 will be on the same night as a regular council meeting.