Lakeville does not appear to have an ordinance allowing accessory dwelling units. Here's what that means and what your options are.
Extensive review of Lakeville's zoning code did not turn up an ADU-specific ordinance. Chapter 18 of the city code, "Accessory Buildings, Structures, Uses and Equipment," lists its contents as: Purpose, Agricultural Buildings, Conditional Use Permits, Single-Family Dwelling Accessory Uses, All Zoning Districts, Waste/Recycling, Sales in Residential Areas, and Community Gardens - no "accessory dwelling unit" entry appears anywhere in that list. A site-restricted search of the city's own website for "accessory dwelling unit" also returned no relevant results.
This is an absence-of-evidence finding, not a confirmed prohibition, and our confidence in it is lower than for some other cities on this list. Several Lakeville code pages were blocked from direct retrieval during our research, so it's possible the city addresses ADUs inside a residential-district chapter under a different term that didn't surface in our searches. If you have direct knowledge of an ADU pathway in Lakeville, we'd like to hear about it - see the contact link below.
| Build a shed or garage | Standard accessory structures are allowed under Lakeville's Chapter 18 rules, but not as an independent dwelling unit. |
| Call the city to confirm | Because several code pages couldn't be fully retrieved, it's worth calling Lakeville Development Services directly at 952-985-4400 to confirm before assuming an ADU isn't allowed. |
| Advocate for a code change | Several Twin Cities suburbs have adopted ADU ordinances in recent years - a resident-led push to Lakeville's Planning Commission could do the same. |
| Consider a nearby city | Burnsville, bordering Lakeville, allows ADUs by right (6/10). Apple Valley, also bordering, technically allows them via conditional use permit but is very restrictive (2/10). See the full city comparison. |