DEERFIELD — Residents will soon consider changes to the town’s bylaws for accessory dwelling units (ADUs) in accordance with state guidelines.
“Since there’s such a housing shortage, the governor has made some changes … making [regulations] a little more lenient,” Planning Board Chair Denise Mason prefaced at Wednesday’s Selectboard meeting.
Besides changing the term “accessory apartments” to “accessory dwelling units” in the bylaw, the Planning Board is proposing a few other switches.
While the current town bylaw reads that only accessory apartments within the existing structure of the primary single-family home are allowed by right, the proposed changes would instead allow by-right ADUs up to 900 square feet or half the square footage of the primary dwelling, whichever is smaller.
The new bylaw would also change the stipulations for ADUs allowed by special permit.
Under the current bylaw, accessory apartments that are attached to the primary dwelling and that involve structural changes larger than the footprint of the main dwelling, and detached ADUs that are on a permanent foundation in the same lot as the main dwelling, both require a special permit.
The new bylaw would instead allow ADUs above 900 square feet or half the primary dwelling size and below 1,200 square feet by special permit.
For another tweak, Mason explained that the current bylaw requires ADUs to have at least three off-street parking spots, and the proposed bylaw only requires one additional spot for an ADU unless it falls within half a mile of a transit station.
She also highlighted that the new bylaw would require ADUs to have a permanent foundation, meaning that RVs parked on a field are not considered ADUs, for example. Short-term rentals of ADUs below 30 days would also be prohibited in town.
Selectboard members unanimously approved the proposed changes. Residents can weigh in during the Planning Board’s public hearing, which is scheduled for Monday, Aug. 3, at 6:30 p.m. at Town Hall, 8 Conway St., and virtually over Zoom.
Mason said the last ADU building permit that the Planning Board reviewed came in about two years ago. While she said the changes would lead to a more lenient bylaw, Mason does not anticipate a boost of ADUs in Deerfield considering the building expenses, like installing a septic system for the structure, as ADUs must contain “complete, independent living facilities.”
“While this is really great, it’s still difficult to afford to be able to do that,” Mason said. “I don’t think that we’re going to have people screaming to put ADUs on their property, but we’re just trying to make it a little easier for them to have them there.”
“If the trends keep going the way it is,” Selectboard Chair Blake Gilmore added, “it may make it more palatable for people to actually do ADUs.”
