The Antrim Planning Board approved the town’s first application for a four-unit residential “cottage court” at a public hearing Thursday night.
The application for the cottage court, which will be on Route 202 north near the Black Moose Chimney property, was submitted by Patrick Battaglia and Gretchen Lyons. The four homes, the largest of which will be 960 square feet, will be built in a cluster on 1.4 acres, with common green space surrounding the buildings.
The homes will have some shared septic systems and a shared well. Mark Murdough, chair of the Planning Board, said the approval was a milestone for the town.
“Congratulations. This is our first cottage court, and it’s a good thing,” Murdough said.
Battaglia said while he can’t yet quote a selling price for the units, the homes will be “more affordable” than most properties on the market.
“I think they will all be sold before they’re done,” he said.
Three of the units will be two-story homes, and one will be single-story. All are Cape or Colonial style architecture.
Battaglia and Lyons said they are hoping to start construction in the spring.
“This will go pretty quick. It will not be a long, drawn-out build,” Battaglia said.
Carole Ogilvie, the town’s land use consultant, clarified that cottage court zoning “is about the layout of the property, not the ownership of the property.”
“A cottage court could be condos, it could be rentals. That doesn’t matter; it’s about the layout,” she said.
Planning Board member John Anderson said the board should be careful not refer to the development as condos.
“This is a cottage court, not a condo development,” he said. “We want to be clear about that, and that this is a new thing for Antrim.”
Antrim added an ordinance defining and supporting the development of cottage courts to the town’s zoning laws in 2025 as part of the Connected Village Overlay district, in an effort to support the development of increased and more diverse types of housing. The cottage court ordinance allows property owners to build smaller, more densely clustered houses in the overlay district.
The ordinance defines a cottage court as “a housing development of between four and 12 buildings arranged around a shared space, such as a courtyard, garden, or other open space.”
Battaglia said he is considering a fire pit or other community feature in the common space, depending on what will be permitted by the Fire Department.
Marshall Gale, Antrim’s fire chief, said he was carefully reviewing the plans.
“This is our first cottage court, and we want to do it right,” he said.
The new overlay district was developed by the Planning Board to “allow for the creation of small neighborhoods in and adjacent to the downtown, specifically to create housing opportunities that reflect changing household demographics, create opportunities for smaller, more energy-efficient, and thus more affordable, housing; provide alternatives to extensive development in rural parts of town; locate density in closer proximity and with greater access to public safety and emergency services, as well as services and amenities; enable residents to become less auto dependent; and provide ‘missing middle’ housing that bridges the gap between single-family homes and apartment.”
Several abutters attended to state their support. No members of the public spoke against the plan.
Conditions of approval for the cottage court included the creation of a homeowners’ agreement for the property owners, which will be reviewed by town counsel. Additional conditions include approval by the town’s DPW and fire department and from the state department of environmental services, all of which are in progress.