Board agrees to post revised ADU local law for public hearing after debate over lot size and setbacks

Garrett, the commissioner in the Department of Community Development and Conservation, told the board that the draft local law to expand accessory dwelling units (ADUs) would broaden eligibility while maintaining zoning safeguards. He said the town's analysis shows about 242 detached garages meet current criteria and that lowering the lot-size threshold from 10,000 to 7,500 square feet would enable roughly 20 additional existing garages to qualify in targeted zones.

Garrett described the proposed adjustments: explicitly lowering the square-foot standard for certain ADU types and adding off-street parking and driveway-setback requirements for the R-5 district so conversions do not create new encroachments on neighboring properties. On the R-5 district, staff proposed applying the R-7.5 driveway setback standard in certain cases to preserve a buffer between converted garages and adjacent lots.

Board members raised practical and equity concerns. One member asked whether other Westchester communities use minimum lot sizes; Garrett said many local ADU laws do not set minimum-lot standards and that the town's spreadsheet and assessor data informed the recommendation. A board member urged flexibility to help residents with immediate needs, citing a case of a family with a developmentally disabled child; other members urged caution about changing codes on a case-by-case basis and recommended further data and a phased approach.

After discussion, staff said they would tweak the draft to incorporate the driveway-setback language and recirculate the revision. Garrett said the revised local law can be posted this week to support the public hearing set for March 25. The board agreed to proceed with posting and further outreach in advance of the hearing.