BRPC Mulls Upcoming ADU Regulations
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — County planners can see accessory dwelling units providing a "desperately needed" influx and diversity of housing in the Berkshires.
On Thursday, the Executive Committee of the Berkshire Regional Planning Commission approved draft comments on ADUs for Housing Secretary Edward Augustus. As a part of the Affordable Homes Act, accessory dwelling units under 900 square feet will be allowed by right on Feb. 2.
The draft letter will be revised before reaching the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities. It makes notes about the definition of a single-family zoning district, non-conformities, principal dwellings, parking, and access to water/wastewater.
"The Berkshire Regional Planning Commission (BRPC) commends the administration and legislature for removing regulatory barriers to allow the creation of accessory dwelling units (ADUs). Steps such as this have the potential to boost the supply and diversity of residential dwelling units, which is desperately needed in Berkshire County," the draft reads.
The housing office recently released ADU draft regulations that BRPC staff has reviewed and discussed with the region. Its suggestions aim to strengthen the regulations and remove uncertainty for communities.
Cornelius Hoss, BRPC's community planning and development program manager, explained that the big question was "What is a single-family zoning district?" This was clarified and BRPC has some concerns, feeling that it goes against best planning practices.
The definition includes dwellings allowed "by special permit, variance, waiver, or other zoning relief or discretionary zoning approval." The draft letter argues that allowing an ADU by right when a community has required a discretionary approval for a single-family dwelling appears to disregard whatever adverse impacts the community is trying to protect against.
"If a single-family home is allowable by right in that district, totally understand that. But going as far as to say that allowance of a use variance, which most of our communities allow, that then essentially creates all zoning districts in communities where use variance is allowable, that that qualifies as a single-family zoning district," Hoss said.
"So if that's where things stay in the end, at least we understand what their intent is. We just don't, from my perspective, we don't agree with that intent."
Speaking about non-conformities, the draft letter says allowing by-right ADUs may be inconsistent with community goals regarding non-conformities.
"The fact that a single-family home exists as a non-conforming use should not necessarily create the situation where an ADU can be allowed by right," Hoss said.
BRPC feels that "Where communities require a special permit for the construction of an accessory structure or addition on a non-conforming parcel, it should not preclude that exact requirement in doing so related to an ADU requiring new construction."
There was some discussion about parking, as Berkshire communities have unique and varying needs.
BRPC wrote that the requirement of one parking space per ADU is reasonable but removing this requirement in relationship to proximity to transit in Berkshire County is unreasonable. The draft letter argues that from a geographic perspective, most Berkshire Regional Transit Authority routes traverse rural areas connecting the larger population centers and with the limitations to service on existing routes, especially on evenings and weekends, eliminating the requirement of on-site parking as a reasonable requirement does not reflect the reliance on automobiles, especially in rural communities.
"Maybe in rural areas, it's not as big of an issue because there's enough land where you can sort of figure that out but to remove that requirement in a place that is largely rural doesn't seem to make sense," Hoss said.
"I think it also doesn't factor in that while some of our communities have decent service during work days nine to five, that outside those hours and on weekends, we do not have regular transit service."
Christine Rasmussen of Stockbridge said most local families have two cars and the requirement seems "unrealistic."
"Even though these are smaller homes, it's not uncommon for two people to have different schedules and need two vehicles so I'm concerned about where that extra second or third vehicle is going to park," she said.
"And also we're an area where there are a lot of big pickup trucks and it's not like you can just find a small spot to pull over. You really have to have a decent-sized parking barrier and then that gets into all the aesthetics of where do you park these cars? So I think it's potentially going to be a problem in some towns."
Chair Malcolm Fick reported that Great Barrington continuously struggles with this.
"We don't want to encourage more cars but at the same time, we have to recognize the reality. We usually settle on one because that's the requirement," he said, adding that he would be concerned if ADUs were allowed with no parking.
Hoss said that based on comments heard, there might be traction related to transit.
"I can't imagine you're going to see an allowable increase in the amount of parking spaces, because just, the more parking you require, the greater the cost from land, pavement, and the idea here is to create housing as low cost as possible and to actually see this move the needle," he explained.
He said Berkshire County's concerns are different than the eastern part of the state and doesn't see the parking requirement being flexible.
Tags: ADU, affordable housing, BRPC,
