SAUGUS — Town Meeting members will gather to talk housing on April 8, three weeks ahead of the annual meeting.
An article on the warrant for the Special Town Meeting will ask them to support amendments to the town’s zoning bylaws that include new regulations for short-term rentals.
Article 5 would add a section for bed and breakfast establishments under residential parking regulations.
Article 6 would define a short term rental as “an owner-occupied, tenant-occupied, or non-owner occupied property including, but not limited to, an apartment, house, cottage, condominium or a furnished accommodation that is not a hotel, motel, lodging house or bed and breakfast establishment.
“A short-term rental shall mean rooms being rented for a period of more than thirty one consecutive calendar days,” the definition would read.
The seventh article would amend the bylaws by deleting the word “unit” from the definition of lodging unit and replace it with the word “house.” A line would be added at the end of the definition that says “no more than four roomers shall be allowed.”
Additionally, the town will consider a building moratorium on multi-family dwellings while it determines the impact new growth will have on public safety, the schools, and the town’s infrastructure.
“The reason for this temporary moratorium is that the town is experiencing an unanticipated increase in the construction of multi-family dwellings,” according to a notice published in The Item.
Because of this, there will be an analysis and study to determine the impact of the construction on “police, fire, and emergency public safety, the school district, the water, sewer, and roadway infrastructure, and the safety of the general public.”
The Planning Board will make a recommendation on the zoning articles at a meeting scheduled for April 5.
The town’s Finance Committee will make a recommendation Wednesday night on how Town Meeting should act on three financial articles, said Town Manager Scott Crabtree.
Members will be tasked with allocating money to repair and construct various sidewalks with granite curbing, to design, construct, repair, and replace parks and playgrounds, and to replace or repair existing HVAC systems in a town or school building.
The Special Town Meeting will begin at 7:30 p.m. at Saugus Town Hall.
