LEYDEN — Voters will be asked to approve amending the town’s bylaws to regulate short-term rentals and to allow the town moderator to gauge a two-thirds majority vote without counting, among other changes, at a Special Town Meeting next week.
Residents will weigh in on nine warrant articles at the meeting, which will commence at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, July 16, at Town Hall, 16 West Leyden Road.
Articles 2 through 9 ask voters to approve an accessory dwelling unit (ADU) bylaw, which will make the town’s regulations consistent with a state law that went into effect in February, allowing property owners to construct an ADU of up to 900 square feet by right.
“There are three ways we’re making it more lenient then the state,” Planning Board member Elizabeth Kidder said. “We’re adopting it and modifying it from the state definitions.”
The proposed bylaw requires that any constructed ADUs maintain separate entrances from the primary dwelling, have a minimum of one off-street parking space for the ADU, and meet all other building and health codes. Property owners must meet with the Planning Board for a site plan review to ensure there is no more than one curb cut on the lot.
If approved, the town’s bylaw would allow ADUs to be constructed up to 1,200 square feet. Basement space would be removed from calculations of the gross floor area. On owner-occupied lots, one ADU could be used as short-term rentals, and on lots that already have up to four dwelling units, property owners can apply for a special permit to construct one additional ADU.
Planning Board Chair James Brodeur wrote in a handout that will be distributed at Special Town Meeting that the board understands some voters may be hesitant to approve an ADU bylaw out of concern that many will suddenly be constructed in town, thus increasing the town’s population. However, the updated state law allows ADUs by right and the town’s bylaws will simply regulate them.
“While this may sound like a major increase in population, in reality our current zoning for years has allowed two- to four-family properties by acquiring a special permit to do so. I have personally been on the Planning Board for five years, and to date, we have not even had one new application for such a permit,” Brodeur wrote. “We value the ability for our residents to preserve the character of Leyden’s forests, fields and farmland. We also have to realize that new home prices are ridiculous, forcing our adult children, as well as our aging current homeowners, to move out of town when circumstances require. ADUs give one more option.”
In addition to regulating ADUs, another warrant article centers on regulating short-term rentals, event venues and retreat centers, as well as establishing a special permit process for those wishing to use their property as an event space.
The bylaw proposed in Article 7 sets conditions and performance standards that would limit the number of individuals allowed overnight, regulate noise and lighting levels, and require the owner to provide emergency contact information to the Police and Fire departments, as well as town administration.
If approved, Brodeur said the article “adds new definitions and use restrictions for a few properties in town that have the potential to be used for large events, gatherings or building rentals, for which the town is not currently properly prepared, zoning-wise.”
Special Town Meeting voters will also be asked to approve adding commercial or industrial-scale battery energy storage facilities to the list of zoning uses that require a special permit and giving the town moderator the authority to declare a two-thirds voting threshold has been reached without a hand count. If there are concerns about the validity of the declaration, seven or more Town Meeting voters could challenge the declaration and call for a hand count.
The full warrant can be read at townofleyden.com/files/2025-7-16_Special_Town_Meeting_Warrant.pdf.
Reach Madison Schofield at 413-930-4579 or mschofield@recorder.com.
This story has been updated to clarify what is allowed under a special permit.
