An Urgent Call For The Town Council To Lobby For Our Groundwater

For decades, homeowners in Charlestown could add a small apartment for family members if they met certain requirements. For example, their apartments needed to be for the sole use of family members. In addition, if income and deed restrictions for Low and Moderate Income Housing were met, a larger unit, which could be detached, could be added.

A new state law enacted in 2022 “invalidated” Charlestown’s ability to issue permits for these units unless the town were to allow a second dwelling unit on every new and existing residential lot in town.

Charlestown could choose to “opt in” to this state law, but the new state regulations would apply. For example, in addition to the ability for an Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) to be located on any residential lot, the ADU could be a separate building as large as a house; there would be no limit on the number of bedrooms; the ADU could be located as close as 10 feet of some property lines; and the property owner need not live in either dwelling unit, and both could be rented short term, say, for a week or a month.

As a vacation destination, areas near Watchaug and our saltwater ponds could be especially impacted. Also, developers of new subdivisions would be able to add a second dwelling unit to each lot, doubling the number of houses in their subdivisions. In short, Charlestown’s zoning would be thrown to the wind in favor of state control, and the number of dwelling units possible in town could conceivably double.

Experts have testified that increases in density adversely impact groundwater. The adverse impact could become a major issue in the future because Charlestown does not have sewers, which would be needed to support an increase in density beyond what the land can support.

In Charlestown, all residences, and businesses, depend on wells and septic systems. Our town, in order to protect our drinking water and the health of our freshwater and saltwater ponds, relies on zoning to maintain enough upland to remove contaminants before they reach the groundwater. For this reason, 3-acre zoning districts sit on top of aquifers, and 2-acre zoning districts are in areas that recharge these aquifers.

The RI Department of Environmental Management permits septic systems one by one; its permitting does not take into account the impact of all septic systems, together, on our groundwater.

ADUs have historically been a very important housing option for our community. A number of homeowners in Charlestown have added these units for their parents and other family members. Charlestown’s Town Planner has worked hard to lobby the legislature to consider Charlestown’s unique environment and to give our town the ability to have reasonable ADU regulations, but she needs help.

I call on the Charlestown Town Council to advocate at the State House for amendments to the state law so that Charlestown can again permit family ADUs, maintain our rural character, and develop responsibly.

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Bonnie Van Slyke, the author of this post, was a member of the Charlestown Town Council from 2014 to 2022. She was the Town Council Liaison to the Planning Commission, Parks and Recreation Commission, and Senior Citizens Commission. She is a former officer and member of the Board of Directors of the Frosty Drew Observatory & Science Center, a former Chair of the Zoning Board of Appeals in Harvard, MA and a former member of the Board of Trustees of the Harvard Conservation Trust. Bonnie is a freelance copy editor, technical writer, and publications specialist. Bonnie writes occasionally about governance issues in Charlestown.

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