Somerville proposes letting building official waive dimensional rules to ease home accessibility work

City planning staff told the joint hearing that an amendment to Article 2 would add an "accessible means of egress" definition (compliant with 521 CMR, the Architectural Access Board regulations) and give the building official limited authority to waive lot-coverage and dimensional requirements when those requirements would otherwise prevent a homeowner from meeting building-code or accessibility requirements.

"This amendment came from two sources," planner Steve Carey said: a council board order asking the Planning and Preservation Committee to remove legislative barriers to adding accessible features, and the Inspectional Services Department noting that homeowners often need a hardship variance to make egress or entry points building-code compliant. Carey said the proposed change is intended to reduce permitting burdens on…