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Planner asks Hubbardston board to replace Article 24 with model accessory-dwelling-unit bylaw
Summary
Town planner Alec presented a revised Article 24 to create a new accessory dwelling unit (ADU) bylaw formatted to the town's standard; the board agreed to submit the draft for the warrant and to review materials before the public hearing.
Alec, the town planner, recommended replacing the existing Article 24 (Accessory Dwelling Unit) with a new model bylaw formatted to the planning board’s standard organizing system and numbering.
Alec told the board the proposed Article 24 will have two sections: definitions and regulations. He recommended striking the current Article 24 “in its entirety and adopt the new model by law that was developed, in the format it is presented to you tonight.” He said he and a colleague reduced and refined earlier drafts and provided a Word version for board members to mark up offline.
Board members discussed a central policy choice: whether to allow more than one ADU on a single lot via special permit. One member reminded the board that the current bylaw contains a hard cap of a single ADU per lot; others raised concerns about using repeated special permits to create multiple dwelling units on one parcel. Board members also noted that the existing bylaws already permit cabins, campgrounds and other alternative lodging as a separately regulated use, which could affect how multiple accessory units are treated.
Next steps: The board authorized staff to submit Article 24 for the warrant and scheduled a public hearing on April 17, 2025. Planning staff asked members to review the Word version in the packet, send markups directly to the planner (the packet version cannot be edited), and to expect further refinements ahead of the public hearing.
