Page 8 THE MALDEN ADVOCATE–Friday, January 17, 2025 LAW| FROM PAGE 1 ly and pragmatically accommodate a new state law regarding additional housing units. These additional housing units – accessory dwelling units (ADUs) – are destined to become one of the most well-known acronymic additions to municipal government jargon in history, as they have the potential to make a major impact on community living moving forward. When Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey signed into law the sweeping, historic Affordable Homes Act in August 2024, the bill authorized $5.16 billion in spending over the next five years along with nearly 50 policy initiatives to counter rising housing costs caused by high demand and limited supply. The legislation affects Malden and nearly every other community in the Commonwealth in many ways, including modernizing public housing, funding new programs and expanding existing ones that support first-time homebuyers and homeownership, as well as adding and creating new resources to build more housing for low- to moderate-income residents. A key part of the legislation is the historic formalization and allowance of ADUs to existing residences in any community in Massachusetts. The Malden City Council discussed this new law, which goes into effect in just over two weeks on February 2, 2025, at length at its last regular meeting. It referred a proposal to update and expand Malden municipal zoning ordinances regarding ADUs to the Council’s Ordinance Committee. The Ordinance Committee this week in turn reviewed and debated an extensive, detailed ordinance proposal submitted by Mayor Gary Christenson and a team of key city officials. A working document was expected to be created and prepared for review at a planned, joint public hearing of the Council’s Ordinance Committee and Malden Planning Board on Monday, January 27 in the City Council Chamber at 7:00 p.m. There, the updated zoning proposal would be presented and members of the public would be afforded the opportunity to weigh in either in person or in writing before a final document is preLawn and Yard Care SNOW PLOWING *REASONABLE RATES * PROMPT SERVICE * PARKING LOTS USA 781-521-9927 MARCHETTI CORP. 46 Years of Excellence!! 1978-2024 Regular Unleaded $3.879 Mid Unleaded $3.379 Super $3.479 Diesel Fuel $3.499 Kerosene Available! HEATING O L IL ULS $4.759 $3.47 9 DEF Call for Current Price! (125—gallon minimum) DEF Available by Pump! 24-Hour Burner Service Open an account and order online at: pared out of that joint meeting. The intention is to have a final zoning ordinance proposal ready to be voted on and enrolled by the Malden City Council at its Tuesday, January 28 meeting. This would allow the city of Malden to have its own zoning plan in place – within the guidelines laid forth by the state mandates – ahead of the February 2 deadline. After the February 2 deadline, communities that do not have their “community-customized” zoning in place would fall under a “default” set of regulations laid out in the Affordable Homes Act itself, which would essentially be broader – or else more limited – than specific to the needs and wants of individual communities. The formal notice calling for the joint meeting of City Council’s Ordinance Committee and the Malden Planning Board for Monday, January 27 (and already legally advertised) reads as follows: PUBLIC HEARINGS. (Order of hearings to be determined by Chairman) A. Zoning Amendments: Joint Public Hearing w/City Council Rules & Ordinance Committee §12.32.050.A, Title 12, Code of City of Malden (MCC). 1. MCC Sections 12.12.030 (Table of Use Regulations), 12.16.010 (Table of Intensity Regulations), Section 12.20.010 (Table of Offstreet Parking and Loading Regulations), 12.32.030 (Administration, Certificates and Permits), 12.32.060, MCC (Definitions), and 12.28 (General Regulations, Nonconforming Uses, Lots, Buildings and Structures) (CCP 13/2025). For Accessory Dwelling Units, to add Residential use categories and regulations, dimensional controls, parking requirements, site plan review and special permit requirements and regulations, definition; to amend nonconforming regulations. In a formal memo to the City Council read into the Council record at its January 7 meeting, Mayor Christenson informed the members of work that had been underway and completed by his municipal team toward the new law that he advised would be helpful toward their deliberations on new, updated zoning Hours: Monday thru Friday 6 AM to 7 PM / Saturdays 7 AM to 5 PM / Sundays 9 AM to 5 PM on ADUs. “As you know, the state Affordable Homes Act signed into law last year requires that Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) be allowed to be built by right in single-family zoning districts,” Mayor Christenson stated. “ADUs will be allowable by right as of February 2, 2025, regardless of whether a municipality has updated its zoning to comply. The new law, however, allows municipalities to create regulations for ADUs in several areas, including regulating size, dimensional controls, and other regulations.” “It is therefore paramount that we have appropriate zoning in place before the February 2 effective date,” he added. The Mayor went on, “After the law was signed, City staff – including the City Planner, OSPCD Director, Parking Director, ISD Director, and City Solicitor – developed proposed zoning amendments that will bring our zoning into compliance with the new state law while establishing allowable regulations to help mitigate the negative impacts of ADUs on our community.” The Mayor advised, “The actual impacts on the city remain unknown but have the potential to be significant. These potential impacts include but are not limited to health, safety, nuisance and parking concerns.” The zoning proposal submitted and formally reviewed by the City Council’s Ordinance Committee at this week’s meeting included these key points: • Defines ADUs and establishes regulations • Prohibits short-term rentals of ADUs, consistent with existing City ordinance • Parking requirements • Size and Dimensional Controls • Established definitive Site Plan Review directives A copy of the formal zoning proposal is available for review by the public on the City of Malden website: www.cityofmalden.org. At the January 7 City Council meeting, an extensive discussion had a general consensus in agreement with the Mayor’s memo that the goal of preparing a “community customized” zoning ordinance governing the new, expected ADU influx to Malden is vital to the future of the city as it pertains to this new law. New Office of Strategic Planning and Development Director Alex Pratt gave a brief overview of the ADU aspect of the Affordable Housing Act, reviewing some of its key tenets as it pertains to Malden and joining in encouraging the Mayor’s advisory pointing to the deadline component of having updated zoning in place. Two Councillors, Ward 2’s Paul Condon and Ward 7’s Chris Simonelli, lamented the soon-tobe in effect new legislation and warned against potential negative impacts they said could be foreseen. “What’s coming ahead is not good for our city,” Councillor Simonelli said. “The effect [the ADU aspect] is going to have on public school student class sizes, strains on the police and fire departments, our city’s infrastructure, are going to be a lot. “It might be great for adding in-law apartments in Forestdale, but what about in my ward on Holyoke Street where there are six- and seven-unit housing already? We are now going to allow them to add more units? And they don’t need to have additional parking?” Simonelli said. “The landlords don’t maintain what they have now and take care [of the living conditions] of the residents we have now – and will now allow them to build more units? It’s ridiculous.” Ward 2 Councillor Condon also wondered allowed what the future may hold. “How many of these nee units are going to allow? Thousands? Where are all the cars going to go with (no new) parking required within a half-mile of public transit? That’s where my ward is,” Condon said. “The way I see it, there’s not enough parking now as it is. What’s going to happen now? Is everyone going have to start having bicycles or something? We are going to make this more difficult for our residents,” Condon added. Councillor at large Craig Spadafora stressed that it was imperative that members of the community received complete communication about the new ADU law as well as the city officials’ response to it, specifically the zoning update, when completed. “If residents want to add ADU units, we can’t do anything about it,” Councillor SpadafoLAW | SEE PAGE 9 Call Driveways from $35 FLEET Prices subject to change
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