Douglas Planning Board unanimously backs two AG-required bylaw fixes for town meeting

DOUGLAS — February 25, 2026 — Douglas Planning Board unanimously endorses two warrant articles correcting Attorney General objections to local bylaws. The board voted 8-0 on both articles at its February 25 meeting, recommending favorable action at town meeting on amendments to the Accessory Dwelling Unit bylaw — originally passed at the November 2024 town meeting — and the Stormwater Bylaw, passed at the May 2025 town meeting. Town Planner John Fleshman walked the board through six discrete changes to the ADU bylaw responding to an AG letter dated June 30, 2025, including expanding permitted ADU districts to include the Village Business zone and removing a requirement that new garages serving ADUs obtain a special permit. The stormwater fix deletes a single sentence the AG found conflicts with the state building code, which prohibits local bylaws from tying building permit issuance to a separate local approval process. Member Mike Zwicker pushed for the AG letters to be displayed at town meeting so residents understand "we're not changing anything outside the parameters of what the state has set."