ROCKLAND — In a response to the Rockland residents who’ve repeatedly accused City Council of not hearing them regarding the Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) ordinance, Councilor Ben Dorr stated in frustration that he had heard; he just didn’t agree with opponents’ points of view.

During the Monday, March 9, Rockland City Council meeting, councilors voted 4-1 (MacLellan) to approve a language change to an existing ADU ordinance that will allow accessory dwellings on single-family property to remain detached from the primary residence, and not require some sort of deck, roof, fence, pathway, or other tangible connection between the two.

The measure follows two years of an on-again, off-again agenda items regarding related tiny homes, small homes, homes on wheels, and ADUs, beginning for Councilor Benjamin Dorr at his very first meeting with Council.

He’s heard all of the pros and cons multiple times, despite residents of the March 9 meeting saying they weren’t provided recent workshops where they could offer their suggestions and assistance to officials. After a councilor reminded the audience, held via Zoom, that a 90-minute workshop was, in fact, held recently, along with many hours of public comments during Council meetings, resident Adele Faber admitted that the workshop had existed, but that it only allowed residents to vent and not to be heard.

“I think we need to draw a pretty big distinction between hearing and disagreeing,” said Dorr. “And while I have heard the arguments of the opponents – of what I consider to be a very minor change to our building code -- I disagree with all of you. I heard you…. I just disagree with you.”

Councilor Sarah Austin also heard a lot, but also did her own research, because, she said: “I don’t think our role on Council here is just to tally up yays and nays of public comment. There’s expectation of us to go beyond that and to try to make an educated decision, as well.”

In trying to pinpoint the concerns of residents, Austin assessed that there is no common voice on what makes the detached ADU language change a bad idea. Instead, she found many contradicting comments. Having delved deeper, she concluded that the proposed amendment doesn’t change the footprint of what is already allowed.

“This adjustment to the code would allow you to build the same building you could build before,” she said. “It’s actually reducing the amount of potentially impervious surfaces.”

Some lots might not allow for attached dwellings, but could allow for detached. Austin and the other councilors would like to give property owners the flexibility to decide. Also considered in that flexibility is granting the option for some elderly to move to a separate unit instead of trying to renovate an old house to disability level, or to avoid property taxes by living with relatives.

Habitat for Humanity subdivisions, upper floors on Main Street

In response to opponents’ demands that the City create homes elsewhere, within the described 599 empty upper floors on Main Street, or the Habitat-owned lots, Austin reminded the public that property owners can’t be forced into a certain action.

“You can’t force someone to build a tiny house,” she said. “You can’t force someone who owns a building to allow apartments upstairs. You can’t force someone who owns a rundown building to take the grant money to rehabilitate it. They have to chose that on their own.”

Prior to the meeting, Councilor Dorr contacted Midcoast Habitat for Humanity for a status update. The response, he said, was that due to the COVID-19 shutdown, the organization lost 5,000 volunteer hours, and yet was still been able to take one of five homes to near-completion. The other buildings are still expected to be completed for people who apply for, and qualify for, the Habitat program. (Habitat was currently reviewing three applications.)

For others, housing options are just as slim. During the meeting, Dorr conducted a quick internet search for housing and rentals in Rockland. According to his cursory search, three apartments are for rent on Craig’s List, one for $835 and two for $1,800. There are also three single-family dwellings available for sale on a different site, two at $230,000, and one at $495,000.

Dorr called for a multi-faceted approach to a national issue of affordable housing that affects the local community. He spoke of his personal age group not being able to afford the housing options that the generations before him were privy to at the same age.

Councilor Nate Davis sponsored the current detached ADU ordinance change in Rockland after Council received an email last fall from of a young couple unable to afford Rockland housing, only staying in the area by moving onto a parent’s property.

“This is exactly the type of situation we want to allow,” said Davis.

Austin referenced rising property values and the rising trend of ADUs, along with the support garnered from municipalities and the Maine Council on Aging. She also referenced a Maine law (LD970 - May, 2019), an act to encourage policies regarding accessory dwelling units under local comprehensive plans and zoning requirements. Listed among multiple goals is the specific statement: To encourage municipalities to develop policies that provide for accessory dwelling units.

Stormwater

And though Council members said they share concern for the flooding and stormwater issues plaguing some neighborhoods, they intend to keep the issues of housing and flooding separate. Austin said a raindrop doesn’t care whether it falls on a garage or an accessory dwelling or a driveway.

To tie stormwater drainage problems to ADUs doesn’t make sense to Davis. If that were the case, he said, then maybe a moratorium is necessary on all construction, or to ban people from repaving their driveways with asphalt. Davis said that a stormwater study is planned for this summer.

The initial ADU ordinance – #48, which Dorr walked into on his first day on Council – has been working extremely well, according to Councilor Louise MacLellan-Ruf. However, MacLellan still had concerns.

Timing

“I think timing is everything for our community,” said MacLellan. “And I think people do feel that this is on the heels of [former City Councilor Valli] Geiger’s little houses. And people do, for whatever reason, feel that this has not been a transparent process, that you haven’t been heard, that you haven’t been listened to.”

MacLellan added: “I have listened in the past several weeks to people, and I hope that you feel that you have been heard. But, I think that the ordinance as it stands is already in place, and if people feel that this is complicating things for them, then we may need to look at that.”

The ordinance change goes into affect April 7, 2021 with the following amendment: 

d. The accessory apartment shall include its own kitchen, three (3) fixture bath, and no more than one (1) bedroom. The floor area of the apartment must be at least four hundred and twenty-five (425) square feet. The floor area of the apartment cannot exceed eight hundred (800) square feet or fifty (50) percent of the floor principal dwelling unit, whichever is less, except in such cases where this value is less than four hundred twenty-five (425) square feet, in which cases the floor area of the apartment must be between four hundred twenty-five (425) and four hundred fifty (450) square feet.

Reach Sarah Thompson at news@penbaypilot.com