By MAUREEN DOHERTY
NORTH READING — A quorum of 150 voters is needed to conduct the Special Town Meeting on Monday, Jan. 27 at 7 p.m. to be held in the gymnasium at NRHS, 189 Park St.
The quorum is only necessary for Special Town Meetings — those called for a special purpose outside of the business conducted at regular semi-annual Town Meetings held each June and October.
The Select Board called this meeting mainly to address the recently adopted state law that will allow Accessory Dwelling Units (ADU) by right in communities throughout the state as of Feb. 2. The warrant has just seven articles for voters to consider but as of press time, the last two were placeholders with no action required (other than to pass over).
Every residence in town was mailed a warrant booklet and voters are asked to bring their booklets with them to the meeting. A limited number of copies will be available at the meeting and it is also posted online via a link on the home page of the town website: (https://www.northreadingma.gov).
Free childcare
Free childcare during the meeting for school-age children is available on a first-come, first served basis for those who register by 4 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 27 by visiting: (http://www.northreadingma.gov/TM-childcare)
Amendments proposed
Under the provisions of the ADU law, communities have not been given the option by the state to opt-in or opt-out of it. However, communities have been given the option to modify the law so that it aligns with some of the town’s existing zoning bylaws, such as setbacks to these ADUs and parking provisions.
For instance, in North Reading, which does not have public transit access within one-quarter mile of any of its zoning districts, only one parking space could be required by the town to be reserved for the occupant(s) of the ADU. However, the town cannot require more than one parking spot under the state law.
The amendments to the town’s zoning bylaws that were drafted by the Community Planning Commission (CPC) address these variables in an attempt to provide consistency throughout the town’s neighborhoods as well as guidance to the town’s Building Department, which will be charged with issuing these by-right permits to property owners wishing to create ADUs on their lots.
In part, the CPC has proposed that the town amend its current ZBL Section 200-63 for “Accessory Structures” in residential, industrial and business districts — as such structures were never intended to be considered dwelling units. Currently, accessory structures are not allowed to: occupy more than 25% of the required rear yard, or to be less than 20 feet from the front street line, or less than 10 feet from any other lot line, and they cannot exceed 20 feet in height.
Voters will be asked to add the following phrase to this bylaw to account for the state’s definition of an ADU: “except that for Accessory Dwelling Units, the side, rear and front yard setbacks applicable to one-family detached dwellings in the district where the ADU is located shall apply.”
Voters will also be asked to add a new subsection C to ZBL Section 200-36 as follows:
“Accessory dwelling units (“ADU”), as defined in Section 200-4 of the Zoning Bylaw, are allowed as of right in all zoning districts that allow one-family detached dwellings subject to the following provisions:
a) ADU’s are allowed only as accessory to a principal dwelling.
b) ADU’s are limited to one per principal dwelling.
c)ADU’s are prohibited from serving as short-term rental units.
d) An ADU may not be placed in separate ownership from its principal dwelling.
e) No more than 1 additional parking space shall be required for an ADU.
f) When the principal dwelling is nonconforming, the ADU shall in addition meet the requirements of Section 200-10, provided that when a finding is required that the contemplated reconstruction, alteration, increase, extension or change will not be substantially more detrimental to the neighborhood than the existing nonconforming structure, that finding will be made by majority vote of the Zoning Board of Appeals and shall not be subject to special permit criteria.”
Town Planner Danielle McKnight noted at a recent joint meeting of the CPC and the Select Board that if any of the amendments being proposed are approved by the voters at Town Meeting but rejected by the state AG, only the part or parts that are rejected would need to be modified by a future vote at Town Meeting.
Article 2
The CPC also drafted Article 2 on the warrant which seeks to amend the town’s zoning bylaws to prohibit short-term rentals that are less than 31 days in duration for both the principal dwelling unit and any accessory dwelling units on a property. The CPC adds that such a definition is consistent with state law and that the proposed bylaw would prohibit short-term rentals in all zoning districts.
Article 3
The third proposed warrant article by the CPC under Article 3 seeks to amend the town’s ZBL for the Floodplain District under Section 200-44 as well as the overlay district map to bring the town’s bylaw into compliance with the most recently adopted FEMA requirements and its most recently released Flood Insurance Rate Map, which the town is required to do within six months of any FEMA update. The town must be in compliance with FEMA regulations and rate maps to enable property owners to remain eligible for the National Flood Insurance Program.
McKnight stated FEMA makes such updates every 10 to 15 years and the last amendments were made about 10 years ago. The new bylaw is about nine pages long so rather than amend it line by line, she stated that it made the most sense to propose deleting the current 200-44 section and replacing it in its entirety.
Informational hearing Jan. 23
The public is invited to participate in the Select Board’s informational hearing on all the warrant articles on Thursday, Jan. 23 at 7:15 p.m. Participants may ask questions and CPC members will also participate. It is being held in Room 14 at Town Hall and via Zoom.
This meeting will also serve as the Select Board’s regular meeting due to the MLK Jr. holiday on Monday. Among the agenda items is a demonstration of the vote tabulating machines from a representative of the company from which the town will be purchasing these devices for the first time. The purchase was approved by the voters at last October’s Town Meeting and approved recently by the state AG’s office. If the machines are available in time for the STM, a company representative would be present at the meeting to assist with the roll-out, if they needed to be used, Town Administrator Michael Gilleberto said.
Article 4
A Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILOT) Agreement for Renewable Energy Generation/Storage Facilities under Article 4 is sponsored by the Select Board. It would enable the town to generate some revenue when such facilities are built in town by private entities, such as one permitted at 500 Riverpark Dr. whose owners have proposed a PILOT with the town. The benefit of doing so, according to the explanation in the warrant, is to: “extend the depreciation period for the taxable value of the equipment to be installed, creating a more stable tax revenue stream” for the town. Under the current tax assessment methods, such equipment depreciates quickly even though its anticipated lifespan is 20 years, assessor Deb Carbone explained at the Jan. 6 Select Board meeting.
Articles 5, 6, 7
Article 5: Prior Year Bills. At press time only one unpaid bill for $162.65, submitted to the DPW after June 30, needs to be paid. Both Articles 6 and 7 are boilerplate and will likely be passed over as nothing has been proposed (Article 6: Amend Fiscal Year 2025 Operating Budget and Article 7: Amend Fiscal Year 2025 Capital Budget).