WHITMAN – A new state statue aimed at increasing available housing in the Commonweath has meant Whitman voters were asked to amend a Zoning bylaw to enable residents who can, the chance to hielp their neighbors find shelter in an unforgiving housing climate.
Voters passed Article 13 by the required two-thirds majority..
“For almost 25 years, Whitman has had a provision in its zoning bylaws that allows accessory apartments within a residential dwelling, provided that the occupants living in the accessory apartments are relatives of the owner of the residential dwelling,” said John Goldrosen, 238 South Ave., who chairs the Zoning Board of Appeals.
Such dwellings also require a special permit from the ZBA.
Planning Board Chair Adam Somerville said his board voted unanimously to send the article to the Bylaw Study Committee for some public hearings and recommended approval with no reservations. Peter Sumner of the town counsel’s office said he has worked closely with Goldrosen on the bylaw.
“We did send this to the attorney general’s office and a former AG who has been assisting towns with reviewing their ADU bylaws,” Sumner said. “After review by them, we feel this will meet the requirements of the state law.”
In 2024 the General Court passed the new statue, requiring that all Bay State municipalities allow what the statute refers to as “accessory dwelling units (ADUs) and that towns cannot limit the occupancy by family members alone.
They also do not require a special permit, he said, effectively overriding the existing by law. But it does allow municipalities to adopt “reasonable regulations,” providing that those regulations do not serve to prevent ADU useable housing from being developed. Those regulations will no longer include a “family-occupied” or special permit requirements, effectively overriding the existing by-law.
Still, Whitman’s by-law will contain some constraints in the town’s interests, Goldrosen said, and accepting the article permits that, he said. And he cautioned that, if the article were rejected the ZBA would have no control over ADUs in Whitman.
Brittany Cavallo of Washington Street asked the main changes in the statute and what the ZBA wants to require.
“We’d have site plan review, we’d have a public hearing and abutters get notified,” he said. “It still provides for some negotiations, ‘jawboning,’ and pubic input. We think that’s important.” Accessory units would be allowed to go in a free-standing building, like a garage, Goldrosen said.
“Under our Zoning bylaw, garages can be within 10 feet of a property line.” he said.
The town’s bylaw adjustments to the statute would require site plan review by the ZBA. Without it, all anyone need to is go to the building inspector and get a building permit with no notice to any abutters.
Ed Winnett of Raynor Avenue said the size specifications for some allowable uses “has the potential to have developers build tiny homes that encroach on open spaces we hadn’t considered, which could threaten Whitman’s character and potential resources.”
He asked why those specifications weren’t listed under the regulations.
“We went as far with the bylaw as we could without being struck down as inconsistent with the state law,” Goldrosen said.
Goldrosen said the bylaw has worked pretty well, with an average of four a year have been approved.