Coon Rapids does not currently have an ordinance allowing accessory dwelling units. Here's what that means and what your options are.
Review of Coon Rapids' published guidance and housing materials turned up no ADU-specific ordinance. The city's own published guidance covers only general accessory structures - garages and sheds for storage - which are explicitly capped at 1,600 sq ft (or 2,000 sq ft on lots of 1 acre or more) with a 20 ft height limit, or the height of the principal structure, whichever is less. These rules govern storage buildings, not habitable living units, and no separate accessory-apartment or ADU provision was identified.
This is an absence-of-evidence finding rather than a confirmed prohibition. It's corroborated by a third-party summary of Minnesota ADU regulations, but Coon Rapids' full code library could not be entirely read, so it's possible a narrow provision exists elsewhere that didn't surface in our research. If you have direct knowledge of an ADU pathway in Coon Rapids, we'd like to hear about it - see the contact link below.
| Build a garage or shed | Storage buildings up to 1,600 sq ft (2,000 sq ft on 1+ acre lots) are allowed under the city's garage/shed rules, but they're for storage, not living quarters. |
| Confirm directly with the city | Because this is an absence-of-evidence finding rather than a confirmed ban, it's worth confirming directly with Coon Rapids' planning staff before ruling out an ADU entirely. |
| Advocate for a code change | Several Twin Cities suburbs have adopted ADU ordinances in recent years - a resident-led push to Coon Rapids' Planning Commission could do the same. |
| Consider a nearby city | Blaine, bordering Coon Rapids, allows attached ADUs (though it recently banned detached ADUs) - more restrictive than some metro cities, but more than Coon Rapids currently offers. Neighboring Brooklyn Park does not currently allow ADUs either. See the full city comparison. |