Boxborough Planning Board Advances Two-Article ADU Strategy for February Town Meeting

BOXBOROUGH -- October 21, 2024, Boxborough Planning Board splits ADU bylaw into two articles, eyes February town meeting for state compliance vote. The board voted unanimously Monday to continue its public hearing on a proposed accessory dwelling unit bylaw amendment to November 4, coalescing around a strategy to bring two separate articles to the February 2025 town meeting, one requiring only a simple majority to meet the mandate of H.4977, the Affordable Homes Act, and a second requiring a two-thirds vote to restore the town's prior 1,300-square-foot ADU limit. Special Land Use Counsel Adam Costa's written opinions, discussed at length, confirmed that by-right ADUs in single-family residential districts cannot be conditioned on a special permit, and that more generous size limits are permissible only with the higher vote threshold. Member Kathy Boris, who disclosed she is personally exploring an ADU application, testified that the state's 900-square-foot cap, set at half the principal dwelling's gross floor area, "is almost like neither one of my parts of my unit will work," and advocated for the larger allowance. Town Planner Alec Wade separately announced $260,000 in calendar-year 2024 grant awards, including a $131,000 Green Communities designation and $80,000 in combined state and regional funding for MBTA communities compliance work.