Burlington Seeks to Set Local Limits on Accessory Dwelling Units
Proposed Accessory Dwelling Unit regulations needed to be modified again after state regulations changed; Town Meeting will vote on amended Article 9.
Burlington's Planning Department has been working for months to establish local regulations for Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) ahead of a state law that takes effect in a couple of weeks. The state's Affordable Housing Act, in an attempt to alleviate the state's housing shortage, allows ADUs by right (without a special permit) in any single family residential zone statewide, but allows for some local regulation as long as it's not more restrictive than the state law.
A wrench was thrown into the works recently, though, as the state added more to its list of regulations, which impacts Article 9, the bylaw amendment that had already been approved by the Planning Board and inserted into the Warrant for January's Town Meeting. The Planning Board met on January 16 to amend their proposal ahead of the January 27 Town Meeting.
One notable change is that municipalities can but are not required to allow a second ADU with a special permit. So, language pertaining to a second ADU will be removed from the amended bylaw that will be distributed to Town Meeting Members on Monday. Also clarified was that prefab ADUs (those which are constructed off-site and assembled and inspected on-site) must be permitted but mobile or manufactured homes that are entirely assembled elsewhere don't need to be.
One major point of discussion at the January 16 meeting was that the current language that the ADU can't be in front of the principal residence might clash with state rules. The body decided that, in order to have regulations in place before the law takes effect, they would leave the language as-is and modify it if necessary or desired after the Attorney General provides comments.
The full text of the bylaw amendment and the amended article can be found on the town's website. The board has voted to recommend these updated bylaws to Town Meeting, which will debate and vote on the Article at January Town Meeting.
There are also general bylaw articles and financial articles on the Warrant for January 27; stay tuned to the Buzz for summaries of these articles and more.
Burlington's January 2025 Town Meeting begins on Monday, January 27, at 7:00 in the BHS auditorium. Official Town documentation includes the Warrant, the Warrant Backup, zoning detail, and the town and school budgets as a reference.
