Apple Valley, MN Accessory Structures: ADU Owner Occupancy (2026)

The owner-occupancy requirement sits in § 155.382(D)(2) of the Apple Valley Code of Ordinances, part of the performance standards that every accessory unit dwelling (AUD) approved by conditional use permit must meet in the City of Apple Valley, Minnesota (Dakota County). The section was adopted as Ord. 729 on 6-26-03 and amended by Ord. 1121 on 6-8-23.

The code defines who counts. The term property owner includes title holders and contract purchasers, so a buyer on a contract for deed satisfies the rule the same way a deed holder does. The owner must reside in either the primary residence or the AUD as their permanent residence. That choice matters: an owner can live in the AUD and rent out the main house, or the reverse, as long as one of the two units is the owner's permanent residence.

The code also builds in a limit on absences. The owner can be away from the property for a period not to exceed 180 consecutive days, but must reside in the home not less than 180 consecutive days per calendar year. During any absence, the subject property has to remain the applicant's legal and principal residence. An owner who keeps a second home elsewhere and treats the Apple Valley address as a secondary property does not meet the standard.

Related rules in the same section reinforce the owner-based structure. Under (D)(3), an AUD cannot be subdivided or otherwise segregated in ownership from the primary residence structure, so the two units cannot be sold to separate owners. Under (D)(12), only one AUD is permitted on a lot or parcel. The permit itself is required by subsection (C), which provides that no property in a one-family residential district can hold more than one dwelling unit unless a conditional use permit is first obtained from the city. Because the owner-occupancy standard is a performance standard of the permit, it is part of what the City Council reviews when it acts on the application, and it continues to apply for as long as the AUD is in use.