By DAN TOMASELLO
LYNNFIELD — Fall Town Meeting will be asked to approve two warrant articles seeking to update the town’s Accessory Dwelling Units (ADU) Bylaw.
Fall Town Meeting will take place on Monday, Oct. 27, beginning at 7 p.m. in the Lynnfield Middle School auditorium. A quorum of 175 voters is needed for Fall Town Meeting to occur.
Planning and Conservation Director Emilie Cademartori gave an overview of Articles 8 and 9 during the Select Board’s Sept. 29 meeting. She recalled that Gov. Maura Healey signed the $5.1 billion Affordable Homes Act into law last year, which now allows ADUs by right in single-family zoning districts across the state.
Due to the state law change that went into effect in February, Cademartori said the town’s previous Accessory Apartments in Residence Districts Bylaw cannot be enforced any no longer. She said the previous bylaw only allowed elderly parents to live in an ADU if the Zoning Board of Appeals approved a homeowner’s Special Permit request. She said the previous bylaw was “pretty restrictive.”
“Our bylaw is essentially void because you cannot require a Special Permit to create an apartment,” said Cademartori. “If you are for zoned residential, you are allowed to have an apartment.”
Cademartori said the voided bylaw previously required a single-family home with an ADU to be owner-occupied. The voided bylaw also only allowed an elderly parent or parents to live in an ADU. She said the town is no longer allowed to regulate who can live in an ADU.
“It doesn’t matter who lives in it,” said Cademartori. “It doesn’t matter if it’s your parents, sister, brother or you rent it to someone else. Someone can own a property, create an apartment and rent both. We cannot control who owns them or lives in them anymore.”
Cademartori said the ZBA “used to have to give special relief” when a parent wanted to build an ADU for their children to live in as opposed to children building an ADU for their parent and/or parents to call home.
“That is actually not allowed under our current code,” said Cademartori about the previous bylaw.
Cademartori said Article 8 seeks to repeal the current ADU Bylaw and replace it with a different version.
“We can’t say no, but we can make sure what someone builds is going to be built in a way that minimizes the impact on neighbors, minimizes the impact on the environment, save trees where we can and allow it to occur because that is what the state has told us what we have to do,” said Cademartori.
While the ZBA will no longer be required to issue Special Permits for ADUs, Cademartori said the proposed new bylaw will allow the ZBA to review ADUs as part of the Site Plan Approval process.
“It means you can apply for a building permit and you will be allowed to do it, but we get to take a look at how you are going to do it,” said Cademartori. “The Zoning Board of Appeals would be the body that will review these applications.”
Cademartori said the proposed ADU Bylaw will allow the ZBA to review ADU applications to make sure the structures meet setback requirements. She also said the revised bylaw will allow the Board of Health to review an ADU applicant’s septic system as part of Site Plan Approval in order to “make sure the existing septic system functions and is big enough” to accommodate any ADU.
“If you can’t upgrade your septic system or your septic system doesn’t have any excess capacity, you can’t do this,” said Cademartori. “We have had people come in who said they have used another bedroom as an office. It doesn’t matter. Septic systems are not just actual bedrooms. It is room count in your dwelling.”
According to the proposed ADU Bylaw, accessory dwelling units will be required to “not have a gross floor area of more than 900-square-feet or one-half the gross floor area of the principal dwelling.”
Cademartori also said the ZBA will be allowed to examine the grading for a proposed ADU.
“If you decide to build an accessory unit in an detached new structure, you can’t bring in loads of fill and flood your neighbor,” said Cademartori. “Believe it or not, we don’t have a grade and fill bylaw anywhere in our zoning. We get a lot of complaints about that. We had an opportunity where if someone is going to suddenly build a large detached garage and throw an apartment on top, we will now have the right under Site Plan Approval to look at that to potentially minimize impacts to neighbors and neighborhoods.”
Cademartori said the Fire Department will be allowed to review ADUs to make sure they are safe.
“This is a use that is allowed and this bylaw is intended to make it the best it can be, have the least impact on folks and still allow it to occur,” said Cademartori. “There are lots of folks who are building apartments for their parents, their kids or to rent it out to help pay their mortgage. We are not saying you can’t do that, but we are just saying we want you to do it that is environmentally sound, it is done well and done safely.”
Town Administrator Rob Dolan urged residents to attend Fall Town Meeting on Monday, Oct. 27.
“We need a quorum at Town Meeting,” said Dolan. “A lot of people come for rail trails and overrides, but this is a very dangerous law if we don’t regulate it for the town of Lynnfield. I am telling you that this is not simply legitimizing in-law apartments. You will be able to build apartments on top of garages or off property. We have really large lots here in which you could build a small single apartment that is maybe triple the size of a shed for people to move into. I think people are going to be absolutely shocked if we do not regulate this law. We are not circumventing the law, but we are providing a local touch based upon the needs of flooding, environment and septic. I don’t want to be overly dramatic but if we don’t get a quorum to pass this, it will be the Wild West when it comes to building. I know that zoning is not as exciting as other issues that we face, but come to Town Meeting and help us regulate this or there are neighborhoods who are going to be in shock once things are proposed and there is nothing that we can do to stop it.”
Select Board Chair Phil Crawford agreed.
“If there is no other reason to go to Town Meeting, this is the reason to go,” said Crawford. “I do want to emphasize that we are going to regulate setbacks, septic and size.”
In response to a question from Crawford, Cademartori said existing ADUs that have received a Special Permit from the ZBA will “become your ADU by right so you can’t have a second one.”
Crawford asked if Article 8 will require a majority vote or a two-thirds vote.
Cademartori said Article 8 will require a majority vote in the wake of former Gov. Charlie Baker signing the Housing Choice Law in 2021 that allowed zoning changes associated with multifamily housing to be approved in a majority vote instead of a two-thirds vote.
“The state lowered the voting threshold in an ability to have local municipalities be able to pass zoning bylaws that allow additional housing units to be built,” said Cademartori. “That was the intention of the change in state law.”
Cademartori said Article 9 will require a two-thirds vote for approval. She said Article 9 seeks to add the words “or accessory structure” because Section 11.5 of the Zoning Bylaw has a “little tiny exemption for sheds.”
“Little tiny sheds less than 150-square-feet can be five-feet or 10-feet from your line,” said Cademartori. “If we didn’t specifically define that shed as being just a shed and not just an accessory structure, someone could build their ADU that close. We don’t want that.”
Select Board Vice Chair Alexis Leahy said Articles 8 and 9 “seem like our best bet on a compromise on this.” She asked if people will be allowed to only build or have one ADU.
While Cademartori said local officials’ intention is to only allow people to have one ADU on their property, she recalled that Attorney General Andrea Campbell reviews municipalities’ zoning changes to make sure they are legal.
“Any zoning change, which a lot of folks don’t know, might go to Town Meeting and might win, but the attorney general could strike it down,” said Cademartori. “They could say it doesn’t meet state law and try again.”
Cademartori said Town Counsel Tom Mullen has written the ADU Bylaw and Planning Board Chair Page Wilkins, who is also an attorney, has reviewed it.
“We have written it carefully,” said Cademartori. “Our Planning Board chair has reviewed all of the attorney general’s approved bylaws that have been approved by other municipalities. We looked for mistakes made by others so we could avoid them. She did a lot of legal homework to make sure what we put together will meet the state guidance and will be accepting by the AG.”
Cademartori encouraged residents to reach out to her if they have any questions about the proposed ADU Bylaw.
“The state law changed in February and there are units being built right now,” said Cademartori. “We haven’t had opportunities to look at them. I would like to make sure we can going forward.”