Hampden Planning Board Moves to Simplify ADU Setback Rule Under AG Pressure

HAMPDEN -- April 8, 2026, Hampden Planning Board moves to simplify ADU setback rules in response to Attorney General pressure. Working against a roughly 90-day window set by the AG's February 9, 2026 letter, the board reached consensus at its April 8 meeting to strip language from its accessory dwelling unit bylaw requiring detached ADUs to sit behind the front building wall of the primary residence, replacing it with a directive that units simply comply with applicable frontage, setback, height, and lot coverage requirements. Members pointed to roads including Bennett Road, Glendale Road, and Chapin Road, where homes sit far back on large parcels, as evidence that the front-of-house rule would unreasonably restrict placement on many Hampden lots. The board also agreed not to define "principal dwelling" in local bylaw, opting instead to cross-reference state law, and referred a separate conflict in Section 4.3.2 governing pre-existing non-conforming setbacks to a future public hearing and town meeting vote. Resident researcher Gina Stabello of 219 Ames Road presented a second draft of solar energy bylaw revisions, adding ridgeline siting, noise measurement, and liability insurance provisions, with a target of the fall 2026 town meeting.