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Hampden planning board agrees to reword ADU provision after debate over front-yard setback
Summary
The Town of Hampden Planning Board debated a draft requiring accessory dwelling units (ADUs) to sit behind the primary dwelling, concluding that the language could unduly bar ADUs on deep-setback lots and agreeing to reword the section to require conformity with frontage setback, height and lot-coverage rules.
The Town of Hampden Planning Board voted informally to reword a proposed accessory dwelling unit (ADU) provision after a lengthy discussion about how a strict ‘‘behind the front building wall’’ requirement would affect lots with deep setbacks.
Board members said the draft language could render ADUs infeasible on properties where the primary house sits far from the road. A long-serving member (Speaker 2) cited local examples—Bennett Road and Glendale Road—where houses are set well back from the street and warned that a blanket prohibition on ADUs in front yards would be ‘‘so restrictive…that it prohibits, renders…
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