Planning Board finalizes ADU proposal Members put rental restriction decision in voters’ court

BY WILLIAM J. DOWD

Marblehead Town Meeting will now decide the fate of a zoning proposal that proponents say could help some seniors age in place, create affordable housing opportunities and add to the local housing stock.

Planning Board members have been working on the zoning proposal for months, aiming to regulate the construction and use of accessory dwelling units in Marblehead. ADUs are small living quarters that sit on the same property as single-family homes and are often called “in-law apartments.”

Planning Board members have reached agreement on nearly everything contained in the zoning proposal, including the following provisions: restricting single-family homes to a one ADU per property; requiring the owner of the single-family to occupy either the ADU or the primary residence;

» providing one parking space for each ADU must be provided; prohibiting the units from being separated and sold; and banning short-term rentals.

Yet, at the Planning Board’s Jan. 17 public meeting, there was a lack of consensus on whether to incorporate a rent-restriction provision in the Town Meeting proposal.

As it stands, the proposal would cap the monthly rent of ADUs built for affordable housing at no more than 70 percent of the fair market rent in Marblehead, based on the number of bedrooms, as determined by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, which is currently $1,986 for a one-bedroom and $2,399 for a two-bedroom.

“The only thing that I’ve maintained is if we don’t have restrictions, there is no way we are going to create affordable housing,” said Planning Board member Barton Hyte. “It’s just not going to happen. I’m telling you, it’s impossible.”

Member Andrew Christensen joined Hyte in supporting some rent restrictions, while Edward O. Nilsson, Robert Schaeffner