Planning staff presented a package of zoning changes designed to align the town’s accessory dwelling unit (ADU) rules with the state’s recently updated Affordable Homes Act regulations and related guidance. The Planning Board voted to recommend updated definitions and related bylaw edits for accessory dwellings, principal dwellings, protected ADU uses, dwelling units, and “year‑round housing.”

Staff said the state’s updated regulations changed whether municipalities must allow multiple ADUs by special permit; the new language makes multiple ADUs an opt‑in, not a mandate. The board accepted the updated state‑language definition for ADUs but voted not to “opt in” to allowing multiple ADUs by special permit at this time. The changes also update the town’s use chart to conform with the state definitions.

Board members and residents raised implementation questions. Planning staff and counsel clarified that ADUs created under the new state authority cannot be subject to deed covenants that restrict resale or occupancy in the way some existing tertiary‑dwelling covenants had been structured. That conflict — between local deed restrictions and the state ADU allowance — prompted a separate action: the board approved a temporary moratorium on new tertiary‑dwelling approvals until Dec. 31 to allow staff and town counsel to reconcile local bylaw language, covenant options, and potential sewer and permitting implications.

Members asked staff to circulate the finalized draft ADU language and the memorandum from town counsel ahead of upcoming meetings so the public and board members can assess the exact legal and practical effects. A resident asked whether ADUs could be sold separately; staff said that is a legal question not answered in the state guidance and generally is governed by state property law rather than local zoning.