Millis planning board recommends ADU bylaw changes, sends amended draft to town meeting

The Town of Millis Planning Board on April 8 closed a public hearing and voted to send a revised accessory dwelling unit (ADU) zoning bylaw to the annual town meeting with two edits that the board said preserve local review while complying with state requirements. Richard Nichols, chair of the Planning Board, made the motion; the vote to forward the article carried on an “Aye” vote.

The proposed warrant article replaces the town’s existing “accessory family unit” wording with an “accessory dwelling unit” definition and aligns Millis’s bylaw with state ADU requirements. The draft sets a 900-square-foot cap for an ADU, makes the first ADU a right in residential zones subject to site-plan review, and preserves limited local control over placement, parking, setbacks and other design details. The board added language clarifying that a second ADU could be allowed only by special permit.

Why it matters: the state requires communities to allow ADUs by right, and many towns are revising zoning to comply while retaining neighborhood protections. The board said the changes aim to expand housing options while avoiding confusing overlapping rules from older bylaw language.

Planning staff…