This past Monday, Brewster residents approved a new Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) bylaw in an effort to meet the current housing needs in the town. An accessory unit is a great way to tackle the long standing housing shortage here on Cape Cod. The bylaw does have specific restrictions, such as size limitations, year round rental mandate, and requirements that the owner of the property occupy one of the units. Many towns here on Cape Cod currently have accessory dwelling unit bylaws, but they are generally limited to direct family members, or they are income restricted.
This new bylaw may be a great opportunity for homeowners to make a significant investment in their current Cape Cod home, and obtain strong returns on that investment while creating housing for a younger generation who want to live and work on Cape Cod, but have had a hard time finding a place to live. The ADU concept has been strongly supported by the Cape Cod Commission and also the Smarter Cape Partnership as a viable method to address the 20,000 unit housing shortage needed in Barnstable County
If you are interested in creating an accessory dwelling unit on your property, here's some information that might be helpful:
Brewster Adopts Accessory Dwelling unit Bylaw
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