Taking a third swing at the ball, the planning board is proposing a zoning change that would make it easier for single-family homeowners in Plymouth to add a second living unit to their property.
Known as an Accessory Dwelling Unit, or ADU, bylaw, the proposal now moves to a lengthy process of review and debate that supporters hope will end with final approval at the 2024 spring Town Meeting. But it’s hardly a sure thing – similar proposals failed in 2019 and 2021.
“I believe it’s an idea whose time has come,” said planning board member David Peck, who introduced the draft ADU bylaw at the board’s Oct. 25 public hearing on the proposal. “There are so many good reasons for this to happen now.”
The proposal would allow ADUs to be built in all residential and mixed-use districts “by right,” meaning no special permit or public hearing required. An ADU would be limited to 900-square-feet and have to meet all other building, safety, parking, and health requirements. Importantly, they cannot be used as short-term rental units such as through Airbnb.
Advocates say ADUs could be part of the solution to the affordable housing crunch in town by increasing the number of year-round rental units in neighborhood settings. Rental income from an ADU could help senior homeowners make ends meet and provide relatively affordable apartments for younger people who want to live in Plymouth but are now priced out of the market.
“My main focus on this is about aging-in-place for our seniors,” said Harry Helm, a select board member who also sits on the Plymouth Senior Task Force. “Too many of our seniors are struggling to stay in their own home, and this would be a help for some.”
Town Meeting member Betsy Hall voted against the previous ADU proposals and remains opposed to the concept of allowing ADUs “by right” in Plymouth.
“Accessory Dwelling Unit is just another name for a two-family home,” Hall said. “A new name will not lessen the impact of the dramatic population increase that we are already experiencing in Plymouth. This change would simply add more problems.”
Hall said ADUs would stress the town’s water supply, increase traffic in neighborhoods, and potentially pollute ponds from added septic system usage. She wants to keep the current zoning bylaw in place, which requires a special permit for anyone seeking to add a second residential unit to a property.
“By right zoning changes often are an attempt to evade the special permit process and take away the right of abutters and the neighborhood to be heard at a zoning board meeting,” Hall said.
Peck, who is a retired architect, disagrees with her on the relative impact of ADUs. “This is a way to add housing that takes advantage of existing architecture and infrastructure, rather than clear cutting land and building massive projects, which we have already seen in Plymouth,” he said. “These small ADUs will fit into the context of the neighborhood, and not really change the character of the main house very much.”
Under the current proposal, an ADU could be freestanding on a lot, if there is sufficient land, or attached to an existing home. It must “maintain a separate entrance, either directly from the outside or through an entry hall or corridor shared with the principal dwelling sufficient to meet the requirements of the state building code for safe egress.”
ADUs could not be created within condominiums or attached townhouses. Mobile homes or recreational vehicles parked next to a single-family home would not qualify as an ADU.
The Plymouth ADU proposal closely mirrors the language in a state law recently proposed by Governor Maura Healy to allow ADUs by right in every community in Massachusetts.
After the public hearing on the question, the planning board voted unanimously in favor of the ADU bylaw. The proposal will now be reviewed by the Select Board and the Advisory and Finance Committee, which will make their own recommendations to Town Meeting. Peck said he and other ADU supporters will also present the plan to the Town Meeting Committee of Precinct Chairs and other community groups.
“There is still a lot of work to do, to provide information, answer questions, and make our case on the benefits of ADUs before we get to the Town Meeting,” Peck said.
Michael Cohen can be reached at michael@plymouthindependent.org.