Duplexes coming to AA zones; PZC postpones decision on rear lots
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At two public hearings on August 6, 2026, the Planning and Zoning Commission (PZC) heard about two proposed text amendments, but voted on only one of them—approving duplexes in AA zones.
Stafford Free Press has already covered this at length, and not much has changed. The PZC has been talking about ways to address affordable housing issues for months—years if you go back to the Plan of Conservation and Development—and other than PZC audience regular Donna Wright, no one spoke at the public hearing. Wright wanted to know if there was anything in the new regulations prohibiting people from reverting a two-family back into a single-family. There is not.
Chair Dave Palmberg noted that at past meetings the PZC had heard some worries about impacts to property values. While he understood the concerns, he thought the opportunity to provide additional housing options, and in some cases allow people to stay in their homes by developing an income generating property, outweighed any risks to property values. It’s also worth noting that most residential property owners say their values soar during last year’s revaluation.
So, the change passed unanimously, and what it all boils down to is that duplexes are now allowed to be built in the AA Zone on lots with at least 44,000 square feet. Duplexes, or two-family dwellings, are defined as follows:
“A single building containing two independent dwelling units, each providing completely independent living facilities; a single-family dwelling with an accessory apartment that provides communication with the primary unit through conditioned space shall not be considered a two-family dwelling.”
Accessory apartments already exist in the AA zone, though they are often categorized as duplexes in the assessor’s records because there isn’t a good way to distinguish between them an an actual duplex. However, building codes are clear what the difference is, and the requirements are significantly different. This will be an important distinction now that both are allowed in the AA Zone.
The evening’s other public hearing addressed an issue that first came before the commission, informally, back in January. Elizabeth Ouellette, who owns more than 40 acres at 53 Wales Road wants to downsize from her current home, but stay on the property. The solution Attorney Carl Landolina came up with was to propose a text amendment that would allow people with with a single family house on 10 acres or more as of October 1, 2026 to apply for a special use permit to create a rear lot with a shared driveway, provided they have at least 45 feet of road frontage.
“From a practical perspective, this seems pretty reasonable,” said commissioner Dr. David Mordasky. But Rich Shuck had some reservations. He wondered how many lots in town this could impact. He wanted to postpone the decision and have the assessor run a report to find out how many lots are potentially impacted by the change.
Just among the board members, there were four properties that would qualify under the new change. Shuck reiterated that the commission needs to know what the potential impact could be and put the change “in context.” Cindy Rummel noted that she didn’t think she would change her mind based on the number of the properties that qualify.
Ron Houle noted that while developers might want to try and take advantage of any loopholes this could create, individual property owners aren’t likely to want to try and sneak in a subdivision. In either case, a special use permit would be needed. Shuck also noted that simply changing the regulations to allow two houses on one lot—as the PZC has been discussing—could eliminate the need for this text amendment.
Ultimately, the commission decided to postpone voting and continue the public hearing until their next meeting.
