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Date: 5/1/2023
SOUTH HADLEY — With Town Meeting approaching on Wednesday, May 10, Director of Planning and Conservation Anne Capra led a Zoning Warrant Articles info session open to the public on April 20 to give insight and answer any questions related to the five articles related that will be voted on at Town Meeting.
Articles 20, 21 and 22 are all related to bylaw changes related to short-term rentals and accessory dwelling unit, and Town Meeting members will have a chance to approve the proposed changes after months of work from the Planning Board on the topics.
The general bylaw proposed will see if the town create a registration and licensing of short-term rental units and the zoning bylaw proposed looks to see if the town will amend the zoning bylaw in regard to short-term rentals can be used and the policies one must follow.
Capra, in an April 20 public information session on the different bylaw articles, broke down each bylaw and what town meeting members can expect to be voting for during Town Meeting. A short-term rental is defined in the proposed bylaw as all or part of a legally established dwelling unit for no more than 28 consecutive days or less, including home sharing and vacation rentals.
“In other communities they may define a short-term rental as more, greater or fewer days but in South Hadley, this is what we are talking about,” Capra explained.
She explained the purpose and intent behind the proposed zoning bylaw was to keep compatibility with social, cultural and physical neighborhood characteristics. Other intentions behind the proposed bylaw include protecting residential neighborhood quality of life and to allow residents to generate revenue from their properties while avoiding possible adverse effects.
Plan requirements within the zoning bylaw must include parcel boundaries, all structures proposed for a short-term rental, location and description of parking and a floor plan. Other application requirements include descriptions of rooms in the dwelling unit, whether they will be tented and maximum of overnight guests allowed.
Some of the general criteria and standards listed for the proposed zoning bylaw is that the applicant must be the owner-occupant, it must be a legal dwelling unit, the tax parcel must be dimensionally compliant for the zoning district it is in and it must be current on all local taxes and fees.
Owner-occupied is defined by the town as residing on the property during rental period. A non-owner occupied must be the licensed by applicant and the owner is not living on property during the rental period but assumes all responsibility for operation and maintenance.
A yes vote for article 21 would add short-term rental owner occupied and short-term rental non owner occupied to the town’s existing use table.
“What the proposal is, is for owner occupied short-term rentals — they will be allowed by site plan review in all four of the residential districts, the agricultural district and the four business districts. They will be prohibited in the three industrial districts,” Capra explained. “Non-owner occupied short-term rentals will be allowed by special permit in the more residential districts, agricultural district, and the four business districts, and not allowed in the industrial districts.”
The proposed general bylaw in article 20 would set up a licensing process and create a registry through the Building Commissioner who would be in charge of overseeing registration for short-term rentals in South Hadley. An annual short-term rental license would be needed from the building commissioner.
The article would be a new chapter to the general bylaw titled Chapter 136. Purposes outlined for the general bylaw include protecting the health safety and welfare of citizens, ensuring safety and sanitary conditions of rental housing stock, and to provide guidelines for operations of short-term rentals for tenants, owners, landlords and neighbors and awareness of nuisance regulations.
Capra added a short-term rental license must be issued by the building commissioner if this article were to be approved. She said short term rentals must comply with all local bylaws and regulations, state laws and health, building and fire codes. Inspections and enforcements taken under this proposed bylaw are authorized under such laws and regulations.
Not eligible for short term rental licenses are hotels, motels, inns, hostels or bed and breakfast facilities, as well as halfway houses and group homes.
Under the proposed general bylaw, short term rental licenses are conditioned upon four rules: only spaces intended for human habitation — not sheds or garages, only legal dwelling units may be short term rentals, not campers, RVs, tents, yurts or other temporary mobile structures, no exterior signs or displays for advertising, and all advertisements must include the license number issued by the town.
“That assumes these will be advertised on platforms like AirBnb or similar, and in those advertisements, you must include your license number that the town will give you,” Capra said.
Conditions under the proposed general bylaw start with owner-occupied only and state that owner-occupant or their representative must reside on the property during the renal. If there are multiple owners, one of them must reside on property during rental. If a business entity is owner, a designated owner representative must permanently reside on the property in an ongoing basis.
For non-owner occupied conditions, the proposed general bylaw states the owner-occupant must be the license applicant, the owner-occupant does not reside on the property during the rental but assumes all responsibilities, and if the property owned is by a business, a designated owner representative must be identified with contact information.
Other overall conditions include rental to one part or group at a time, number of bedrooms in rental may not be greater than lawfully permitted in dwelling unit, renting for less than 24 hours is prohibited and commercial meetings are prohibited.
There will be an application process and requirements that must be met in order to operate if the general bylaw was passed and yearly renewal will be due through the registry. Additionally, the town has set a limit of number of licenses that can be given out in town at 25. No more than five of those licenses shall be non-owner occupied. Only one license is allowed per owner.
“You get one license and that’s it. You can be owner occupied or non-owner occupied, but you only get one,” Capra noted.
The general bylaw also includes a self-certification program where owners shall certify their compliance annually using a self-certification checklist. Capra said the self-certification program checklist will help residents keep track of what is required to continue operations each year when preparing to reapply to the registry.
Capra also mentioned there would be a compliant and response process where if a code official were to receive a complaint about one of the rental properties, they can give the licensee a 24-hour notice that the rental property needs to be available for inspection.
“The building commissioner and any other code officials, for example the fire chief, will be enforcement personnel,” Capra said. “The license may be modified, suspended or revoked upon any violation that are subject to enforcement.”
According to the proposed general bylaw, the building commissioner may suspend a license under certain parameters. If the owner knowingly or assisted in allowing violations or the owner or agent refuses or neglects compliance, the first offense is 90-day suspension, second offense within a year is 180 days and a third offense within a year is a three year suspension.
Immediate suspensions can be made due to the building condemnation or deemed unsafe for health, building or fire code reasons.
Accessory Dwelling Units Zoning Bylaw
Article 22 is a proposed Accessory Dwelling Unit zoning bylaw that would amend the town’s current zoning bylaw Chapter 255 in regard to the style of housing. The proposed bylaw would insert a definition for ADU’s, establish which districts an ADU may be permitted.
ADU’s are defined as small houses or apartments that exist on the same property as a single-family residence. The ADU bylaw definition being used by the town is that the ADU is not larger in floor area than half the floor area of the principle dwelling or 900 square feet, whichever is smaller.
The bylaw specifically differentiates about attached and detached ADU’s. Capra noted attached units is defined as united or connected to, while detached is not united or connected to.
“Attached units could be a lower level like in your basement. If you had an attached garage you could build a structure above it. You could do a garage conversion if it was attached,” Capra said. “If you have a detached garage and meet standards it could become a detached ADU conversion or you could do an upper level in your home, these are all options.”
Capra explained the purpose of this proposed article involved finding new options for people as home prices and rents are high and unaffordable for many in households of middle or moderate income. It would also help with the town meeting housing demands and reduce the general barriers that have prevented homeowners from building ADU’s as they are currently illegal in town.
Capra also noted many beneficial elements to the addition of ADU’s in South Hadley including an increase supply of smaller housing stock, provide a wider range of homes, prices, rents and locations, increase the town’s housing diversity, provide homeowners with potential extra income to help meet rising costs, and much more.
According to Capra, the bylaw would create use classifications for both attached and detached ADU’s. Attached ADU’s that are in home or attached immediately to the principle home, are proposed to be allowed by right in the four residential zoning districts, the agricultural district, and the Business-A and Business-B zoning districts. It is prohibited in the other two business districts and the three industrial districts.
Detached ADU’s are proposed to be allowed by site plan review in the four residential districts, the agricultural district, and the business-A and Business-B zoning district. It is prohibited in the same districts as the attached ADU’s requirements.
Conditions required for a permit include the unit being separate containing both kitchen and bath, one ADU per single-family dwelling. as multi-family dwellings not eligible for ADU, owner residence must occupy principal dwelling or ADU, and the ADU is not occupied by more than three people and two bedrooms maximum.
Other conditions required include meeting State Building Code and other state regulations, off-street parking is required, detached ADUs are limited to one and a half stories, and ADU’s are not eligible for short term rentals. Capra noted that permit granting authority may allow deviations from stated conditions to install features to facilitate access and mobility for people with disabilities.
The building commissioner will also administer and enforce this bylaw and the commissioner has power to issue a cease and desist for violations of this bylaw.
These articles and more will be voted on at Town Meeting on May 10. If interested in learning more about these proposed bylaws you can find this year’s Town Meeting Warrant and more information regarding Capra and the Planning Board’s work on the town’s website.