Carver County, MN Accessory Structures: ADU Rules (2026)

070(C) of the Carver County Code of Ordinances governs single-family residences in the Agriculture District and directly addresses what would elsewhere be called an accessory dwelling unit. The rule requires the residence to be maintained as one contiguous living space served by one set of utilities. Guest quarters and extended family accommodations are permitted, but only if they are integrated into the principal structure, meaning built into and functioning as part of the main house rather than as a stand-alone unit. The code then lists what is expressly prohibited: a separate rental unit, an additional street address, dual utility meters, or distinctly segregated entrances.

In practice this closes off the common ADU model of a detached in-law suite, a garage apartment with its own entrance and meter, or a basement unit rented out independently, because any of those features (a separate entrance, a second meter, a distinct address) triggers the prohibition. 073(A) reinforces this on the accessory-structure side: detached garages, sheds and hobby buildings are permitted for personal storage, hobbies and similar uses, but "guest quarters and/or additional dwelling units are strictly prohibited" in those structures. 073(A)(5)) but cannot convert any part of it, or an addition to the house, into an independently occupiable dwelling.