Tuesday’s Lowell City Council meeting was dominated by the debate over Accessory Dwelling Units. That was the only substantive matter taken up at the meeting and even though nearly the entire meeting was devoted to it, the issue was not resolved but was continued to August 8, 2023, at the next scheduled Council meeting. Not only will the ADU debate resume that evening, but the Council will then take up the portions of last Tuesday’s agenda which were not reached, essentially the entire agenda.
Currently, people extend and convert without going to the zoning board, building dept, or anything. Within a stones throw of where I sit, there are three illegally extended and enclosed back porches, and three illegal boarding/rooming houses, at least one of which has three kitchens. The ADU thing is not going to do squat for affordable housing in Lowell, as the majority will be used for existing families to spread out.
Currently, people extend and convert without going to the zoning board, building dept, or anything. Within a stones throw of where I sit, there are three illegally extended and enclosed back porches, and three illegal boarding/rooming houses, at least one of which has three kitchens. The ADU thing is not going to do squat for affordable housing in Lowell, as the majority will be used for existing families to spread out.