Pittsfield Looks to Update Zoning for ADUs
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Accessory dwelling units will be by-right in early 2025 and the city wants to be prepared.
On Tuesday, the Community Development Board voted to become the petitioner for amendments to the City Code that reflect the new ADU legislation. City Planner Kevin Rayner has crafted a draft ordinance that the board will dig into before it goes to the City Council.
As a part of the $4.1 billion Affordable Homes Act signed into law over the summer, ADUs up to 900 square feet can be built by right in single-family zoning districts.
"This legislation will go into effect February 2, 2025, so we're trying to get our ordinance to accommodate ADUs by that point," Rayner said.
"Our ordinance wasn't prohibitive against accessory dwelling units, but we do need to up our dimensional requirements to kind of accommodate for them as they are, sort of like an accessory structure, in a way but they have some different requirements because they are being used as a dwelling."
The city plans to allow ADUs in a one- to two-family residential use, allowing for duplexes that meet other requirements to have one.
Most of the amendments will take place in Article 23 Section 9.101, which outlines restrictions for accessory buildings.
"They're mostly dimensional. We're going to make it so that maybe you can't take up more than 20 percent of the lot coverage," Rayner said.
"We are going to have it be 20 feet from the rear lot line and the logic behind that is, like we said in the previous discussion, accessory structures can go from 10 feet all the way up the lot line as long as they meet fire code and we figured because it's a dwelling, because somebody's living there, you wouldn't want somebody right up against your rear property line who is occupying and living in that dwelling."
Under the current code, an ADU in a residential district cannot exceed 15 feet in height, cannot be located closer than 10 feet to the principal building, and cannot occupy more than 10 percent of the total lot.
"We've also talked about height in there, the accessory structure height is 15 feet and we have kept that standard in the ADU but it is amendable for a special permit," Rayner explained.
"So if they wish to go higher, or if there's an existing structure that they're putting an ADU in and that is over 15 feet that can be overcome with a special permit. The special permit granting authority in that case we've decided will be the Zoning Board of Appeals, unless that property is in the downtown Creative District, where then it would be this board."
He reported that one ADU is by right but any additional ADU will require a special permit.
"Each ADU will require one additional on-site parking spot to compensate for the increase in the dwelling," he added.
"And we've kept the size requirement consistent with the state legislation, which says it will be half the gross floor area of the principal structure or 900 square feet, whichever is smaller."
The state gave the option to allow short-term rentals to be ADUs, which the city has taken up.
"We’ve decided that we don't want to prohibit short-term rental ADUs," Rayner said.
"And the logic with that is, if you have an ADU on your property, the owner might go into an ADU and then rent out the main structure."
Board member Matthew Herzberg asked how the ordinance will work in districts with a form-based code, explaining that in some cases, it may be more permissive than what is written. Rayner said that it should be allowed by right in residential areas but the city doesn’t want to be prohibitive and this will be considered.
The parking requirement may be something to look at, board member Libby Herland added, especially in the Downtown Creative District.
Also on the agenda was a discussion about short-term rentals, which is popping up all over Berkshire County. Rayner explained that these are trickier than ADUs.
"Short-term rentals are a little bit more tricky than the ADUs in how they are going to be regulated and how certain different departments within the city government will interact with each other in terms of short-term rentals," he explained.
"And so we wanted to take a step back and make sure our draft was a good place before we brought it before the board. We do anticipate that that draft will be ready by the December meeting."
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