Amendments Proposed for ADU Ordinance Increase Impacts and Reduce Affordability

UPDATE: At the November 12 Town Council meeting, the Town Council left the ordinance as drafted by the Town Solicitor and did not incorporate these additional amendments from the Affordable Housing Commission.

When: Tuesday, November 12 at 7 p.m.
Where: Charlestown Town Hall (Town Council Meeting)

Amendments proposed by the Affordable Housing Commission would encourage the seasonal use of Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs), make it harder for tenants to find year-round housing, make the units less affordable, and increase impacts in coastal pond neighborhoods where nitrogen levels in groundwater are already too high.

This year, the state legislature made more changes to the ADU language in state law, and Charlestown’s solicitor has prepared revisions to Charlestown’s Zoning Ordinance to comply with those state changes. Charlestown’s Affordable Housing Commission (AHC) has also proposed revisions. The November 12 Town Council meeting packet includes the letter from the AHC and responses to the AHC amendments from the Town Planner and the Building/Zoning Official.

The Affordable Housing Commission objects to language requiring that the ADU be the primary residence of the occupant. State law prohibits the ADU from being listed on a “hosting platform”, but summer rentals, one month at a time, are not prohibited. Charlestown has had summer rentals for more than a century and not being able to list on Airbnb will not be an impediment to finding summer tenants. State law does not prohibit the town from requiring the ADU to be the primary residence of the occupant. ADUs are meant to provide additional year-round affordable rentals; the AHC’s proposed language change would subvert this purpose.

The Affordable Housing Commission objects to language requiring that the property be owner-occupied. Requiring that an owner occupy either the house or the ADU is not prohibited in state law. Requiring owner occupancy discourages investors from using ADUs to create additional rental properties for seasonal occupancy in the already overcrowded neighborhoods near the coastal ponds, and does not prevent a homeowner with extra space to be able to generate income that helps them maintain ownership of that property.

The Affordable Housing Commission believes that sizes of up to 900 sq. ft. for one-bedroom ADU and up to 1200 sq. ft. for a two-bedroom ADU are too small. An ADU is an accessory dwelling, not a second house. A 1,200-square-foot ADU would be bigger than many houses in Charlestown. The sizes of these units correlate to impacts on groundwater and on neighborhoods, and staying within the state mandates will already create significant impacts.

The above changes proposed by the Affordable Housing Commission benefit investors and owners of second homes who wish to add additional investment properties for seasonal use, but they subvert the stated purpose of an ADU which is to provide additional housing for family members and affordable rentals.