Yarmouth ADU bylaw needs fixing but how? Town officials weigh options

SOUTH YARMOUTH − Hammering out rules on accessory dwelling units so that more will be built will be no easy feat, according to Town Planner Kathy Williams.

"We've all heard we need to do something with ADUs," Williams said during a Nov. 16 Planning Board meeting. "We need to have more year-round, seasonal rental units in the town of Yarmouth, but we also heard we want to be sure we are maintaining the character of our single-family residential neighborhoods."

At that board meeting, town officials dove into how to proceed with amending the town's existing accessory apartment bylaw or forging a new set of rules, with ownership, rental requirements, affordability and other factors discussed.

A citizen petition article to give more flexibility to the accessory dwelling unit bylaw was on the warrant for the special town meeting on Nov. 15. The measure was indefinitely postponed after the petitioners weighed the difficulty of introducing amendments on the floor of town meeting, according to a letter sent to the Planning Board.

The petitioners now intend to put the article before voters at the spring town meeting after greater collaboration with town officials. Sara Kohls, a former Yarmouth Finance Committee member, and Scott Lajoie, director of government affairs at Housing Assistance Corporation, were listed as the article's sponsors, with help from the Cape Cod and Islands Association of Realtors and the newly launched coalition, Housing to Protect Cape Cod.

An ADU is an extra residential unit on the same lot as a stand-alone, single-family home, according to the American Planning Association. The ADUs can take many forms including detached, attached addition, or part of the existing home.

More about ADUs: Can accessory apartments help solve Cape Cod's housing crisis? Here's what you should know

According to a 2018 Cape Cod Commission report, Barnstable County had a 1% vacancy rate for rental units, while 7% is considered healthy. The pandemic made things worse, pushing home sales through the roof, making it harder for people to purchase a home, and taking inventory away from renters.

Building accessory dwelling units has seemed to be a logical way for getting housing units on line relatively quickly. Most Cape towns now allow ADUs in their bylaws. But every town’s bylaw is a little different. The unit’s square footage, number of bedrooms and occupants allowed, parking and rental terms vary depending on each town.

What will be the definition of an accessory dwelling unit in Yarmouth?

On what remains an open discussion, Planning Board member Christopher Vincent said the bylaw should allow for up to two bedrooms, saying that would help accommodate families. Board Chairwoman Joanne Crowley said she preferred one bedrooms, saying she felt "a two-bedroom accessory dwelling unit is another house."

"To my line of thinking, it's the people who are above that level of affordability and below that level of being able to buy into the market," said board member Jim Saben, discussing whom the bylaw should serve.

More about ADUs:Considering an accessory dwelling unit for your property? Here's a guide

Members agreed either the ADU or the main house should be owner-occupied year-round, except for temporary absences during which the owner-occupied unit is not rented in any manner. Owners who split their time between Yarmouth and another location would be accommodated, said Williams, the town planner.

"This doesn't require you to be a full-time Yarmouth resident. It requires you to be the owner — either you're living there or no one's living there to keep some type of local control," said Williams.

ADUs should also not be for sale, according to the Planning Board members, and only one unit — either the principal dwelling unit or the ADU — will be rented at one time. Leases would be for a minimum of a year — with no seasonal or short-term rentals, and no subletting.

The accessory dwelling units should not define the tenant, according to Yarmouth Planning Board members

The board members also supported eliminating family-related requirements from the bylaw, with member Vincent saying "Let the free market rule."

"A zoning bylaw should not be defining tenants. That's what our bylaw does now," said Crowley.

While the current bylaw is written to get units onto the state's subsidized housing inventory with requirements regarding deed restrictions, income eligibility, and use of the ready renter list, Williams said it has not yielded much success.

Learn about Yarmouth solar panel issues:Solarize Yarmouth clients have unfinished projects, lost payments: Everything to know

"We've had some come on, but they've come off and I think we have none on there right now," said Williams, referring to the number of ADUs in Yarmouth that qualify for the state's subsidized housing inventory.

Members supported removing "capital-A" affordable housing requirements. Williams said the board could still support rent limits on ADUs.

The board was split on whether the bylaw should set a minimum lot size and more discussions will be held on whether the bylaw should be 100% by-right.

"My preference is for a general orientation to start this from the by-right end of the pendulum and then build the guardrails moving toward the special permit," said member Will Rubenstein.

Another topic of discussion was whether the town should limit the number of ADU permits each year. A possible route is establishing a limit on permits accompanied with a sunset clause.

Zane Razzaq writes about housing and real estate. Reach her at zrazzaq@capecodonline.com. Follow her on Twitter @zanerazz.

Gain access to premium Cape Cod Times content by subscribing.

This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: Yarmouth Planning Board looks to fix extra apartment bylaw