The Zoning Board voted on Wednesday, Sept. 24 to recommend an amendment to the current zoning bylaw governing Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) at the upcoming Town Meeting, which will take place on Oct. 27. The amendment will bring the bylaws into compliance with the Affordable Homes Act passed by the Massachusetts legislature last year.
The state law creates a right to have an ADU but allows towns to regulate them within their existing permit and zoning process, with some restrictions.
According to Board member Katherine Flaws, “the state law gives property owners more control over what they do with their own property.” This new bylaw is “not meant to be punitive; it’s intended to have an overall better result” than having fully unregulated ADUs without taking away that control, she added.
The Planning Board, working with the Board of Health and the building inspector, did their homework on this new version of the bylaw, looking at the way other towns whose updated bylaws have been reviewed/approved by the attorney general. The town council also weighed in.
According to Director Emilie Cademartori, “the intent was not to limit things,” as ADUs are now “a by-right use under state law.” The proposal is intended to ensure that if someone does intend to put an ADU on their property, there is an “opportunity to be sure that it doesn’t have an undue impact on a neighbor, on drainage, or anything. It’s an opportunity to make sure the septic system has the capacity, to make sure the water line is adequate for the increased flow.”
The new bylaw would also provide more public safety oversight. New ADU build permits will go through the Zoning Board so the fire protection officer will now have a better chance to review applications before permits are issued. For example, if there is a larger property putting in a long driveway leading to an ADU towards the back of the property the fire department may have an issue with distance to hydrants.
Current ADUs will be grandfathered in, with existing, specially-permitted ADUs becoming by-right ADUs under this new bylaw. This includes those specially permitted ADUs that are larger than the state law’s definition (also adopted by the new bylaw proposal) which limits the size of ADUs to 900 sq. ft.
Cademartori stated as the public hearing came to a close: “In the end, we just wanted to apply reasonable rules that still allowed the use to occur, but without unnecessary harm to the neighbors or the environment. Which is the intent of zoning anyway.”
