The End Of Single Family Zoning In Charlestown?

Once again the state legislature is proposing changes to state law aimed at increasing the amount of housing in the state by changing regulations regarding accessory dwelling units (ADUs). The proposed changes would overrule regulations and effectively eliminate single-family zoning in Charlestown.

The legislation passed by the legislature last year allowed towns to adopt the state changes (that is, “opt in”) or not. In January, Town Councilor Susan Cooper, Planning Commission members, and others explained to members of the new Town Council that the Town was not required to opt in, and the town did not go forward at that time.

This year the legislature has again proposed amendments to the ADU law that ignore the fact that Charlestown does not have sewers or public water and the fact that the health of our groundwater directly impacts the health of coastal and inland ponds. the Pawcatuck River and cold water streams, and all other wetlands. The new proposed amendments would require towns to opt in and remove almost all local control

Proponents of the legislation, H 6082, say that oversight by the RI Department of Environmental Management (DEM) will protect the environment. DEM septic system permits are not intended to, and do not, protect groundwater. Rules for septic systems are meant to maintain safe distances between wells and wastewater for human consumption, but they don’t stop nitrogen, phosphorus, and other nutrients and pollutants from entering groundwater and migrating to surface water bodies. The coastal ponds are most impacted by nitrogen, and the freshwater ponds, streams, and river are more impacted by phosphorus.

In those towns that do not have sewer infrastructure, groundwater is protected by controlling the overall density of dwelling units and the amount of disturbed land. Protecting large areas of forest and maintaining undisturbed land while keeping the number of dwelling units below important thresholds is critical. This is what Charlestown’s Zoning Ordinance and Zoning Map attempt to do, but local zoning will be overturned by the proposed legislation.

Some highlights of the proposed legislation changes:

• A second dwelling unit would be allowed by right on any new or existing lot of 20,000 square feet or larger, which means a second dwelling unit would be allowed in every residential zoning district in Charlestown.
  • The 20,000-square-foot minimum lot size (0.46 acre) does not deduct wetlands, wetland buffers, coastal buffers, or floodplains. This means the ADU could be constructed in a floodplain, or on a lot comprised mostly of wetland or wetland buffer that has only a very small usable area.
  • A second dwelling unit would be allowed on a lot that does not meet the minimum lot size in most of Charlestown’s zoning districts.
  • A second dwelling unit would be allowed on a lot in areas of Charlestown that are already approaching unsafe drinking water standards for nitrogen.
  • A second dwelling unit would be allowed on a lot that is served by a neighborhood drinking water system that is already nearing or over capacity.
  • The second dwelling unit can be a free-standing unit – a second house.
  • The second dwelling unit can be larger in floor area and can contain more bedrooms than the primary dwelling unit.
  • There can be no restriction on the size of the accessory dwelling unit or the number of bedrooms.
  • Although the number of bedrooms would be limited by septic system capacity, a second or larger system could be added.
• A second dwelling unit would be allowed by right in the “existing” footprint of any dwelling regardless of lot size.
  • Because there is no date attached to establishment of the “existing” footprint, an addition to the existing dwelling could be built at any time and then converted to an accessory dwelling unit.
  • Where the primary dwelling footprint is determined to be “existing.” there is no minimum lot size specified thus making the 20,000-square-foot minimum meaningless as there are homes in Charlestown that were built before zoning and are on lots smaller than 20,000 square feet.
  • ADUs using the “existing” dwelling unit on lots smaller than 20,000 square feet would be limited to 900 square feet of floor area.
• A second dwelling unit would be allowed by right in any “existing” accessory building such as a garage or barn regardless of lot size.
  • Again there is no date attached to “existing,” so these buildings could already exist or they could be built at any time and converted to a dwelling unit.
  • An ADU would be allowed to be built within 10 feet of a property line, because the current side yard setback is only 10 feet for an accessory structure, rather than 20 to 100 feet for a dwelling (depending on the zoning district).
  • For these existing structures there is again no minimum lot size.
• ADUs cannot be required to be for year-round use.
  • The only restriction is that they cannot be rented for periods of less than one month at a time.
  • This would allow the ADUs created under this law to be used for summer rentals.
• There can be no requirement that the occupants of the primary dwelling or the ADU unit be related.
• The developer of a new subdivision could add a second house to each new lot, resulting in a doubling of the allowed number of houses in the subdivision.
• Someone building a new home on an individual lot could add a second house on the same lot that could be built concurrently with the first, resulting in a doubling of the allowed number of dwellings on the lot.
• Any non-conforming lot with a structure could add a second dwelling unit.
• Restrictions on ADUs that may exist in the bylaws of condominium associations, homeowner associations, or similar residential property would be overridden.
• Towns would not be allowed to require that ADUs be affordable thus allowing them to be rented at market rates.

This increase in overall housing density is being proposed for Charlestown without any assessment of the cumulative potential impacts of the increased septage on groundwater, drinking water, and the coastal ponds and other water bodies. Putting no limit on the number of bedrooms and allowing any lot to create a new additional dwelling unit that can be used as a summer rental will impact coastal areas especially.

This new legislation is being proposed as a way to provide “affordable” housing, yet it does not require any of the housing to be affordable. Further, because it allows a 100% increase in the density of market-rate housing without requiring that any of the units be affordable, it would make it even harder to require developers to provide a percentage of housing in new developments as affordable. After increasing the density to 100% for market-rate units, there would no longer be additional available capacity in certain appropriate areas that could absorb the additional affordable housing units.

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The banner image is a picture of waterfowl swimming in water fouled by an algal bloom. Excess nitrogen and phosphorus cause an overgrowth of algae that consumes oxygen and blocks sunlight from underwater plants. When the algae eventually dies, the oxygen in the water is consumed resulting in fish kills and other environmental damage.