What Is Ivins Changing About ADUs? Quick Answer
The Ivins City Council holds a public hearing Thursday, November 5, 2026, at 5:30 p.m. on Ordinance 2026-22, a rewrite of the city's accessory dwelling unit (ADU), garage and carport rules. Tracked changes in the draft would fold the separate tiny-home and kit-home rules into one manufactured-unit provision and raise the two-parking-space trigger from 600 to 650 square feet.
This report describes the draft ordinance posted on the city's website. The draft is a Word file with tracked changes, and the changes below are what its markup shows. SGWOM did not compare it with the codified Ivins City Code, so the markup may not capture every difference from current code. The Planning Commission recommended approval on Oct. 13, according to the ordinance. Nothing has been adopted.
What Does the Draft Keep?
Several of the core ADU limits appear in the draft without tracked changes:
- The owner must live on the property, either in the main home or the ADU. Owner occupancy means full-time residency by the owner as shown on the county tax assessment website.
- ADUs are allowed only in medium-density and low-density single-family residential zones, one detached ADU and one internal ADU per lot.
- ADUs are intended for long-term housing and may not be used as vacation rentals, short-term rentals or transient lodging. They may only be rented, not sold separately.
- A detached ADU must be between 400 and 1,000 square feet and cover no more than 30% of the rear yard.
- Separate utility meters and separate addresses for an ADU are prohibited.
- Balconies and a second story on a detached ADU are prohibited.
What Do the Tracked Changes Show?
| Topic | What the markup shows |
|---|---|
| Parking | A second off-street space would be required for ADUs larger than 650 square feet. The text now says 600. One space is still required for every ADU. |
| Manufactured units | New language says a detached ADU may be a manufactured dwelling unit of any type, including modular, park model, tiny home, kit home or box home, if it is permanently connected to utilities and attached to a site-built foundation that meets building code. Running gear, tongues, axles and wheels must be removed. The separate "tiny home" and "kit home" subsections, including the one-per-lot limits, are struck. |
| Inspections and certification | The city would inspect the foundation, electrical and plumbing portions of the installation. An off-site manufactured structure would need a HUD label, written manufacturer certification of code compliance, or a city inspection finding compliance. The draft strikes the third-party contractor certificate of compliance. |
| Definition of manufactured dwelling unit | Exhibit B strikes minimum width (24 feet), minimum roof pitch (2:12) and several size and chassis details, and adds the manufacturer-certification or city-inspection alternative to the HUD label. |
| Height | Detached accessory buildings, including ADUs, would follow Table 16-1, which ties maximum building height to setback (for example 12 feet at a 3-foot setback and 20 feet at 10 feet), and may not exceed the height of the primary home. A one-story, 15-foot (pitched) or 13-foot (flat) cap on ADUs is struck. Detached garages would follow the same table instead of a 20-foot limit. |
| Design standards | References to design standards add "except to the extent" they are prohibited by a section of the Utah Code cited in the draft as 10-20-618. |
| Housekeeping | Renumbering, a statute citation changed from 10-9a-530 to 10-21-303, and a ban on "mobile homes" as ADUs reworded to bar manufactured units not affixed as the building code allows. |
SGWOM did not review the Utah Code sections the draft cites, so we cannot say how much of the rewrite is driven by state law.
What Are the Other Hearings?
The council has three more public hearings the same night on Planning Commission recommendations: an amendment to Title 14 (Buildings and Construction), a zone text amendment on ADUs and manufactured dwelling units, and amendments to building permit issuance and certificate of occupancy rules. The city's notices state only the purpose. We did not find the proposed text for the Title 14 or the permit and CO amendments posted, so we cannot describe what they would change.
How Do I Comment?
- Where and when: Ivins City Hall, 85 N. Main St., Thursday, Nov. 5, 5:30 p.m.
- By email: City Recorder Kari D. Jimenez at kjimenez@ivinsutah.gov, or submit written views to the City Council.
- To read the proposal: a copy is available at the Ivins City Building Department and on ivinsutah.gov. Questions go to Building and Zoning Administrator Rob Dalley at 435-634-9753.
St. George's council is discussing its own short-term rental options the same day. For more Ivins coverage, see our Ivins city guide.
Frequently Asked Questions
When is the Ivins ADU public hearing?
The Ivins City Council holds public hearings on Thursday, November 5, 2026, at 5:30 p.m. at Ivins City Hall, 85 N. Main St. One hearing covers Ordinance 2026-22 on accessory dwelling units, garages, carports and manufactured units.
Can an ADU in Ivins be a tiny home or modular home under the draft?
The draft says a detached ADU may be a manufactured dwelling unit of any type, including modular, park model, tiny home and kit home, if permanently connected to utilities and attached to a site-built foundation. Wheels, axles and tongues must be removed.
Would Ivins ADUs still be barred from short-term rental use?
Yes, the draft text keeps that language unmarked. ADUs are intended for long-term housing and may not be used as vacation rentals, short-term rentals or transient lodging, and the owner must live on the property.
How do I comment on the Ivins ADU ordinance?
Attend the Nov. 5 meeting, email City Recorder Kari D. Jimenez at kjimenez@ivinsutah.gov or submit written views to the council. Copies of the proposal are at the Building Department and on ivinsutah.gov; call 435-634-9753 with questions.
Sources: Ivins City, Ordinance No. 2026-22 draft with Exhibits A and B (tracked changes); Ivins City, "Official Notice of Public Hearing: ADUs and Manufactured Dwelling Units," Nov. 5, 2026; Ivins City, "Official Notice of Public Hearing: Title 14," Nov. 5, 2026; Ivins City, "Official Notice of Public Hearing: Building Permit Issuance and CO Rules," Nov. 5, 2026; Ivins City website, upcoming public hearings
