Who can live in a home together?
That’s the question Stonington’s Planning and Zoning Commission is taking up Monday night after the legitimacy of a cottage on one Stonington property was called into question.
Earlier this year, the Planning and Zoning Commission decided not to regulate short-term rentals, like AirBNB and VRBO. In a complaint sent to the town, resident Paul Sartor said his gripe is not about that, but rather, he’s concerned that his neighbor is illegally renting out a cottage.
It’s posing the questions how to regulate a dwelling unit and how many related and unrelated people can live together.
"Mr. and Mrs. Hannon are illegally renting the addition (cottage) as a separate unit from their main house," alleges Sartor in the complaint that he and his wife, Clare, sent to the town.
His neighbor, Bob Hannon, owns a home on the Stonington side of Mystic. It has a cottage, connected by a deck, that he occasionally rents on VRBO.
Stonington’s Director of Planning Jason Vincent said when the cottage was added in 1996, the town looked at the property as a single structure for the purpose of zoning.
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"Tonight we’re asking (Planning & Zoning) for an interpretation of one of their definitions: the concept of a family. What is a family," Vincent said.
According to Zoning Regulation adopted in 1961, Family is "one or more persons who live together and maintain a common household, related by blood, marriage, or adoption. A group of not more than four (4) persons who need not be related who are living together in a single dwelling unit and maintaining a household shall also be considered a family. A roomer, boarder or lodger shall not be considered a member of the family, and no roomer, boarder or lodger shall be permitted where the family is defined as a group of unrelated persons."
There is no maximum number of related people that can live in a dwelling unit.
"Unfortunately we’re not able to do DNA testing and go in and check people’s bedsheets to find out who’s living there and whether or not a fee is paid," Vincent said.
It brings up the question, how many related and unrelated people can live together?
Hannon said he stays in his main house and occasionally rents the room in the cottage to two adults.
"Similar to somebody who might rent a room in their home or an apartment in their home on AirBNB," Hannon said.
Sartor told NBC Connecticut the cottage was never intended to be a separate rental unit. Janice Mink, the woman who originally put the cottage on the property, wrote to the Commission in January saying, in part, "We were told that under no circumstances would we be allowed to rent the cottage as a separate unit, and that only family members (or people living with us as family) would be able to live there. This was not a hardship, as we only intended to expand our living space to include my parents."
Sartor said he just wants the zoning regulations enforced as written or for them to be changed.
Town Attorney Jeffrey Londregan weighed in on the debate in February. In a letter to Vincent, he recommended not taking any enforcement against the property. He writes, “the cottage could be occupied by a guest while the other part was owner-occupied,” adding that upon best information, the kitchen set-up in the cottage had the oven removed and hasn’t changed since the permit was granted in 1996.
Sartor argued the Hannon’s added a dishwasher, thus his neighbor is in violation of the permit. But Hannon assured that dishwasher is permitted.
There is a special Planning & Zoning Commission held a meeting on Monday night at the Mystic Middle School.
