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.