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Board reviews draft Article 39 updating ADU rules; staff to clarify measurement and state alignment
Summary
Planning staff presented proposed accessory dwelling unit (ADU) bylaw amendments (Article 39) to align town rules with new state regulations, clarify ADU location options, and explain how gross floor area will be measured relative to pending state guidance.
The Planning Board reviewed draft Article 39 on accessory dwelling units (ADUs) at its March 25 meeting. Staff said the proposed changes are intended to align the town's ADU provisions with new or forthcoming state regulations and to clarify where ADUs can be located on a lot.
Presenters said that older language in the bylaw still suggested ADUs had to be under the same roof as the primary dwelling; the proposed revisions explicitly allow detached ADUs and clarify nonconforming-lot provisions. Staff also flagged a measurement difference between the town and the state's draft rules: Concord's zoning bylaw measures gross square footage from outside wall to outside wall, while the state's draft guidance measures inside-wall-to-inside-wall. "So there could be a 6 inch or 12 inch difference ... add up to a hundred square feet," a board member observed; members said staff should explain why the town proposes a 1,000-square-foot threshold (rather than 900) in that context.
Board members advised splitting the slides into a short summary slide followed by an explanation/breakdown slide for each proposed change, and to keep the presentation focused on reasons so the public is not confused by slide titles. Several members suggested placing a clear explanatory note in the packet or briefing book describing how the town's measurement method compares with the state's final regulation and that the town's change is intended to avoid inadvertent loss of units should state guidance differ.
No formal vote on Article 39 was taken at the March 25 meeting; staff were directed to revise presentation slides and briefing materials for the upcoming public hearing and town meeting.
