Haverhill Tackles Recodification

The Haverhill City Council met on Tuesday to discuss recodification of the city’s zoning law with 8 proposed amendments.

The amendments included accessory dwelling units, cluster housing developments, prohibiting safe-injection sites, prohibiting marijuana consumption establishments, storage containers and structures, and alternation of zoning/use tables.

The changes to Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) would increase the allowable size of an ADU from 800 square feet to 1200 square feet and allow for construction of an ADU to exceed the current footprint of a building provided it is in compliance with all setback and yard requirements. ADUs are a commonsense approach to creating housing without impacting a neighborhood.

Nearly all the amendments were passed including the changes to ADUs. No action was taken on cluster housing developments, instead workshop meetings will be planned to review the proposal and ultimately send it to the Planning Board for further consideration.

You can read more about the City Council meeting here.