Owensboro, KY Accessory Structures: ADU Rules (2026)

The joint Owensboro-Daviess County Zoning Ordinance regulates accessory dwelling units through the "Dwelling: Accessory" use category in the Section 8.2 Zones and Uses Table, with the detailed standard spelled out at Section 8.4(2A). The ordinance's own amendment history for Article VIII records that a 2003-2004 revision "increased number of accessory dwelling units allowed in P-1, B-1, B-2, B-3, and B-4 zones from 1 to 2 units to be located to the rear or above the principally permitted business," and Section 8.4(2A) has since been revised again (an amendment specific to "Dwelling: Accessory/2A" is recorded as adopted August 15, 2023) to raise the general cap to four units.

Under Section 8.4(2A), an accessory dwelling unit must be part of the principal building itself and located above or to the rear of the principally permitted business use; a garage apartment or similar unit that is a separate structure does not qualify under this provision. The four-unit cap disappears entirely when the ground-floor commercial use occupies the whole first floor of the building, that first floor is at least 5,000 square feet, and municipal sanitary sewer service is available to the property, in which case an unlimited number of dwelling units may be built above the business. A separate provision, Section 8.4(2B), covers watchman or caretaker dwelling units located on the same premises as the permitted use, which are treated differently from the general accessory dwelling unit standard in 2A. Any accessory dwelling unit still has to meet the site development standards, including height and lot coverage limits, that apply to the zone under Article 8.