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Planning board to update ADU bylaw to align with state law; removes 5% cap and limits in Industrial Park district
Summary
The board heard a presentation on Article 9 to administratively update the accessory dwelling unit (ADU) language to match Mass. General Law, remove the town's historical 5% cap and strike ADUs from the Industrial Park district; the board continued the public hearing to Oct. 27.
The Southborough Planning Board on Monday reviewed a staff-led presentation about Article 9, a housekeeping amendment to align the town's ADU language with state law and remove provisions that conflict with the state's by-right ADU rules.
Marnie Houlihan presented the proposed changes: replace the local term "accessory apartment" with the state term "accessory dwelling unit" and adopt the state ADU definition; remove the ADU reference from the Industrial Park (IP) district because that district does not contain single-family principal dwellings (the state's by-right ADU requirement applies to single-family zoning districts); retain the town's ability to allow larger-than-state ADUs via special permit; and strike the town's previous cap that limited ADUs to 5% of town housing stock.
Why it matters: state law provides a by-right path for ADUs with specific size limits (900 square feet or up to half the principal dwelling's gross floor area); local bylaws must not conflict with those state provisions. The proposed changes are administrative and intended to remove conflicts while preserving an option to allow larger ADUs through a local special-permit path.
Board action: the planning board voted to continue the public hearing on the ADU zoning amendment to Oct. 27, 2025, at 5:35 p.m. for consideration during the pre-special-town-meeting session and to finalize a planning-board report.
Next steps: staff will prepare the planning-board report and the ballot language and read the planning-board vote at town meeting. If Town Meeting approves the article, town zoning will be amended to align with Mass. General Laws on ADUs while preserving a local special-permit route for units that exceed state size limits.
