By Adam Swift
Several city councillors raised concerns about a proposed state-mandated change to the city’s Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) ordinance — See story regarding the state-mandated changes on Page 17.
Last year, Governor Maura Healey signed the Affordable Housing Acts. Part of that act requires that all municipalities allow the construction of ADUs, also sometimes known as in-law apartments, in any zone that allows single-family homes.
Monday night, Planning and Community Development Director Tom Skwierawski presented the proposed amendments to the city’s current ADU ordinance that will bring it into step with the new state law.
“What we are trying to do with this amendment is to make sure that our local ordinance is aligned with this new state regulation to allow ADUs to be permitted by right in single-family zones,” Skwierawski said. “It also prohibits us from unreasonably regulating ADUs, and that includes imposing restrictions on owner-occupancy requirements for the principal dwelling, including restrictions related to parking if it is within a half-mile of a transit station, that includes restrictions on size, and restrictions on whether it can be a detached unit or actually within the building.”
Due to several changes in the final regulation at the state level, Skwierawski said there are some tweaks that need to be made to the amendment that was presented to the council. He said the city is also waiting for the state to issue a model bylaw to see if any further changes should be made.
“The state regulation requires that we treat an accessory dwelling unit from a dimensional standpoint, from a use standpoint the same as a single-family home in that same district would be treated,” said Skwierawski. “One of the things it does allow us to do in terms of prohibition is it does allow us to continue to have prohibitions on short-term rentals.”
The state’s ADU regulation limits the size of an ADU, whether in the principal building or in an existing outside building such as a garage to half the square footage of the principal structure or 900 square feet.
While the ADUs are allowed by right, Skwierawski said they would still have to meet all building, fire, and other municipal codes.
The state regulation also states that additional parking is not required for an ADU as long as it is within a half mile of a transit station. The latest update to the law defines a bus stop as a transit station, which Skwierawski said essentially means there are few areas in the city where additional parking would be required.
Skwierawski said the state law will allow the city to limit the ADUs to one per property, although ADU units could be allowed in two- or three-family homes as long as they meet all city codes.
“We will be making some tweaks based on the regulations we have as of Jan. 30, and we will make more once we have the model bylaw from the state, which we anticipate in a week or two,” he said. “I would suggest that when this gets referred to to the zoning subcommittee that we wait to make sure the model bylaw is out.”
Although the ADU regulations are a state law, several councillors expressed their opposition to the local zoning amendment changes.
Ward 1 Councillor Joanne McKenna noted that the state law would undo work the council has done over the past decade to control parking and control the building of units in garages.
“Now the state is mandating that all the work we have done over the past 10 years is going to be going out the window and we do not have a say in it,” she said. “It’s ridiculous.”
Ward 3 Councillor Anthony Cogliandro said the city should find a way to oppose the state mandate.
“I wish there was some way to fight this, because Revere is not like every other city out there,” he said.
Councillor-at-Large Michelle Kelley said she opposed the ADU ordinance changes.
“We adopted an ADU ordinance a few years back that was much more prohibitive, they had to be owner-occupied and in a single-family home,” she said. “I wasn’t 100 percent onboard with that, but it was much better than this; this is so heavy handed. I would strongly be in favor of ways to challenge this.”
Council President Marc Silvestri asked what would happen if the city did reject the state law.
Skwierawski said it was likely that if an applicant was denied the right to build an ADU on their property by right, the city would be liable for potential civil action in land court.
Silvestri said the way to go about the opposition to the state regulation could be to get the city’s state legislators involved to make amendments to the state law.
The proposed amendment changes were referred to a future meeting of the council’s zoning subcommittee.
