ROWE — The Planning Board is recommending an accessory dwelling unit (ADU) bylaw that may come to a vote at Annual Town Meeting.

The proposed amendments to the town’s zoning bylaws will make the bylaws consistent with a state law signed in August that allows ADUs of up to 900 square feet to be constructed by right.

“Rowe, from what I’ve seen, historically has not allowed ADUs, so this is now basically saying they are allowed by right,” Planning Board Chair Matt Stine said during a public bylaw hearing on Thursday. “What was previously there was that there could only be one dwelling unit on a lot. We’ve changed that around so there can be only one principal unit.”

The proposed amendments to sections 2, 5, 6, 8 and 22 of Rowe’s zoning bylaws will allow ADUs, as defined by state regulations, by right in residential/agricultural and industrial zones, as long as they meet existing setback, septic and building code regulations. Under the state law that went into effect on Feb. 2, ADUs cannot be any larger than 50% of the floor space of the principal dwelling, or 900 square feet, whichever is smaller.

However, the Rowe Planning Board has opted to allow property owners with smaller homes to apply for a special permit that would allow them to build up to a 900-square-foot ADU. Member Kevin Balawick said the Planning Board doesn’t want to punish people with small cottages.

“If you have a smaller house to begin with, a 450-square-foot ADU becomes almost impractical,” he said.

The bylaw bans the use of ADUs for short-term rentals. Planning Board members said the goal of the state law was to incentivize housing construction and the law allows towns to ban short-term rentals, as constructing ADUs that are intended to be used for vacation rentals on websites such as Airbnb or Vrbo would not increase the housing stock.

The Planning Board is also recommending that ADUs be added to the list of projects that require a site plan review. Stine explained a site plan review is different than the process to obtain a special permit. For a special permit, applicants need approval from the Planning Board, whereas with a site plan review, property owners must present the project to the board, but they are not required to get the board’s approval to build ADUs.

“It’s going to create a little friction, but it’s not saying it needs to be approved,” Balawick explained.

The site plan review simply gives the board and other community members the opportunity to offer recommendations and express any concerns about the project, Balawick said. He said he wants to prevent shipping container homes from being dropped into the middle of Rowe’s rural community where most homes have a colonial style.

“I don’t want to see container houses,” Balawick said. “I want ADUs to fit the character of the town.”

Planning Board members voted unanimously to recommend these bylaw changes. Next, the amendments will be presented to the Selectboard, which will vote on whether to include them on the warrant for the spring Annual Town Meeting, at which time it would be presented to voters.

The full proposed amended bylaw can be found on the Planning Board’s page on the town website as part of the March 6 public hearing notice.

Reach Madison Schofield at 413-930-4579 or mschofield@recorder.com.