De Pere, WI Building Setbacks & Zoning: Lot Coverage Limits (2026)

Section 14-27(4)(k) caps how much ground-floor space accessory buildings can occupy on any residential lot that includes a backyard cottage: the combined footprint of every accessory building on the property, including the backyard cottage itself, cannot exceed 850 square feet. The only exception covers floor area that isn't at ground level; if the backyard cottage adds square footage on a second story or in a basement, that additional area does not count against the 850-square-foot cap. This cumulative limit is separate from the cottage's own individual building coverage figure that appears in the Table 2-8 dimensional standards for the cottage structure alone, and separate from any coverage limits that apply to accessory buildings on lots without a backyard cottage under Section 14-78.

Because the cap counts every accessory structure together, a homeowner who already has a detached garage or shed has to subtract that structure's existing footprint before sizing a new backyard cottage; exceeding 850 square feet of combined single-story accessory building area is not allowed no matter how the space is divided among structures. The development services director, who administers Chapter 14 under Section 14-150, checks this combined figure during building permit review for a proposed backyard cottage. The 850-square-foot standard is written directly into the ordinance text rather than buried in one of the chapter's harder-to-read dimensional tables, so it is a fixed number an applicant can plan against rather than a discretionary determination made case by case.