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Coventry planning commission opens broad review of multifamily and ADU rules, asks staff for mapping analysis
Summary
Commissioners asked staff to prepare GIS mapping and conservative draft rules for allowing multifamily housing and accessory dwelling units, discussing overlay districts, dimensional buffers (400‑ft test suggested), septic constraints and staged outreach; a special meeting or early start on Dec. 18 was proposed for continued discussion.
The Town of Coventry Planning Commission spent a substantial portion of its meeting discussing prospective zoning code changes that would make two‑family and multifamily housing easier to permit in some parts of town while preserving restrictions in others.
Planning staff framed several options: allow multifamily by right under new dimensional standards, use an overlay district that would explicitly permit multifamily in targeted areas, or retain a case‑by‑case review mechanism via variances or special permits. Staff recommended a conservative local approach that uses dimensional buffers between new multifamily structures and existing dwellings and offered to provide GIS analysis (mapping 200‑ to 400‑foot radii around structures) to show where such by‑right development could occur without wholesale code changes that render many lots non‑conforming.
Commissioners discussed legal and practical tradeoffs: too‑strict dimensional standards might render lots unusable and invite litigation, while too‑permissive rules could allow high-density development in inappropriate neighborhoods. The board expressed interest in an overlay or inverse‑overlay approach to concentrate multifamily where infrastructure exists (western corridors and commercial zones with sewer/water) and to exclude sensitive areas. Staff also briefed the board on accessory dwelling units (ADUs) under recent state law and proposed conservative local limits (align ADU dimensional rules with accessory‑structure rules, limit ADU size relative to principal structures and require septic upgrades where needed).
The commission asked staff to run GIS ‘blob’ analyses for suggested buffer distances, circulate scheduling options by email and consider a special meeting or an earlier start on the December 18 agenda to continue the discussion and review draft code language and maps.
