Trenton committee approves internal accessory-dwelling rules and begins statewide-mandated subdivision rewrite

Trenton — The town’s planning/subdivision committee voted to recommend an internal accessory-dwelling policy to the town council and spent most of its meeting reviewing a proposed overhaul of the subdivision ordinance to align with recently enacted state land-use requirements.

The committee approved the internal accessory-dwelling language by voice vote and agreed to forward the measure to the town council for the required public hearing, Committee member (Speaker 3) moved. “I make a motion that we approve the internal house redesigning and its policy procedure policy ordinance, whatever it is,” the member said before the committee voted in favor.

The accessory-dwelling provisions approved by the committee would allow internal accessory dwelling units only inside a primary residence (not as a detached building), require the property owner to occupy part of the house, require the separate unit to be identified as a unit A and unit B so emergency services can find the correct location, and prohibit a unit that appears as an independent apartment from the street. Committee members also discussed enforcement and penalties: the draft retains fines as the principal enforcement tool but committee members said the town needs to follow through on enforcement rather than be permissive. The committee also discussed a separate provision allowing temporary stays in campers on private property for up to six months with proof that occupants are building or purchasing a home; extensions would require additional documentation and are discretionary.

Why it matters: The changes affect homeowners who want to add accessory housing and the town’s capacity to manage water hookups, septic and fire-safety access. Committee members repeatedly raised concerns that allowing additional dwellings without strict owner-occupancy and enforcement rules could strain water hookups and complicate emergency response.

Committee review of the subdivision ordinance

After the ADU vote the committee resumed a longer agenda item: updating the town’s subdivision ordinance. Members said they are using the Lewiston subdivision ordinance as a working template because Lewiston’s draft had already been adopted and therefore reflects language that has already passed public review and legal scrutiny. The draft the committee examined includes new definitions (land-use authority, land-use application, preliminary plat), a pre-application sketch plan stage, and explicit delegation of some administrative review to a subdivision review committee or staff.

Committee members discussed the state-driven requirement to designate an administrative land-use authority for preliminary plats and whether that authority should be the planning commission, staff, or a subset/committee. The group reviewed options including: - designating the planning commission as the land-use authority; - creating a subdivision review committee (SRC) consisting of a city engineer, a public-works representative, and planning-commission representation (with membership set by council); and - permitting staff or a paid contract engineer to perform technical reviews and charge applicants justified fees for that work.

Committee members noted a state timeline in the template that requires an initial review of a preliminary plat to be completed within 15 days of receipt, which affects how often the committee or designated reviewers would need to meet. They also discussed appeals: the town council would remain the appeal authority but could not be the administrative land-use authority for preliminary plats (to avoid conflicts when council serves as the appeal body).

Members flagged several substantive items they want to track or add to Trenton’s version of the ordinance: clearer definitions and applicability language, language addressing canals and ditches on preliminary maps, standardized required elements on preliminary plats (roads, storm drainage, water infrastructure), limits on when deeds/easements for roads or irrigation require full subdivision review, and penalty/municipal-code cross-references that should be checked for municipal vs. county code numbering.

Next steps and process

Committee members agreed to a process of inserting Lewiston’s vetted language into Trenton’s code where appropriate, consolidating definitions in a single location, and producing a redlined draft for further committee review. A committee member said she would make the edits, circulate an electronic copy for feedback, then print a full revised draft once the chapter was completed. The committee also asked staff to check statutory citations and municipal-code section numbers before finalizing the draft.

Votes at a glance: The committee voted to approve the internal accessory-dwelling language and forward it to the town council for public hearing and final action; no other final votes were recorded.

The committee’s work is procedural and advisory: the town council must hold the required public hearing(s) and formally adopt ordinance amendments. The committee scheduled continued review and agreed to provide council with the recommended language and an implementation plan that clarifies fees, staffing/engineer roles, and enforcement approach.