Hey, there! Log in / Register
Somerville eliminates parking requirements for new construction
Support Universal Hub
Help keep Universal Hub going. If you like what we're up to and want to help out, please consider a (completely non-deductible) contribution.
Comments
Next Step
Legalize turning off-street private parking spots into small residential units. For some people, a tiny home is just fine.
As my name would suggest,
As my name would suggest, this may be technically true all across the state starting Feb 2025:
https://www.mass.gov/info-details/accessory-dwelling-units-adus-faqs
If you have a big off-street private parking spot and a reasonably sized house, you should be able to build that tiny home on your property by right. It can't be over 900 sf (or more than half of the gross square footage of the primary home). Tiny homes for all!
Already legalized, kinda
Somerville zoning already does allow for small additional residential units on residential lots (with some exceptions). They are referred to as "backyard cottages" in the zoning code.
I don't really see anything in the code that specifies a minimum size for these, so I guess in theory you could build one that's as small as a single parking space... as long as you could figure out how to squeeze in an up-to-code kitchen and bathroom.
https://www.somervillezoning.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/12/Resi...
Parking spaces are typically around 300 square feet
Range is 270 to 350 sqft.
You can easily get a functioning kitchenette and bath in that space for a studio apartment.
Example: Home Depot Kit House - 305 sqft
Actually
Parking is closer to 200 sf. and smaller. Then you add in drive lane(s) as necessary, depending upon configuration (parallel vs angled vs straight in).
Tiny homes are fun for the young and unencumbered. Just keep code requirements in mind for egress/safety/liability. I'm curious what insurance companies are saying about them and/or what their involvement is. Because you know they'll have something to say.
Can backyard cottages be in the front?
And do they require setbacks that would make it impossible to convert a tandem parking spot into a tiny house? (Couldn't tell from that document.)
Maybe not?
The document specifies a "front setback" of 60 feet, so it seems like it probably has to go in the back. Unless you've got some gigantic lot with 60+ feet between the curb and the main building, I suppose.
I suppose you could also use the Transitive Property Of House Lot Planning?
1) Put your new tiny house in the back, perhaps where you've got a garden or lawn or whatever today.
2) Put in a new garden/lawn/whatever where the parking space used to be.
3) Tell everyone you've replaced your parking space with a tiny house.
The fire department...
Will absolutely embrace that idea!
Too many people....
Too many people, ignore the transit and quality of life concerns, jam it up til no one wants to live there, that's it!
I'm sure they will!
As it will result in fewer homes going up in flames because a parked car, crammed into a narrow driveway between two homes, caught on fire. This happened on our block a few years ago, a van caught fire and burned down two multi-family homes.
Car/home fires
There are many sources of fire statistics available on the Internet. Here is one:
https://www.nfpa.org/education-and-research/research/nfpa-research/fire-...
The leading causes of residential fires given are cooking (nearly 50%), heating equipment, other electrical equipment, intentional (i.e. arson), and smoking. Mysteriously, "car burning nearby" is not mentioned.
If it's a Tesla, maybe it's listed under "other electrical", or perhaps "intentional". Otherwise, maybe it falls under "cooking", if the whole neighborhood decides that a burning car is a good opportunity for a weenie roast. Over all, the absence of this category from the statistics is inexplicable.
Two things
1. This report focused on fires starting in structures, not spreading to them from outside sources - external fires from cars or mulch piles or burning brush, etc. didn't make the cut here.
2. If you read the text, and not just the graphics, you would have found that 3% of fires start inside garages, and that these fires cause disproportionately large amounts of damage.
Meanwhile Boston is engaged
Meanwhile Boston is engaged in about 300 different "community processes" about various aspects of development, none of which will make it much easier to actually build more housing.