Add an apartment to your house in Bourne? Town meeting voters may make it easier
BOURNE — A measure on the May 6 town meeting warrant calls for cutting the red tape to set up an accessory dwelling unit (ADU), a change that could make it easier to find a good place to live in a converted garage, finished basement or backyard cottage.
In Article 25, approval of ADUs would be allowed by right and would no longer require a special permit from the town Zoning Board of Appeals. The building commissioner/chief zoning officer would issue permits, following in-house review relating to site and floor plans, elevations and existing floor-plan calculations.
Bourne is one of three remaining Cape towns that still issues special permits for detached or unattached ADUs through the appointed Zoning Boards of Appeals.
According to wording in Article 25, "the purpose of the accessory dwelling bylaw is to broaden the range of housing choice by increasing the number of small dwelling units available in Bourne’s housing supply."
Possible housing for bridge construction crews
Planning Board Chair Dan Doucette on March 25 said ADUs could conceivably help contract crews working on a possible new Sagamore Bridge, for example, to secure local housing at a reasonable rate. Year-round ADU leases would be structured to preclude units becoming short-term rentals, he said.
“The idea of the (bylaw) request is to avoid special permit review by the appeals board,” Doucette said.
Easing ADU restrictions would also allow elderly owners to remain in their homes, and increase the income flow of younger families seeking homeownership, he said.
ADU rental agreements would be between tenants and homeowners, according to the Planning Board. ADUs must be designed to maximize the appearance of a single-family residential property, and ADUs must conform to all state and septic regulations, according to the proposed bylaw.
Likely conversions rather than brand new builds
Town Planner Jennifer Copeland told the Finance Committee March 11 that most property owners would likely convert garage space for ADUs and “not create brand new dwellings” that might disrupt neighborhoods.
Square-footage imperatives come into play, Copeland said, along with separate access requirements. She said she remains optimistic the bylaw revision is viable and will be favorably considered by voters, even those who might harbor concerns about increased demand for services and impacts on utilities and infrastructure.
Veteran Finance Board members Amanda Bongiovanni and Rich Lavoie, however, are not convinced. They said the very description of “affordable” ADU units is misleading because market-housing rental rates would be in effect; not necessarily below-market rates.
Learn more here Can accessory apartments help solve Cape Cod's housing crisis? Here's what you should know
There are regulations accompanying the proposed change. Lawful primary dwellings must be owner-occupied with allowances for temporary absences. Fractional ownership is not allowed. Minimum lot size is 5,000 square feet. Less than that measure would require Board of Appeals review.
The ADU and primary dwelling may not be rented for periods shorter than 90 days at a time and may not be used as daily or weekly rentals. There must be one parking space designated for each ADU bedroom.
Also, the maximum ADU space would be 1,500 square feet and not more than two bedrooms.
Select Board Chair Mary Jane Mastrangelo says such units are badly needed.
“They could supply small but desperately needed housing in an incremental way,” she said. The units would also serve to help commuters to the Cape live here and not add to traffic tangles at the canal bridges, she said.
A two-thirds vote is needed for the bylaw revision to prevail at town meeting.
This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: Converting a garage or attic in Bourne into an apartment may be easier
