Swampscott renovations, between the Olmsted District and the beaches

Swampscott's demolition-delay bylaw covers buildings 75 years or older that are on the National Register, in the town's 1986 historical survey, or found significant under state criteria. It treats a significant change to roof shape, or removing an integral element such as a turret, as demolition, so a full second story on an older house can bring in the Historical Commission and, after a public hearing, a delay of up to nine months under the bylaw as posted. Interior work, ordinary repair and like-kind replacement of porches, decks and windows are not demolition.

The Olmsted area became a local historic district in 2014, alongside the Fish House, Railroad Depot and Cemetery districts. New construction, exterior alterations and demolition need a Historic District Commission certificate before the building permit; the Commission must hold its hearing within 45 days and act within 60. Paint and roof color, storm windows, solar panels and landscaping are outside its review, so design effort goes into massing, rooflines and detail. See our historic district guide.

In VE (coastal high hazard) zones, an existing house below base flood elevation may not be expanded, and new construction must sit landward of mean high tide. In AE and VE zones, new homes and substantial improvements must account for sea-level rise and storm surge when setting freeboard above the code minimum. A separate zoning overlay, based on a 1976 town wetlands map, bars building or enlarging on mapped wetland. Check the current FEMA panel before sketching.

Swampscott's wastewater goes to the Lynn regional treatment plant, so ADUs and bedroom additions are not sized to a septic system. They do carry a sewer cost: under the town's infiltration and inflow policy, a building permit that adds bedrooms triggers an offset based on the net bedrooms added, at an 8-to-1 ratio, paid as a fee or met through approved repair work. The Select Board sets the rate.

Swampscott adopted the Specialized opt-in energy code effective July 1, 2024. A new house, and generally a detached ADU built new, follows one of its paths, including all-electric, mixed-fuel with solar, and zero-energy or Passive House. How a particular addition or ADU is classified is a question for the Building Commissioner, so we ask before design. More in our stretch code guide.

Zoning §5.11 allows an ADU of up to 900 square feet or half the house by right in the A-1 to A-4 and B-1 and B-2 districts, with a site plan, floor plans and elevations filed with the Building Commissioner. Utilities must be shared with the main house, rentals must run 30 days or longer, and one off-street space is needed unless the lot is within half a mile of a transit station. A nonconforming lot or house may need a Zoning Board finding, not a special permit.