Medina, OH Accessory Structures: ADU Owner Occupancy (2026)

13(c) of Medina's Zoning Code restricts who may occupy an in-law suite: the suite shall be used for housing family members only, and subsection (d) adds a physical-connection requirement, stating that the family member residing in the suite must have direct internal access to the common areas of the Dwelling Unit. Read together, these two conditions mean an in-law suite cannot function as a standalone unit occupied by someone reached only through an exterior entrance; the resident must be family, and that family member must be able to walk directly into the main house's shared living space without going back outside.

This internal-access requirement is also why subsection (f) bars building the suite in a detached accessory building, since a detached structure could not share internal common-area access with the primary dwelling. The occupancy condition sits alongside the suite's other limits: a maximum of one suite per detached dwelling under subsection (a), a forty percent gross-floor-area cap under subsection (b), and a bar on separate gas and electric utilities under subsection (e), all reinforcing that the suite is meant to house an extended family member inside a single household rather than create an independent second residence.

13 was adopted by Ordinance 109-14, passed June 23, 2014, and interior modifications needed to add the required internal access may require Building Department review under subsection (g).