The Hudson Zoning Board of Adjustment spent its June 25 meeting taking a closer look at the town’s land-use ordinance, with Associate Planner Ben Witham-Gradert asking board members to share any concerns or outdated provisions they’ve encountered while reviewing cases.
Gradert opened the discussion by inviting candid feedback. “Have there been any pain points you’ve had or any parts of the rules you thought were unfair, didn’t make any sense, or cases that made you think, ‘Why are we even hearing this?’” he asked. “If there are parts of the ordinance that feel out of date or need revision, this is the time to talk about it.”
Board member Zachary McDonough pointed to the town’s home occupation rules as an area in need of modernization, especially given the rise of remote work and online businesses.
“That’s the use of the home for e-commerce type situations where there’s no business other than digital occurring,” McDonough said. “The ordinance seems outdated now that so many people work entirely from their computers. It functions no differently than me scrolling through Facebook.”
Gradert agreed that the Planning Department has wrestled with the wording for years. “Reading it strictly as written, working at home for gain can be interpreted as Home Occupation,” he explained. “That’s not how we apply it day to day, because that would mean remote work qualifies. We’ve had to take a grey interpretation for now.”
To address the ambiguity, the Planning Department has been reviewing how neighboring communities regulate home based businesses. Many use a tiered system that distinguishes between low intensity home work, traditional home occupations, and full mixed-use situations that require site plan review.
Under such a system, thresholds would be based on how much of a home is dedicated to nonresidential use and the intensity of that use. A quiet software business, for example, would be treated differently than a visible or noisy machine shop.
“Currently, our ordinance is very restrictive about how much of a home can be used for Home Occupation,” Gradert said. “The number is still up in the air, but my thought is somewhere around a third. If you’re using more than 35% of the structure for business instead of living there, it’s getting close to mixed-use.”
The idea of thresholds raised questions about enforcement. Selectman Liaison Xen Vurgaropulos noted that a small home business could expand significantly without notifying the town.
“Say I start out selling five things and then suddenly I get bigger and bigger,” he said. “You’re saying there are thresholds, but how are we monitoring that? They could grow without notification.”
Gradert acknowledged the challenge. “That would be almost a full-time job, somebody having to drive around and monitor all of them,” he said. “Generally speaking, when someone’s business gets too big or too onerous, we get a complaint pretty quickly.”
The discussion is expected to continue as the Planning Department refines potential ordinance language. The next meeting of the Hudson Zoning Board of Adjustment is scheduled for Thursday, July 23 at 7 p.m. in the Buxton Conference Room.