Eagle
ADU Pass helps homeowners in Eagle, Ada County, Idaho navigate the permit paperwork for building an accessory dwelling unit. This area covers 1 ZIP code.
Map
Ada County — county ADU rules and overlays
County ADU ordinance
Ada County (state-capital county; ~512,000 residents — Idaho's most populous county — encompassing Boise, Meridian, Eagle, Garden City, Kuna, Star, and unincorporated tracts in the Boise River Valley and adjoining foothills) regulates land use in unincorporated areas through the Ada County Code Title 8 (Zoning Ordinance), administered by the Ada County Development Services Department. Idaho has no statewide ADU preemption — Idaho's stateAduLaw is netEffect 'no-statewide-law' — but Idaho Code § 67-6537 (the 'Local Land Use Planning Act') sets minimum procedural floors. The Ada County zoning ordinance permits 'accessory dwelling units' in rural and large-lot residential districts (RR, RP, R-1, R-2, R-3) by right on parcels of typically 1+ acres subject to size limits (commonly 1,000 sq ft or 50% of principal dwelling), one-per-lot limit, and parking. Smaller residential districts treat ADUs as conditional uses requiring P&Z Commission approval. Ada County updated Title 8 in 2023 to expand ADU allowances modestly in response to regional housing pressure.
County regulatory overlays
Idaho state — ADU law and programs
State ADU law
Idaho enacted statewide ADU preemption through HB 166 (2023), passed by the Sixty-seventh Idaho Legislature and signed by Governor Brad Little, effective 2023-07-01. The act guarantees at least one ADU per residentially-zoned, owner-occupied lot in covered jurisdictions and prohibits cities and counties from outright banning ADUs in residential zones. Local governments may still impose health, safety, and infrastructure standards (parking, setbacks, design review) but may not impose hard maximum size caps. The act simultaneously preempts HOA / restrictive-covenant bans on ADUs as of the effective date (see stateHoaPreemption); covenants recorded before 2023-07-01 are NOT grandfathered for blanket prohibitions on owner-occupied homesteads, distinguishing Idaho from Hawaii's grandfathering approach. The legislature created a follow-on study committee on state and local land-use regulations whose recommendations have produced additional measures in subsequent sessions.
State HOA preemption
Idaho HB 166 (2023) preempts HOA and restrictive-covenant bans on ADUs as of 2023-07-01. HOAs cannot create or enforce rules that generally ban ADUs on detached, owner-occupied properties. As of 2023-07-01, no new restrictive covenants may be created to prohibit ADUs on owner-occupied homesteads. HOAs retain authority to impose 'reasonable regulations' on ADUs (size, parking, design, materials) within the bounds of the state floor; they may not use those reasonable regulations to effectively ban ADUs. Idaho's preemption is broader than Hawaii's (which grandfathers pre-Act covenants) but narrower than Colorado's (which voids ALL HOA ADU prohibitions): Idaho focuses specifically on owner-occupied homesteads. The Idaho Homeowner's Association Act, Idaho Code Title 55 Chapter 32, governs HOA powers generally.
State financing programs
Idaho does not operate an ADU-specific statewide loan, grant, or forgivable-loan program. The Idaho Housing and Finance Association (IHFA) is the state's housing finance agency and administers a robust portfolio: first-time-homebuyer mortgages, down-payment assistance, the IHFA Heroes Loan Program (for first responders, military, healthcare, educators), the federal HOME Investment Partnerships Program (gap financing for affordable rental development), and the federal Low-Income Housing Tax Credit allocation. None target ADU construction directly; an ADU-bearing primary residence on an Idaho lot can qualify for the underlying mortgage when other criteria are met. The Idaho Homeowner Assistance Fund operates as a federally-funded mortgage and utility backstop.
State housing programs
Idaho's state-level ADU programs operate primarily through the HB 166 preemption framework (effective 2023-07-01) rather than a separate pre-approved-plan catalog or fee-waiver statute. The state does not maintain a statewide ADU plan library. Idaho Smart Growth (a nonprofit) maintains widely-used model ADU zoning module guidance. The Idaho Legislature's land-use study committee, formed after HB 166, has issued recommendations that have produced incremental land-use legislation but no statewide ADU plan or fee-waiver program. ADU-relevant programs at the state level are essentially limited to the HB 166 preemption itself.
Federal (United States) — ADU-relevant rules and programs
Federal ADU law
The United States has no federal statute that directly regulates accessory dwelling unit entitlement or design. Land-use authority over ADUs resides with states and local governments under the traditional police power. Federal engagement is limited to financing (Fannie/Freddie/FHA/VA/USDA), flood insurance (FEMA/NFIP), and discretionary housing programs (HUD), which are recorded in sibling sections of this file.
Federal financing programs
Federal housing-finance agencies and GSEs set nationwide underwriting rules that govern whether an ADU can be financed, appraised, and counted toward mortgage qualifying income. The relevant actors are Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, FHA (HUD), VA, and USDA Rural Development.
Federal tax credits
There is no ADU-specific federal tax credit. ADUs may incidentally qualify for existing federal energy-efficiency and clean-energy tax credits when the ADU construction includes qualifying measures.
Federal housing programs
HUD administers several discretionary programs that can fund ADU-related activity at the grantee's election, but none is an ADU-specific program.
ZIP Code
- 83616
Post Office
- 141 N Palmetto Ave, 83616