By Carol Britton Meyer

Town meeting voters will be asked to approve a allow accessory dwelling units (ADUs) in single-family homes under a proposal sponsored by the zoning board of appeals.

The article on the Aug. 31 special town meeting warrant is similar to the one that was voted “no action” in order to allow for further study at last spring’s annual town meeting. According to ZBA Chair Patrick Finn, the plan would help Hull homeowners age in place.

It would create housing units within an existing single-family structure for family members, seniors age 60 and over regardless of income, or other occupants who qualify according to income eligibility for affordable housing. Further details will be available at the planning board’s Aug. 23 meeting, at which the article will be discussed prior to town meeting.

“This is to help single-family homeowners in Hull remain in their homes and is basically the same article as the earlier one – with the three restrictions [listed above] spelled out and a special permit process if the proposed ADU is not in conformance with existing zoning regulations,” Finn told The Hull Times. “Some of Hull’s Coast Guard members are given housing vouchers but are having trouble finding rental housing in Hull, and allowing ADUs would be perfect.”

Town meeting will be asked to amend the zoning bylaws to allow a limited number of ADUs without adding to the number of buildings, reducing open space in town, or substantially altering the appearance of the principal dwelling.

There would be limits on the size of the ADU within the existing structure -- not larger than half of the floor area of the principal dwelling or 900 square feet, whichever is smaller, with four required parking spaces. The family member, senior, or income-qualifying Hull resident or non-resident occupying the other unit must have a minimum stay of six months.

Homeowners who gain approval as necessary to create an ADU would be required to provide a signed affidavit to the town each year confirming that they reside in the dwelling (either the original house or the ADU) for at least six months of the year. If the occupant is living in one of the units based on income eligibility, an affidavit confirming his or her income would also be required with the owner’s affidavit.

The goal is “to provide for a more efficient and economic use of existing housing stock by enabling owners of single-family dwellings larger than required for their present needs to share space and the burdens of homeownership, while also protecting the stability, property values, and residential character of the neighborhood,” according to Finn.

He noted that there has been some questioning of the intent of this ADU article as a zoning article versus a strictly affordable housing article.

“The ZBA, zoning bylaw committee, and affordable housing committee discussed this difference and unanimously agreed (one affordable housing committee member abstained from the vote) that ADUs in owner-occupied single-family homes are not the place where our town planners should suddenly put down the hammer and require strict compliance with [affordable housing requirements] for occupants,” Finn said.

“This would drop the weight of a long-ignored issue [referring to the need for affordable housing in Hull] on the backs of struggling seniors, family members, and other hardworking taxpayers of Hull when developers have constructed over 800 multi-family condominium units with a total of zero affordable housing deed-restricted units required – added to Hull’s tiny 1.7% total of the required state-certified subsidized housing inventory,” he explained.

The warrant article intends to increase the number of housing choices in Hull as recommended by the Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development and consistent with Hull’s Housing Production Plan, proponents say.

“Property owners should have a right to choose who they share living space with in their single-family home – ideally with family members and loved ones, not necessarily income-eligible tenants,” Finn said. “If these proposed 10 units per year ever make it onto the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Subsidized Housing Inventory is strictly an administrative function of the Town of Hull, based on the current Chapter 40B [comprehensive permit] Local Initiative Program and proposed changes in the Legislature.”

The current housing crisis requires action, according to Finn, who believes that passage of this article “will allow administrative procedures to be put in place to assist in accomplishing the goals of the Hull Housing Production Plan.”

The Metropolitan Area Planning Council assisted the town in developing a housing production plan that is intended to “provide housing options to residents, their adult children, and elderly grandparents for all life phases and unanticipated circumstances, such as the economy, personal mobility, or changing preferences;” guide market-rate and affordable housing preservation and creation; help the town maintain its state-mandated affordable housing target; influence the type, amount, and location of affordable housing; and increase affordable housing opportunities and options in Hull, among other considerations.