Building a backyard apartment in Wichita has long meant months of waiting—public hearings, advisory board reviews, planning commission appearances.
A proposal now moving through city planning channels would cut that process dramatically, and neighbors who once received mailed notice within 200 feet of a proposed unit may find themselves left off the list entirely under the new rules.
The Advance Plans Committee voted March 12 to move the item to the full Metropolitan Area Planning Commission without a specific date, with the understanding it would be scheduled on a future, lighter agenda. No hearing date has been set.
What would actually change
Right now, adding a backyard unit—officially called an Accessory Dwelling Unit, or ADU—in most single-family neighborhoods requires a conditional use permit. That process typically takes 60 to 90 days and involves public hearings before both a District Advisory Board and the planning commission…