California likes the term ADU since it implies it has a kitchen, bathroom, and independent entrance.

Are you talking full plans or just a site plan as they need to review elevations, put the adu at right entrance so the doors match entrance, they need to put plans together that meet code, coordinate with the civil, structural and MEP engineers.

1) Not familiar with your market, but in Houston, there are townhomes where the bedroom on Ground Floor has a separate entrance.

It was a large older farmhouse, which had plenty of space for separate entrances and an upper/lower units, with bathrooms on each floor.

If you don't want to go to the expense of a security system, they have fake cameras with flashing lights that you can mount around entrances.

Homes with a separate entrance that you can live upstairs and rent downstairs are easier to find and can achieve any house hacking goals.

I need to find a better solution for both concrete paint/coating for high-traffic areas and flooring (I have had tons of issues with LVP with water from entrances and separation and unlocking), and I want to know if it is worth spending the extra money on metal roofing due to its durability.I look forward to hearing about your experiences!

If the car was parked in front of a private driveway entrance, i am not sure there would be much debate about getting it removed.

Or is it open to the outside (besides the entrance/exit)? 

We are not comfortable with sharing rooms with the tenant, so a separate entrance such as an ADU would be ideal.