AMHERST — Two accessory dwelling units planned for construction a short distance from the University of Massachusetts campus are raising concerns for a town commission charged with safeguarding the historic fabric of the North Prospect-Lincoln-Sunset neighborhoods.
Even though the Local Historic District Commission has no means of preventing their construction — with its oversight only over how the new buildings will look from the public right of way and whether a certificate of appropriateness should be issued — members at a meeting Monday raised objections to the size and scale of the in-fill housing developments.
“Absurdly large” is how commission chair Nancy Ratner characterized the building proposed at 290 Lincoln Ave. “So out of scale. It looks like an ugly barn to me.”
“It’s vastly out of scale,” member Ben Lynch agreed.
The building, with a three-bay garage on the first floor and living quarters on the second floor and possibly in the attic, is proposed for a parking area next to the main home, and close to the street, on space currently used for parking vehicles. The parking area was created in 2012 when a building that some referred to as the “Robert Frost Barn” was demolished.
That small studio building came down despite an unconfirmed belief, including from the realtor selling the property, that the famed poet had used the site to write compositions while visiting friend Warren Brown. Brown built the home and barn in the early 1900s.
Rachel Stevens of Maple Street Architects in Northampton, who is working on behalf of College Street 1957 LLC, a company run by You-Pan Tzeng of Longmeadow, wrote in materials submitted to the commission that the plans show “a new dwelling blending into the fabric of a welcoming neighborhood.”
Stevens said the efforts were “trying to be respectful of neighbors in all directions” and having a gambrel roof that mimics the neighboring house.
In addition, the idea is to provide sufficient parking, as the college student renters would likely each have their own vehicles, and with four bedrooms would come four cars.
The first floor would be limited to 900 square feet, the maximum allowed for non-owner occupied with a loft attic would provide another close to 300 square feet of living space, depending on an interpretation of how this space is calculated.
The 321 Lincoln Ave. project is an identical building, though there was no discussion about it by the commission, as it would be tucked behind the main house, with removal of an existing garage and a back porch for it to fit.
Tzeng previously subdivided the 290 Lincoln site to create a new building lot, shortly after the demolition of the barn.
Commission member Steve Bloom said his concerns center on Tzeng’s “long and checkered history in our neighborhood,” including that the main home at 290 Lincoln is in disrepair.
“The condition of 290 is deplorable,” Bloom said, adding that it is a “startling” idea that the landlord can’t maintain the building yet gets to construct a three-story accessory dwelling unit to bring in more income.
Bloom said the condition of rental properties like these is also part of the reason the town increased rigor and regularity of rental inspections.
Melissa Farris and Graham Caldwell at 285 Lincoln said they object strenuously to the proposal, pointing out that from their home they could see a couch on the lawn that got drenched during recent rainstorms and a beer pong table ready for action.
“This is way too close to the street. It’s way too large,” Farris said.
The commission will do a site visit in September before continuing the hearing. But Walker Powell, a town planner, said the members can only make recommendations for changing the massing and have no means of stopping construction.
The latest concern over the accessory dwelling units comes after one going up on Newell Court led to a neighbor filing a Zoning Board of Appeals objection over how the size of its interior living space was calculated.
The Zoning Board of Appeals ruled that the attic would have to count toward gross square foot area and would exceed the 900-square-foot limit for a protected accessory dwelling unit. A larger accessory dwelling unit can be built in Amherst, but only if the owner lives in either that home or the primary dwelling.
Amherst has been inundated with accessory dwelling unit permit applications since the state law went into effect, superseding the local bylaw that had required owner occupancy in one of the two units. That owner-occupancy requirement is no longer allowed under state law.
Town Manager Paul Bockelman said the state law provides opportunities for more housing, which Amherst needs. He said experienced builders and landlords who have the resources are the first taking advantage of the law to get projects underway.
While Bockelman said there will be unintended consequences from the state law, possibly with some properties where parking will be a challenge, some town officials are hoping that other residents will be able to take advantage of the law to provide more varied housing options.
