The Planning and Zoning Commission at its February 28 meeting unanimously approved amendments to the zoning regulations which remove some restrictions on accessory dwellings. A hearing was held prior to the meeting to discuss amendments to Section 6.6 of the town’s Zoning Regulations which details requirements for two family dwellings and detached accessory dwelling units. The amendments to the regulations removed the residence requirement, which stipulated that “the owner must reside in one of the two dwelling units”, and the restriction requiring that the area for a detached accessory dwelling unit be minimally 80,000 square feet. Additionally, the word “detached” was removed from “accessory dwelling units”, “legally non-conforming” was added to the condition that the dwellings “comply with the requirements of the use district in which such dwelling is located”, and the stipulation that limits the number of dwelling units per lot to two, now includes, “unless otherwise authorized by these Regulations.”

The decision was made as part of a five-year-plan the PZC approved last year with a goal of increasing the number of accessory dwellings by 25% and the number of income limited accessory dwelling units to five. The plan was developed in response to compliance with Connecticut General Statute 8-30j, which requires towns to develop plans to accommodate income limited residents every five years.

The commission will also be looking at redeveloping old, large houses into multi-family dwellings, such as those at 260 and 264 Main Street. The commission expects to discuss this possibility in an upcoming meeting.