Planning board Reort to Council regarding Zoning Amendment - adding a new section 3.2.8 entitiled Accessory Living Areas 00 CITY OF SALEM
PLANNING BOARD 2017 NOV 29 PH 12: 23
SAS. M, MASS.
Report to City Council
November 29, 2017
At its meeting on November 16, 2017 the Planning Board (Chair Ben Anderson, Vice Chair Matt
Veno, Helen Sides, Bill Griset, and Kirt Rieder) discussed the proposed amendment relative to
Accessory Living Areas, Section 3.2 of the Salem Zoning Ordinance regarding.
The Planning Board unanimously recommends adopting the accessory living area ordinance. In
making this recommendation, the board also recommends that noncontiguous structures should be
an option for an accessory living area.
The Planning Board discussed at length whether the accessory use should be limited within the
contiguous single-family structure or whether a separate 800 square foot structure should be an
option. In contemplating this question the Planning Board took in consideration that the ordinance
requires permission by special permit for the specific use of the accessory living area. Given that the
structure itself is regulated by zoning e.g. height, setbacks and lot coverage, and the utilities could
not be separate, the Planning Board is not concerned whether the use is physically connected or not.
The Planning Board recognizes that the ordinance was written with the intent of the use being
within a contiguous structure. Revising the ordinance as recommended to allow a separate structure
would require several edits throughout, including but not limited to: Sections 3.7 and 3.10 which
prohibits adding a separate entry. Section 3.7 could be reworded, but Section 3.10 would need to be
removed.
If you have any questions regarding this matter, please feel free to contact Tom Daniel, AICP,
Director of Planning& Community Development,at 978-619-5685.
Yours truly,
Ben Anderson,Chair
CC: Cheryl LaPointe,City Clerk