Photo courtesy George DeLuca

by George DeLuca

On April 19, 2023, I attended a meeting of the Lowell City Council Neighborhood Subcommittee to speak and to listen to the pros and cons of allowing accessory dwelling units in the city.

My previous story for Inside Lowell cited a major hurdle to passing the pending ordinance. The snag I described isn’t directly attributed to ADUs, but several speakers said it was a primary reason for their opposition.

The impasse I’m referring to is the city’s failure to enforce existing codes and ordinances due to insufficient resources and personnel.

Nevertheless, I delivered the following speech in conditional support of ADUs and believe the approach is one that can be considered while the enforcement issues and other concerns, like parking and neighborhood character, are sorted out and resolved:

“I live in the Acre section of the city. Before retiring, I worked in the real estate development and public sector capital improvements and community development fields for over 35 years. I’m currently a member of the Lowell Forward master plan steering committee and the associated NMCOG housing subcommittee. I’m here tonight as a private resident.

I’m for allowing Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) in Lowell on a limited basis, perhaps via a pilot program, as some of you have suggested. There needs to be a rent control component built in to protect renters or, alternatively, rental protections could be incorporated into a long term lease.

According to a study released by the Pioneer Institute in 2018, 31 municipalities in Massachusetts have adopted ADU programs in keeping with the following measure: ‘allow ADUs but restrict residency to relatives of the homeowner, caretakers, elderly people, or qualifying low-income households.’[i]

Lowell is a family oriented community. But sometimes life separates people as kids grow up and head off for college, or as parents and grandparents with deteriorating health face institutionalization and loss of independence. ADUs could be the answer for some, and good for the community because they promote family unity.

We can empower families with the ability to stay together, i.e., when a member of the family owns a qualifying single family home and wants to extend the family unit to include their adult children, parents, grandparents, or what have you.

An approach like this could lead to an increase in CDBG funding, e.g., to regenerate and/or expand a citywide housing rehab program that benefits both single family homeowners and their ADU tenant(s) over a protracted time period.

ADUs can be viewed as one very small solution to the housing crisis because they can serve to satisfy the needs of people who cannot afford market rate housing, like people on social security who have little or no savings; college students; young families just starting out; children who embark on nontraditional careers and who defer their income producing years to a later date, such as artists, writers, entrepreneurs, and so forth.

A qualifying single family home could house a recent college graduate who intends to work from home while contributing to the family investment and dynamic, perhaps even under some form of shared equity agreement with their parents.

For these people, ADUs can be a Godsend.

An ADU designation can increase the market value of a property, depending upon location and property configuration, while impacting the local economy and adding stability to the tax base.

But the question of whether to allow ADUs should not be considered a standalone issue when it comes to affordable housing. There are planning issues over and above those involving ADUs which are more urgent and currently being addressed.

As you know, the City of Lowell is currently updating its master plan under the moniker, “Lowell Forward.” As part of that process, the Lowell DPD and NMCOG’s Housing Subcommittee are currently working in tandem to develop a regional plan that addresses the need for affordable housing. And when I say affordable housing, I mean affordable for all residents.

If I were to suggest a motion it would be to ask the City Manager to consult with the Lowell Forward planning team to ascertain the potential for incorporating ADUs as one affordable housing option into the final Lowell Forward master plan document, with terms, conditions, and restrictions determined to be the most appropriate for Lowell.

The Lowell Forward team is positioned to provide a comprehensive vision that addresses the future of affordable housing in Lowell. So, let’s take advantage of that.

I trust that Lowell Forward in conjunction with the NMCOG Housing Subcommittee will propose a comprehensive approach for surmounting the affordable housing crisis across a wide spectrum that includes housing the homelessness under Housing First, expanding the citywide portfolio of affordable housing, reviving the housing rehab program, and providing solutions for other housing related issues.

In summary, I support ADUs as follows:

‘Allow ADUs but restrict residency to relatives of the homeowner, caretakers, elderly people, or qualifying low-income households.’[ii] I’d also like to add caregivers to that list.

Again, the designations of “relatives of homeowners, caretakers, elderly people” and caregivers, are inclusionary and not limited to low income households.

This would be a good start for wading into the potential for expansion of ADU policies in the future. But it’s important to note that ADUs are very limited in what they can do to address the affordable housing crisis.

I suggest that members of the City Council or this subcommittee ask the City Manager to have the DPD or Utile, the lead consultant on the Lowell Forward master plan initiative, contact leaders at the planning and community development departments at some of the 31 Massachusetts communities who have allowed ADUs on a limited basis to find out how it’s going and apply what is learned into a vision that suits the Lowell community, going forward.

Thank you for this opportunity to speak.”

[i] The State of Zoning for Accessory Dwelling Units, by Amy Dane, Pioneer Institute, Pioneer Opportunity, 2018, p15
[ii] Ibid