GREENFIELD — There has been a lot of discussion about how the city should handle approving accessory dwelling units, better known as ADUs or in-law apartments, and two of the city’s boards will hold a joint public hearing this month to allow for residents to provide input on proposed changes to an ordinance the City Council passed earlier this year.
Greenfield’s Economic Development Committee and Planning Board will hold a remote public hearing on Tuesday, Oct. 13, at 6 p.m. To access the meeting, visit bit.ly/33pHObb.
The two boards will discuss adding that ADUs cannot be owned by anyone other than the owner of the property it is built on; and that if ownership of the main building on the property and the ADU is divided at some point under state Condominium Law, the ADU must be owner-occupied, not rented to someone else. These provisions aren’t included in the current ordinance, so there could potentially be an owner of the entire property, but a different owner of one of the structures on it.
A petition with the signatures of 50 voters was delivered to the City Clerk’s Office in late August asking that other amendments be considered, as well, including requiring detached structures to acquire a special permit.
Resident Al Norman, who has led the charge against the ordinance that currently allows detached apartments by right, collected and delivered the signatures.
For one thing, petitioners would like to see detached ADUs require a special permit from the Planning Board. They also want detached ADUs to be allowed on lots that contain a minimum of ¾ acres in total.
“Greenfield is currently one of only a handful of communities that allow detached second homes as of right, which only requires a site plan review,” Norman said. “The current ordinance takes away all neighbors’ rights and gives developers no special permit requirement at all.”
The City Council voted in July to allow ADUs by right. In August 2016, the council passed an ADU ordinance that made it legal for residents to build up to 900-square-foot apartments either inside existing owner-occupied homes as additions, as detached structures or inside existing detached structures, such as garages or carriage houses.
However, detached ADUs needed a special permit to be built, which allowed abutters an opportunity to voice their concerns.
Earlier this year, Precinct 5 Councilor Tim Dolan, who chairs the Economic Development Committee, and City Council Vice President Otis Wheeler proposed changes to the 2016 ordinance to allow all ADUs by right. The council overwhelmingly approved it.
“This will expand the housing stock slowly,” Wheeler said of the current ordinance. “I have to say, respectfully, it isn’t my business as a neighbor what happens next to me as long as it’s legal. As a society, we agree that there are certain things that are unacceptable, but we can’t decide we don’t like what something looks like on another person’s property.”
On the other hand, Norman said he and others have no problem with renovating a home to create a unit within it or even using an attached structure, like a garage, to create an ADU. But detached units can invade neighbors’ privacy and encroach upon their properties.
“I think the city has to really look at each project and consider everything, from the runoff a project might cause for a neighbor to other factors,” Norman said. “I think anyone with legitimate issues should be able to have a say in what their neighborhood looks like.”
Two detached ADUs have been built in Greenfield since the original ordinance was passed in 2016: one on Pleasant Street and one on Holland Avenue. According to city officials, neither received any complaints.
Wheeler said he thinks making ADUs by right serves the public good, and that there are enough checks and balances to keep ADUs from creating an overcrowding problem.
“During a site plan review by the Planning Board, members consider privacy and how an ADU might adversely affect an abutter,” Wheeler said.
Following the Oct. 13 public hearing, City Council might consider the proposed changes on Oct. 21 at its regular monthly meeting at 7 p.m. Join that virtual meeting at bit.ly/36y0maS.
Materials for the joint public hearing can be obtained from the City Clerk’s Office by calling 413-772-1555, ext. 6163 or by visiting the office Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Materials are also available at the city’s Planning & Development Department by calling 413-772-1549 or visiting the department at 114 Main St. Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Reach Anita Fritz at 413-772-9591 or afritz@recorder.com.