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Board Aligns Accessory Dwelling Unit Draft with State Law; ADU Size, Owner-Occupancy and Parking Rules Updated
Summary
Staff summarized Articles 16 and 17 to conform local accessory-apartment rules to the state Affordable Homes Act: ADUs allowed by right, owner-occupancy removed, maximum size increased (900 sq ft or 50% of primary dwelling, whichever is less), and parking reduced to one space with transit-area exemptions; monitoring and enforcement affidavit language was struck.
FALMOUTH — The Planning Board received a staff briefing on proposed changes to accessory-apartment rules to comply with state law. The draft implements the Affordable Homes Act’s key elements while clarifying local procedures.
Key changes explained by staff include renaming and recognizing Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs), allowing ADUs by right in most circumstances, removing the prior owner-occupancy requirement, increasing the allowable ADU size to 900 square feet or 50 percent of the principal dwelling (whichever is less), and limiting required parking to one space with an exemption for ADUs located within a half-mile of commuter rail, subway, ferry or bus stations.
The draft also moves detached ADU review from a Board of Appeals special permit to Planning Board site-plan review and removes an administrative monitoring affidavit that tracked prior owner-occupancy and rental conditions. Staff said previously approved accessory apartments will not be required to reapply under the new bylaw and that the building department will notify affected owners when changes take effect.
Board members asked whether former monitoring requirements would be replaced by short-term rental controls; staff said enforcement will rely on the short-term rental bylaw and Board of Health licensing where applicable. The hearing remains open for further comment and revision ahead of the town meeting.
