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Planning board continues review of ADU (secondary dwelling) ordinance amendments; several policy questions remain
Summary
The board reviewed draft amendments to Section 513 on accessory dwelling units (ADUs), discussed state law timing, abandonment language, definition of larger development proposals, commercial ADUs, bonuses and the 15-year bonus restriction; the item remains under review and will return next month.
The New Shoreham Planning Board examined proposed zoning ordinance amendments to Section 513 on accessory dwelling units (ADUs) during its July 9 meeting and did not take final action. Staff and board members discussed multiple policy and drafting questions to be resolved before forwarding recommendations to the council.
Planner Karen and the town planner, Peter, explained that the draft reflects 2024 ADU rules and that no last-minute state-law changes had been identified that would alter the town’s approach. The board asked for clarifications on an abandonment-of-use provision that would require removing cooking appliances and kitchen plumbing to prevent reconversion to a dwelling without a building permit; members debated whether that language is unnecessarily burdensome, particularly for wet bars or sinks in accessory structures.
Board members raised several other topics for follow-up: defining what constitutes a "larger development proposal" for density calculations (the chair noted it currently comes from state law and staff recommended keeping the term flexible for interpretation), whether ADUs associated with commercial uses should have a separate definition, and the town’s scheme of bonuses (for example a 600-square-foot bonus tied to a 15-year use restriction) and how those bonuses interact with nonconforming-lot rules.
The board asked staff to compare the draft language with existing town sections (including Section 403 on secondary-dwelling development), to bring suggested edits on the abandonment and plumbing language, and to return with a consolidated draft next month. Several policy items were flagged for later agenda dates (including condo-ization of ADUs and commercial ADUs). No vote was taken on the ADU text at the July meeting.
