1 rule for unincorporated Dukes County, Massachusetts.
Verified from official government sources
Dukes County does not regulate accessory dwelling units (ADUs) at the county level. Massachusetts is a home-rule state under Article 89 of the Massachusetts Constitution, and zoning belongs to each town under MGL c. 40A. As of February 2, 2025, the statewide Affordable Homes Act (Chapter 150 of the Acts of 2024, codified at MGL c. 40A, s.3, paragraph 11) requires every Dukes County town - Edgartown, Tisbury (Vineyard Haven), Oak Bluffs, West Tisbury, Chilmark, Aquinnah, and Gosnold - to allow ADUs up to 900 square feet by right in single-family zoning districts. Towns may not require owner-occupancy or a special permit for a protected ADU, but may regulate setbacks, height, bulk, site-plan review, and short-term-rental use of the ADU. All six Vineyard towns adopted local language at their 2025 spring town meetings prohibiting use of an ADU as a short-term rental. The Martha's Vineyard Commission (MVC), created by Chapter 637 of the Acts of 1974 (the Martha's Vineyard Commission Act), is the regional land-use agency for the Vineyard but does not issue ADU permits - its Development of Regional Impact (DRI) review is triggered by larger projects (subdivisions, large structures, district-of-critical-planning-concern projects), not single ADUs.
M.G.L. Chapter 40A, Sections 1A and 3; 760 CMR 71.00
The Affordable Homes Act, Section 7 and 8, amended M.G.L. Chapter 40A Section 1A and M.G.L. Chapter 40A Section 3 to allows accessory dwelling units — or ADUs — under 900 square feet to be built by-right in single-family zoning districts. An ADU must: Maintain a separate entrance, either directly from the outside or through an entry hall or corridor shared with the principal dwelling sufficien...
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