Freetown Planning Board Targets ADU Rules, Garage Setbacks Before State Deadline

FREETOWN — November 19, 2024 — Freetown's Planning Board and Zoning Board of Appeals held a joint work session November 19 to map out responses to the state's new accessory dwelling unit law before its February 2025 effective date. With the town's existing accessory apartment bylaw set to be largely preempted, board members acknowledged they are unlikely to have updated local bylaws in place before the deadline and will instead aim for a June 2025 town meeting. Building commissioner Carl, who flagged that the current zoning code allows accessory structures of any size just 10 feet from residential property lines, described denying a permit for a 40-by-80-foot, two-and-a-half-story structure at 30 Roundville Drive — "you can put a 100,000-cubic-foot building 10 feet from a property line in the residential zones without changing our bylaws" — and proposed raising the setback threshold to 20 feet for any structure over 500 square feet. A graduated vacant-building registration fee of $100, $250, and $500 rising to $1,000 annually was discussed for a future town meeting article. The board's chair also disclosed that grant funding for a long-stalled town master plan expires at year's end, with the planning board legally required under Massachusetts General Law to approve the final document.