Kitsap County, WA Accessory Structures: Garage Conversions (2026)

015(B)(4) gives a detached ADU outside a UGA two ways to satisfy the location standard: it must either sit within one hundred fifty feet of the primary residence, or it must be the conversion of an existing detached structure such as a garage, which is exempt from the 150-foot rule. That flexibility is paired with two other requirements in the same subsection group: (B)(5) requires the ADU to be designed to maintain the appearance of the primary residence, so a converted garage generally needs matching siding, roofline, or trim rather than staying an obviously separate outbuilding, and (B)(6) requires the converted structure to meet all setback requirements for the zone in which it sits, with no exemption for the conversion.

015(B): only one ADU per lot (B)(1), owner-occupancy of either unit (B)(2), the nine-hundred-square-foot or fifty-percent-of-habitable-area size cap (B)(3), applicable health district water and sewage standards (B)(7), a same-side-street entrance with added off-street parking (B)(9), and a bar on mobile homes or recreational vehicles as the conversion (B)(8). An existing, previously unpermitted garage conversion outside a UGA can seek legalization as a Type II permit under (B)(11) through the Kitsap County Department of Community Development if the current owner did not build it, did not own the parcel when it was converted, and can document due diligence. The section was last amended by Ordinance 611 (2022) § 185.