The Marion Planning Board unanimously voted to present two warrant articles for the Annual Town Meeting scheduled for May 21. The articles would tweak zoning bylaws to allow for greater flexibility in the areas of accessory and association piers and for accessory dwelling units.
At the board’s March 5 meeting, Vice Chairman Tom Magauran described the proposed bylaw changes – reviewed and approved by Town Counsel Jon Whitten – that would loosen some of the bylaws in the books.
The warrant article regarding accessory association piers would allow residents to construct them even if their lots do not currently conform to zoning requirements. Currently bylaws require that residents’ lots conform to today’s zoning rules.
Magauran explained that the “unintentional consequence” of the upzoning that took place in 1996 and 1999 is that more associations cannot build piers because they are on nonconforming lots, even if the Environmental Protection Agency and the Army Corps of Engineers approve of the work. He said he knew of at least three incidences where residents were denied projects because their lots were nonconforming.
“Everyone was saying it was fine, but we couldn’t say it was fine,” Magauran said, estimating that 84 to 94 percent of town residents reside on nonconforming lots due to the upzoning in the 1990s.
To resolve this issue, the warrant article would amend bylaw language to allow pier construction for property that abides by current zoning “or was lawfully in existence on May 1, 1996. “All board members support the article.
“To me, it is all about fairness,” Magauran said.
The second warrant article concerns accessory dwelling units. Essentially, the revised bylaw language would increase the allowable square footage for accessory dwelling units from 850 to 1,200 square feet.
Thus if a resident wanted to build an unattached unit for a family member, they could make it larger and it still would be qualified as affordable housing (which caps square footage to 1,200 sq. ft).
Chairman Jay Ryder said that following the board’s affirmative vote, he would speak with Zoning Board of Appears Chairman Robert Wedge to secure his endorsement.
The board scheduled a public hearing, which is required prior to moving to the Town Meeting floor, for the articles on April 2 at 7:05 pm.
By Laura Fedak Pedulli