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Lincoln staff outlines state-driven ADU changes and local limits
Summary
Town staff explained planned changes to accessory dwelling unit rules, noting the new state-mandated language is largely verbatim and describing how lot size, setbacks, utilities and unit size limits will affect where ADUs can be built.
Russell, a staff member, told the Lincoln Zoning Board that the current ordinance drafts incorporate recent state changes affecting accessory dwelling units, commonly called ADUs. “So the biggest the biggest thing right now that's going on is the ADUs,” he said, adding that the town’s draft mirrors the state language.
Why it matters: the state’s ADU language restricts where detached units can be placed, how utilities must be handled and what size a unit may be. Those limits will determine whether homeowners can add rental units without seeking zoning relief.
Russell said the ordinance allows ADUs “everywhere under certain under restrictions and then restrictions are written in the ordinance,” and walked board members through several practical effects. He said a detached ADU would not be allowed on lots smaller than 20,000 square feet unless an existing structure already sits on the lot, though applicants slightly under that threshold could seek relief: “if somebody's got 19,000 square feet, I don't mind. I don't see any reason why they couldn't come before the board and ask for dimensional relief,” he said. He also emphasized that an ADU must meet standard setback and lot-coverage rules: “It would still have to fall within the setbacks,” he said.
Russell described how ADUs are treated under building rules versus zoning: the ADU construct appears verbatim in the town ordinance to match state law but building-code definitions and requirements differ from older “in-law” accessory arrangements. “An ADU will be... built as if you were building a 2 family home,” he said, and added that separate utilities generally will not be allowed: “We we not allow separate utilities. So sewer, gas, electric, water service, all of that.”
On unit size, Russell described the ordinance formulas as two-fold: a single‑bedroom ADU is subject to a smaller cap and a two‑bedroom ADU may reach 1,200 square feet. He said the town would calculate allowable size relative to the principal structure when reviewing plans. He also noted proposed state changes under discussion that would reduce maximum unit sizes and add owner‑occupancy or primary‑residence requirements, although the town’s current draft still reflects the state text.
Board members and Russell discussed tax and use impacts. Russell said ADUs are taxed as accessory units, not as full two‑family properties, and that in practice people can rent ADUs at market rates: “you can rent it for whatever you can get for it.” He also flagged insurance and code-compliance consequences for property owners who build and rent ADUs, warning homeowners to check policies and building‑service capacity before constructing a unit.
The discussion included operational details likely to recur in future ordinance revisions: how addresses and mail would be handled (for example, the property keeps one address with units identified as Unit 1/Unit 2), and how services such as electric and gas likely will be supplied from the primary service rather than as separate meters. Russell said the town expects applications for ADUs to appear both as attachments to existing structures and as new detached buildings, and that setbacks, rear‑yard definitions and panel/service upgrades will determine feasibility in many yards.
Board members were given updated ordinance drafts and told to expect further changes as the state continues to revise the model language; Russell said the town will distribute a newer packet “sometime before the end of the year” and again next spring as the state’s phase 2 changes move forward.
Local planning staff advised the board that where an ADU does not comply with dimensional or setback rules, an applicant may apply for relief through the board, but that some questions (for example, how tax assessment treats ADUs) are determined by other agencies and not by the zoning board.
Russell also identified elements still under state or administrative review — including whether owner‑occupancy will be required in all new cases and whether separate utilities ever will be permitted — and told the board those items are being debated at the state level.
