Article 19

ARTICLE 19.  To see if the Town will vote to amend the Town’s Bylaws, Part II: General Legislation, Chapter 196, Zoning, Article V, Use Regulations, Section 196-13, R-A Residence-Agricultural District, Subsection 196-13C, Accessory apartments in residence districts, by deleting the strike through language and by inserting the bold, italicized text as indicated below, or take any other action thereon:

C.  Accessory apartments in residence districts.

1. Purpose and intent. It is the specific intent of this section to allow accessory apartments, including kitchens, within single-family properties in Residence-Agricultural Districts for the purpose of meeting the special housing needs of grandparents, parents, brothers and sisters, children and their respective spouses of families of owner-occupants of properties in the Town of Boxford, subject to the granting of a special permit by the Board of Appeals as provided in Article X. To achieve this goal and to promote the other objectives of this bylaw, specific standards are set forth below for such accessory apartment uses.

1. Owner occupancy required. The owner(s) of the single-family lot upon which the accessory apartment is located shall occupy at least one of the dwelling units on the premises. The special permit shall be issued to the owner of the dwelling units on the property. Should there be a change in ownership or, if the owner of record no longer occupies one of the dwelling units change in residence of the owner, the special permit and the certificate of occupancy for the accessory apartment shall become null and void.  A new owner may continue the special permit if the new owner submits within 90 days of acquiring ownership to the Inspector of Buildings a certification that (a) there will be no change in the approved plan of the accessory apartment, as referred to in the original Special Permit decision, and (b), the name(s) of the new owners and/ or occupants.  Upon receipt of said certification, the Inspector of Buildings shall inspect the accessory apartment.  If the Inspector of Buildings finds the accessory apartment use is consistent with the original Special Permit decision and that there are no changes to the approved Special Permits plans, the Inspector of Buildings shall endorse the certification, and the original Special Permit shall continue in full force and effect.

1. Apartment Requirements

1. (3) size. The gross floor area for an accessory apartment shall not exceed the lesser of:

1. One thousand five hundred square feet; or

1. Twenty-five percent of gross floor area of the sum total of the two dwelling units, as determined at the time of the special permit request.

1. "Gross floor area" shall be defined as the sum of the horizontal areas of floors of a building measured from the exterior face of exterior walls. This includes courts, decks or porches when covered by a roof, or finished portions of basements and excludes garages.
2. “Gross floor area for the primary dwelling unit” shall be defined as the sum of the horizontal areas of floors of a building measured from the exterior surface of exterior walls and the exterior face of common walls.
3. “Gross floor area for the accessory apartment” unit shall be defined as the sum of the horizontal areas of floors of a building measured from the exterior face of exterior walls and the interior face of common walls.
4. Common walls are those shared by the primary and accessory dwelling units.  Walls shared by primary or accessory dwelling units and garage spaces shall be considered exterior walls.  All conditioned living spaces of either dwelling unit shall be included in the respective dwelling unit’s gross floor area, except garage spaces.

1. The accessory apartment shall be connected by a common door, and separated from the main dwelling unit in a manner which maintains the appearance of the building as a single-family dwelling.  Said connection shall not be maintained through a garage or unheated space.
2. There shall be no more than two (2) bedrooms in an accessory apartment.
3. The accessory apartment shall be limited to a maximum occupancy of four (4) persons.
4. 196-13(B)(4) shall not apply to this section.
5. All stairways to additional stories shall be enclosed within the exterior walls of the structure.

1. Code compliance. The accessory apartment must be determined to comply with current safety, health and construction requirements before occupancy and at every change in occupancy.  A building permit shall not issue until there is compliance with said standards.

1. Preservation of single-family characteristics. The accessory apartment shall not change the single-family characteristic of the dwelling, except for the provision of an additional access or egress.

1. Existing detached structures may continue to be used for the same purposes subject to special conditions imposed by the Board of Appeals.

1. There shall be no more than one accessory apartment for a total of two dwelling units permitted per lot.

1. Current apartment uses, effective date this bylaw, may be continued only as long as the present occupants of the accessory apartment remain in residence.

1. Under no circumstances shall the accessory apartment be detached from the main dwelling unit.

                           Sponsored and supported by the Zoning Board of Appeals

                            Select Board recommends adoption of this article

                           Planning Board to make recommendation at Town Meeting

COMMENT: The Boxford Zoning Board of Appeals is proposing certain changes to the Accessory Apartment By-Law. These changes are proposed, in large part, to address recurring issues that have come before the Board. New owners would no longer have to re-apply for and be granted a new Special Permit to use an existing accessory apartment. So long as a new owner certifies, within 90 days of the change in ownership, that there are no changes to the accessory apartment plan approved in the original special permit and the Inspector of Buildings performs an inspection to certify that no changes have been made, the previously issued Special Permit will continue in full force and effect. In addition, the proposed bylaw increases the maximum size of an accessory apartment. Under the current by-law, the maximum size of an accessory apartment shall not exceed the lesser of 25% of the gross floor area of the sum of the two dwelling units or 1000 square feet. The amendment proposes to increase the maximum size to the lesser of 25% of the gross floor area of the sum of the two dwelling units or 1500 square feet.   The proposed amendment also seeks to clarify or provide more precise definitions of certain terms in the current bylaw.