RIP, ADUs… for now

LOWELL — By a vote of 7-4, the Lowell City Council voted not to support the amended version of the long-crafted accessory dwelling unit ordinance that the council has debated for more than a year.

The measure, which had enjoyed majority support until Tuesday night’s public hearing held during the regular meeting of the council, lost the support of Mayor Sokhary Chau and Councilors John Leahy and Vesna Nuon.

“After much investigation and continuous discussion with the executive administration at Beacon Hill, I know that both Gov. Maura Healey and the Lt. Gov. Driscoll, they are unveiling the housing bond bill [Wednesday] that most likely will include the language about ADU,” Chau said from the floor, after yielding the gavel to Vice Chair Erik Gitschier. “After learning this timely news, I do believe that voting now on ADUs seems foolhardy and imprudent for our city.”

Leahy was blunter, noting that the packed gallery filled with anti-ADU residents, a well-attended community meeting, as well as numerous emails and phone calls from his district constituents changed his mind and his vote.

“I was for this ordinance, but what did change in the last couple of weeks, more people did find out about this,” Leahy said in his brief remarks. “More people got involved, more people had more questions. I will be changing my vote at this time. I wouldn’t be representing the district properly if I didn’t listen to them.”

Poor communication was the issue for Nuon, who claimed that despite numerous regular, special and subcommittee meetings, he didn’t think the council did a good job explaining the issue to residents.

“Given that fact, and the fact that we want everyone to be heard, I do agree that we need to regroup, therefore I will join the ‘no’ vote on this,” he said.

It was a stunning loss for a zoning change that has been implemented in other cities and towns across the commonwealth. The debate also showed that despite the fact that more than two-thirds of the city is zoned exclusively for traditional single-family homes, residents and councilors remained concerned that ADUs would encroach on that status.

“What we’re talking about here is adding rental-income properties into single-family neighborhoods, which I am completely opposed to,” Councilor Kim Scott said before her “no” vote. “You’re turning single-family homes into multifamily homes.”

The proposed ordinance defined an ADU as “a self-contained housing unit, inclusive of sleeping, cooking and sanitary facilities on the same lot as a principal dwelling, subject to otherwise applicable dimensional and parking requirements, that maintains a separate entrance … .”

According to Lowell Forward, the city’s comprehensive master plan, Lowell needs 2,500 more units of housing to keep up with population growth. ADUs were projected by the Northern Middlesex Council of Governments, a regional planning agency, to generate five to 10 units per year in the city, which Councilor Wayne Jenness said was not a “magic answer” to the housing crisis, but “I do think passing this ordinance would be better than not passing this ordinance.”

That view was endorsed by Drinkwater, who said, “We can’t afford to turn our nose on any form of additional housing while we’re in the middle of a crisis.”

Ultimately, the ADU issue may be decided at the state level. On Wednesday, the Healey-Driscoll administration unveiled a $4 billion plan to jumpstart the production of homes and make housing more affordable across Massachusetts.

The Affordable Homes Act, a comprehensive package of spending and policy actions, represents the largest proposed investment in housing in the state’s history.

The multipronged approach includes $4 billion in capital spending authorizations, 28 substantive policy changes or initiatives, three executive orders and two targeted tax credits. All are directed at reducing barriers to the production and preservation of housing and giving communities the tools to develop more housing where they need it. The majority of the spending will have benefits for moderate- and low-income households.

One of the 28 policy initiatives adds inclusionary zoning ordinances and bylaws to the list of zoning changes municipalities can pass by a simple majority instead of a two-thirds supermajority vote of a city or town legislative body.

In the meantime, Lowell will maintain its exclusionary zoning laws and ordinances, which place restrictions on the type of homes that can be built in a particular neighborhood, including minimum lot size requirements, minimum square footage requirements, limits on the heights of the buildings and more.

Many councilors, especially those on the losing side, praised the process that brought forward and talked through a complicated issue.

“I am proud to be on a council that worked very hard on this issue,” Councilor Danny Rourke said before his “yes” vote. “… We made amendments that I felt at the time was enough to put this forward. The reason why we sit here is to decide these things.”