Scranton, PA Accessory Structures: ADU Rules (2026)

City Code Section 445-8 defines 'Dwelling: Accessory (ADU)' as a residential dwelling unit, not a mobile home, located on the same lot as a single-family dwelling, either inside the same building or in a separate detached structure. The definition sets the jurisdictional limit itself: an ADU may only be developed in those zoning districts where the use is listed as permitted by right, special exception, or conditional use, so the first question for any Scranton property is which of those three categories, if any, the applicable district's use table assigns to the ADU use.

Where the Table of Accessory Use Regulations in Section 445-12 lists the ADU as a special exception, the applicant must clear the Zoning Hearing Board process in Section 445-40, showing the use will not harm neighborhood health, safety, or welfare, will not overburden water, sewer, or road capacity, and conforms to the Scranton-Abingtons Planning Association Comprehensive Plan, plus the additional criteria under Section 445-41. W supplies the one ADU-specific standard in that list: in addition to whatever off-street parking the principal single-family dwelling already requires, the accessory dwelling unit itself must have its own off-street parking space.

A zoning permit and certificate of use and occupancy application follows the standard procedure in Section 445-74 once the underlying use approval, whether by-right, conditional, or special exception, is secured. Because the by-right, conditional, or special-exception classification differs from district to district under Section 445-12's tables, a property owner has to check that specific table before assuming an ADU can be added without a hearing.