|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
SPENCER – At the Sept. 17 Planning Board meeting, Town Administrator Jeff Bridges introduced a proposed warrant article for November Special Town Meeting concerning bylaw changes for accessory dwelling units ADUs) in areas zoned for residential or town commercial (town center) use.
Noting that ADUs are called “accessory apartments,” in local bylaws, Bridges said they are allowed by special permit with a 700 square foot maximum.
However, state law is pre-empting that, allowing for accessory dwelling units of up to 900 feet to be installed “by right” in residential areas if they meet reasonable criteria, according to Bridges.
For example, the units must have the appearance of a single-family residence and be inclusive of sleeping, cooking and sanitary facilities. They must also have a separate entrance and a gross area not larger than half the main dwelling or 900 square feet, whichever is smaller.
Also, at least one but not more than two parking spaces would be allowed.
A new provision is that the ADU cannot be a short-term rental, according to Bridges.
The town administrator said he is presenting a draft that has yet to be reviewed in detail by town counsel.
“This is not meant to carve up an existing house,” he said. “This is meant to add on to an existing house,” he clarified.
Bridges said the proposed bylaw retains the current regulations for up to 700 square feet in the town center zone. He asked Planning Board members if they wanted to keep the special permit process there or have it “by right,” instead.
He noted an owner does not have to occupy the main structure so there is a possibility of two renters.
The town has until February 2025 to come up with a bylaw to comply with state law.
Planning Board member Shirley Shiver questioned whether there is time enough “for a thoughtful process,” to come up with a bylaw.
Bridges said the state is making the change to provide more housing so people have places to live. He said there are Town Meetings in November or May and the deadline is in between.
“I don’t think you have to think about it too much,” Bridges said.
The town administrator said he did not know what would happen if the town failed to come up with a bylaw consistent with the new state plan.
Shiver said she is on board with accessory dwellings. However, she said the town also has to give careful study to a housing production plan to be able to change other bylaws. Accessory dwellings are included in that plan.
Plus, she said, there is a master plan that must be reviewed and “synthesized.”
Planning Board Chair Robert Ceppi said he gets calls all the time from people looking for apartments. Individuals who live in the town center are probably lower-income and need to be downtown to access transportation like buses and be near grocery stores, he said.
“I don’t see why we don’t make it by right and 900 feet and not restrict from what we would do in any other district,” Ceppi said, of the town center.
Bridges said he needed clarification on whether the units can be detached. The language suggests they cannot but Shiver noted she thought they could be detached via state building code and Title 5.
Bridges said he was advised by the Board of Selectmen to bring the matter to the Planning Board for its recommendation for Town Meeting.
He said the goal is to have town counsel review it and for the Planning Board to hold the necessary public hearings before November.
The administrator, who is doing planner duties, said Spencer continues to advertise for a new town planner but has been unsuccessful, even reaching out to professional planning entities in both Massachusetts and Connecticut. He said no one wants to find a new planner more than he does.
The previous planner/conservation agent was Laura Vivier, who left in May to become conservation agent in Sturbridge.
