Lakeville planning board delays stormwater bylaw and keeps accessory-apartment option while evaluating ADU rollout
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Summary
Board members agreed to retain the town's accessory-apartment bylaw for now, postpone the stormwater bylaw and OSRD zoning item to spring, and continue work on companion documents; stormwater enforcement language remains under review by town counsel.
At its Sept. 11 meeting, the Town of Lakeville Planning Board discussed several administrative items affecting town-wide planning policy and decided to postpone two warrant items to the spring warrant cycle while retaining the local accessory-apartment bylaw for the near term.
Planning staff described the items on the warrant: the stormwater bylaw (to align local rules with state requirements) and the Open Space Residential Development (OSRD) zoning update. Town counsel had reviewed the stormwater draft and flagged missing enforcement and penalty language; staff and counsel were still working to finalize the text. Because the warrant for the current town meeting closes the following day and the stormwater text was not yet finalized, the board agreed to aim for the spring (March) warrant instead of pressing the incomplete language to the fall town meeting.
Board members also discussed the relationship between the newly adopted state-authorized ADU provisions and the town's existing accessory-apartment bylaw (which allowed attached accessory apartments up to 1,000 square feet or no more than one-third of the structure). Several members said it would be prudent to keep the accessory-apartment bylaw in place for another year as “insurance” while the ADU process is new and applications come in; the board agreed to revisit removal of the accessory-apartment provision in 2026, rather than remove it immediately.
Staff also reported ongoing implementation work: peer-review procedures for stormwater as part of site-plan and subdivision review remain in place; the town planner and department staff are coordinating with the DPW director, Board of Health and conservation agent on the stormwater language. Staff asked the board to notify the Select Board that the stormwater and OSRD items will be targeted for the spring warrant. The board asked staff to circulate final draft language to town counsel before resubmitting to the warrant process.
Other administrative items discussed included a request about membership in the Massachusetts Association of Conservation Commissioners (MACC) and a local field trip/lunch about the Medfield State Hospital redevelopment; members expressed interest in information-sharing visits to see how other towns have rehabilitated large institutional properties. Staff also updated the board on active applications in town (1517 Harding Street, potential changes at a commercial corner and activity at a site near Muckie's) and noted continuing conservation review on several projects.
Board direction: staff to notify the Select Board of the revised timetable, to continue work with counsel on stormwater enforcement language, and to keep the accessory-apartment bylaw on the books for now and revisit in 2026.
