Committee forwards zoning overhaul to council after amending ADU size

The Gardner City Public Welfare Committee voted Thursday to send an ordinance to the full City Council aimed at easing rules the city says have hindered housing renovation and production.

Councilor Hardin, who introduced the ordinance with Mayor Nicholson as a co-sponsor, told the committee the proposal grew from cases in which long-vacant multifamily buildings lost grandfathered status and were forced to seek special permits before renovation. “If there were an earthquake tomorrow that destroyed the neighborhood, our rules make it impossible to rebuild it as it was,” Councilor Hardin said, arguing the changes would target mostly built-out multifamily areas.

The ordinance package includes several elements: allowing accessory dwelling units (ADUs) to comply with the state Affordable Homes Act; creating a small-home (formerly “tiny-home”) classification; permitting multifamily housing “by right” in mapped neighborhoods that now contain many long-standing multifamily structures; shortening average permitting turnaround for housing projects; enabling starter-home overlays tied to sections of the state General Laws; and changing parking requirements for apartment units.

The committee approved an amendment increasing the ordinance27s minimum ADU size from 900 square feet (the state minimum cited in the draft) to…