GREENFIELD — The Planning Board intends to bring a proposal to the Economic Development Committee that would amend the city’s zoning ordinances to allow large existing buildings, such as barns and carriage houses, to be converted into residences.
The board voted last week to initiate a zoning change that would allow for the “adaptive reuse of accessory structures.” Planning Director Ella Wise said she would work to get the proposal on the Economic Development Committee’s agenda for November, after which time it would go before the full City Council.
If approved, the amendment would allow property owners to convert existing accessory structures, such as barns or carriage houses, that were built before 2016 and are larger than 900 square feet, into single-family residential units.
“The general idea here is the built form of Greenfield, and a lot of Massachusetts, has existing carriage houses, garages [and] barns that have been hard to maintain,” Wise said. “There’s been a couple of instances recently of property owners being interested in using those for residential purposes. So this ordinance would complement, but be separate from, the [accessory dwelling unit] ordinance, allowing for those existing accessory structures to be converted to a residential use for only one single-family unit.”
In August, Wise shared that she had been approached by Greenfield residents who had barns on their property that they would like to convert into housing, but they are unable to do so under the city’s current zoning regulations. At the time, Planning Board members discussed whether amendments should be made to the city’s accessory dwelling unit (ADU) ordinance and whether the reuse would count as an ADU.
On Thursday, board members agreed that since the ADU ordinance allows for the by-right construction of ADUs that are no larger than 900 square feet, conversions of garages and barns that are larger than 900 square feet would not be considered ADUs. The proposed ordinance regarding adaptive reuse of accessory structures would create a special permit process for property owners that are looking to convert those structures that are larger than 900 square feet into residences.
The draft ordinance, which Wise said was largely based on the ADU ordinance, requires that converted structures be compliant with building codes, have a separate kitchen and bathroom from the primary housing unit on the lot, and not expand the gross floor area, except in cases to improve fire safety, accessibility or utilities, such as adding a fire escape. The draft also notes that the converted structure cannot be used for short-term rentals.
Board discussion on Thursday largely centered around how long the structure has to have existed before it can be considered for reuse. In her draft, Wise proposed that structures must have existed continuously since 1990 to be eligible for conversion, the year when record-keeping in the city became more reliable.
However, board members wondered if there are structures that were built more recently that property owners may want to convert into residences, and proposed allowing those built in 2010, or as recently as 2025, to be eligible for a special permit.
“I’m not sure if it’s the spirit of what we’re going for to say it has to be five years old,” Planning Board member Sara Anson-Brown said. “You build in 2026, and then you can turn it into a house in five years.”
Planning Board members eventually agreed to set the date of eligibility at 2016, which is when ADUs were first allowed by special permit in Greenfield.
“There are structures that, by some accounts, should be eligible for ADUs, but they’re not because they’re too big. We’re trying to rectify that,” Planning Board Chair Jeff Sauser noted, explaining the logic for choosing 2016. “So we maybe should go back to the time when ADUs were allowed because these could have also been ADUs at that time.”
The board voted to initiate the zoning amendment, meaning the proposal will then go to a public hearing and then to City Council for review.
