Proposed Accessory Dwelling Unit Bylaw

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 According to the Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae), which is the largest holder of mortgages in the United States, an ADU, commonly referred to as an accessory apartment or in-law suite, is a smaller additional living space on the same lot as a single-family home. To meet Fannie Mae requirements, it must include space for living, sleeping, cooking and bathrooms independent of the primary residence. While the ADU may or may not include access to the primary residence, it must be accessible without going through the primary residence as there must be some expectation of privacy from the home. 

Yes, Fannie Mae recognizes three different configurations for ADUs:

1. Within a primary residence

- These can include basement or garage conversion apartments.

2. Attached to a primary residence

- Such as building over a garage or adjacent to another section of the home.

3. Detached from the primary residence

- A completely separate building which can include a manufactured home.

Historically, ADUs were created to allow parents to move in with their children while still giving each a measure of independence, hence the term “In Law Apartment”, and that is still one of the potential uses for ADUs today. But as demographics and housing trends have changed, additional uses for ADUs have been found.

Rental income for living in place

One of the most critical issues facing our aging population is their ability to continue to live in their existing homes where they can access a support network of friends and neighbors and continue care with medical providers. But with rising home values (and equivalently rising property taxes) and property maintenance costs, the ability of seniors on fixed incomes to stay in their home (or even just their existing community) has become more challenging. The addition of an ADU to a property can address that issue as the homeowner can either rent the ADU or move into it themselves and rent the primary residence, allowing them to remain in their area while generating the income necessary to do so.  And given the separation of the two residences, this affords greater security than renting a room out in a home.

Wealth transfer

Another impact of rising home values is the inability of parents to transfer a home to a family member. Often, a family home is the owner’s greatest asset. As they age (and particularly if they lose a spouse), they may be compelled to sell the family home in order to have adequate assets to cover expenses. But the next generation are often unable to afford to purchase the family home. The addition of an ADU allows the owner to move into that unit while their family move into and assume the overall responsibility for taxes and upkeep of, the main residence, allowing each to to pay amounts they can afford and still keep the property.

Affordable nd Work Force Housing

With the rising cost of land, labor, and materials, construction of new housing is becoming more and more expensive. As a result, there is little financial incentive to construct housing that is truly “affordable” (In Plymouth, all that is needed to meet State and Federal guidelines for “affordable” housing is for a 1 bedroom apartment to cost $2,221 per month, or over $26,000 in pre-tax income). Given their small size and no need for additional land, ADUs represent a less expensive alternative for creating new housing, allowing for more reasonable rents. 

ADUs are only allowed per zoning regulations created by each municipality, so the permitted uses are decided by the authority approving such regulations. In Plymouth, all zoning changes must be approved by Town Meeting, so they will ultimately decide whether to approve any proposed use for an ADU. 

Yes and no. Currently, Plymouth does not allow ADUs anywhere in Town as a matter of right (meaning that you only need to meet the zoning bylaw and building code requirements). In order to build an ADU requires a Special Permit (meaning preparation of architectural/engineering plans submitted to the Planning Department which are circulated to other departments for comment, and after any comments are received and necessary changes made they are then presented to the Planning Board for a presentation and advisory vote, and then to the Zoning Board of Appeals for another presentation and final decision, which means that it can reject the request). 

Yes. An amendment to the zoning bylaw allowing for ADUs in existing residential zones has been proposed. Under its terms, people would be allowed to build ADUs of up to 900 square feet as long as all building code requirements, zoning setback and frontage requirements, parking requirements, and water and septic regulations were met. In addition, either the principal residence or the ADU would have to be owner-occupied, and neither could not be used for short-term rental.

Yes.

In its last Master Plan, the residents of Plymouth indicated that they wanted the Town to adopt as as-of-right ADU bylaw. That was supported by the Planning Board and the Select Board.

Currently, the Planning Board has again unanimously indicated its support for ADUs and the revised zoning bylaw being presented to Town Meeting.

The Plymouth Select Board and the Advisory and Finance Committee both voted unanimously to support the proposed revised ADUs zoning bylaw.

The Plymouth Board of Health has formally voted to support creation of a revised zoning bylaw allowing certain ADUs by right.

The Plymouth Senior Task Force has also expressed its support for ADUs as a potential housing option for our growing senior population.