West Stockbridge — Recently, zoning changes have proliferated throughout the Commonwealth’s municipalities in attempts to gain more affordable housing choices as is the case for accessory dwelling units (ADUs), or to regulate short-term rental units (STRs) that fall under corporate entities such as Airbnb. West Stockbridge is no exception as Planning Board members have spent the better part of the past year grappling with such terms.
STR proposed bylaw to be set for Town Meeting Warrant
Currently, West Stockbridge zoning regulations don’t include a category for STRs, units that can be rented for less than 31 days at a time. The Planning Board finalized a draft of the new bylaw in July. On October 7, the town’s Select Board approved the draft bylaw and sent the measure back to the Planning Board to set the proposal for a public hearing which took place over the past few months.
The measure is now back in the hands of the Select Board to be set for the Town Meeting Warrant in May.
A copy of the proposed STR bylaw can be found here.
The nuts and bolts of the draft STR bylaw
The final draft of West Stockbridge’s STR proposed bylaw requires any such owners to register the rental with the town and have a local manager who can respond to an issue on site within two hours of the complaint or within 30 minutes of an emergency.
The proposal disallows signs, events, commercial uses, or dumpsters on the property, or rentals for less than 24 hours, as well as any activity or use “that interferes with the use and enjoyment of surrounding property.”
During the multiple public hearing sessions, residents pushed for more days that the units can be rented annually as the initial draft included 40 days per year, with another 40 days annually by special permit. A middle ground was reached, allowing an STR unit to be offered for a maximum of 80 days per year and up to 120 days per year by special permit.
The final draft restricts STRs to owner occupiers who are West Stockbridge residents for 183 days out of each year and creates provisions applicable to other owner classifications. STR owners who are full-time residents of West Stockbridge but don’t live on the same property as the STR they rent must obtain a special permit and meet additional provisions including being a current resident for at least five years. They are limited to only one STR on a nonresident property.
STR owners who are not currently full-time residents of West Stockbridge but were former residents of the town must also obtain a special permit and meet the additional provisions of having lived in town for at least 10 years or having had immediate family members who have lived in town for at least 15 years. They are permitted to have only one STR.
According to the proposal, a long-term tenant can sublease the unit as an STR with the owner’s permission and by obtaining a special permit.
Select Board remands ADU proposal back to Planning Board to set for public hearing
The road to West Stockbridge’s proposed ADU bylaw took a more circuitous route after Gov. Maura Healey mandated that such units couldn’t be unreasonably restricted by municipalities to owner residents. That legislation went into effect on February 2, with the West Stockbridge Planning Board deferring a previously ironed out ADU proposed bylaw until details of the state mandate could be determined.
On March 3, the West Stockbridge Select Board unanimously approved remanding the ADU proposal back to the Planning Board to set the item for a public hearing.
A copy of the proposed ADU bylaw can be found here.
The nuts and bolts of the draft ADU bylaw
The provisions of the Planning Board’s second zoning draft bylaw define ADUs as a rental located on the same lot as a main house but with a separate entrance either from the outside or through a hallway from the principal structure.
According to the draft, an ADU can’t be larger than half of the gross floor area of the main house or 900 square feet, whichever is smaller. Also, there is no minimum size requirement for an ADU; however, a special permit is required if an ADU is greater than 900 square feet.
An ADU can only be part of a single-, two-, or multi-family home and not part of a non-residential property. The bylaw parking requirements state that “adequate parking” but no more than one parking space must be available for a main house with a conforming ADU and at least three parking spaces for a main house with an ADU that is by special permit.
Other requirements contained in the proposal include limiting one ADU per lot and disallowing ADU ownership by a person or entity that doesn’t own the main house. Under the provisions drafted, a mobile home can’t be rented as an ADU, and an ADU can serve as a short-term rental under certain circumstances.
As of March 4, the Planning Board had not set the date for the ADU public hearing.
