The Town of Yucca Valley has recently received requests to build guest houses and casitas on residential properties with single family homes, as well as to build garages between the house and the street. Because the town’s development code does not address any of the issues associated with the number of or placement of accessory structures, the planning commission discussed the issue at its meeting last night. Managing editor Tami Roleff details what they decided…
The Yucca Valley Development Code allows property owners to build up to four accessory buildings, such as a guest house, garage, storage shed, and barn, on their property, but doesn’t address how many of each structure may be built. So a single-family home could theoretically have the main house, plus four guest houses or casitas on the property. At last night’s meeting of the Yucca Valley Planning Commission, commissioners generally agreed that the number, types, looks, and placement of accessory structures depends on the property’s lot size; a 10- or even 1-acre lot is a lot different than a half-acre lot. Commissioners also generally agreed they would prefer that the accessory structures look similar to the main residence, and that they didn’t necessarily like the idea of metal garages between the main house and the residential street. The commission authorized the deputy town manager to initiate amendments to the development code and bring them to the town council.
