Zoning subcommittee backs ADU ordinance changes to conform with state law, adds local restrictions

The Revere Zoning Subcommittee voted April 20 to forward a package of amendments to the city’s accessory dwelling unit (ADU) zoning ordinance to the full City Council, to bring the local code into compliance with state ADU requirements while adding locally framed restrictions and requirements.

Tom Skrowski, identified in the meeting as director and representing city staff, said the city must update its ordinance to "come into compliance with the state regulation" and that staff used the model bylaw produced by the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities to craft local language. Skrowski said the city is "left with the task of amending our ordinance to come into compliance with the state regulation, but doing so in a way that imposes a set of reasonable regulations as defined by the state." He said the city solicitor advised that a home-rule petition to exempt Revere was "not a politically or a legally viable solution," so the city must adopt an ordinance that aligns with state law.

Key changes the subcommittee approved include: - Allowing ADUs by right only in zones where single-family homes are allowed by right; several commercial, industrial and mixed-use…