MONSON — At its Sept. 17 meeting, the Monson Planning Board formally recommended for Town Meeting the bylaw modifications necessary to regulate and be in compliance with the state’s recent initiative to require accessory dwelling units “by right.”
With this recommendation, residents will now have the opportunity to decide whether to approve the bylaw modifications at the upcoming fall Town Meeting on Oct. 28.
The Planning Board’s work on the accessory dwelling unit bylaw changes began on Aug. 13 shortly after the Affordable House Act, which included the accessory dwelling unit initiative, was approved by Gov. Maura Healey on Aug. 6.
In this initiative, residents of a single-family district are able “by right” to build a second dwelling unit on their property in addition to their primary house if the added unit is less than half the square footage of the main house or less than 900 square feet, Pioneer Valley Planning Commission Land Use and Environment Deputy Director Ken Comia said.
The definition of accessory dwelling units was formally adopted on Aug. 6 when Healey signed the Affordable House Act into law. However, the “by-right” requirement does not go into effect until Feb. 5, Comia stated.
Following the Aug. 13 meeting, Monson’s initial draft bylaw was crafted by Town Counsel before being reviewed and edited twice by the board. The draft was finalized at the Aug. 28 meeting, with the Sept. 17 public hearing required before its recommendation for Town Meeting, Comia said.
The recommended changes include the formal definitions of accessory dwelling units and gross floor area added to the town’s bylaws, the removal of language concerning requirements for accessory apartments and addition of language for accessory dwelling units, as well as the removal of listed use for accessory apartments and added description of listed use for accessory dwelling units, Chair Craig Sweitzer stated.
Within these changes, gross floor area is defined as “space within a dwelling unit utilized for sleep, living, sleeping, eating, cooking, bathing, washing and sanitation purposes,” Sweitzer said.
Additionally, the changes note multiple requirements for accessory dwelling units, including a gross floor area no more than 900 square feet or half the gross floor area of the main house, a maximum of two floors, one off-street parking space, and a special permit for a garage.
Accessory dwelling units would also only be allowed in the residential, rural residential and water supply protection districts with a site plan approval from the Planning Board and could not be used for a short-term rental, Sweitzer noted.
The proposed bylaw changes are available for public viewing on the town website at monson-ma.gov/530/Proposed-Bylaw-Changes-Proposed-Zone-Dis.
In swiftly creating and approving the accessory dwelling unit bylaw changes, the town is protecting itself from the unknowns of a developer building a unit without standards, Comia explained, stating that a unit could be approved without setbacks if there were no formal standards within the town’s bylaws about accessory dwelling units.
While multiple other towns have also begun the process of crafting an accessory dwelling unit bylaw or modifying their current bylaws, Comia stated that Monson is “[probably] going to be the first community that’s addressing it through Town Meeting.” He stated that “You moved fast to get the amendment. But I think it says something about how the town has looked at ADUs and ensured being able to control an approval process.”
