ROCHESTER — Rochester residents will have the opportunity to approve a number of bylaw changes regarding topics such as short-term rentals at Special Town Meeting on Jan. 27, 2025.

The Rochester Select Board voted to refer the bylaw changes to the planning board on Monday, Nov. 4.

Along with short-term rentals, proposed changes affect accessible dwelling units, battery storage systems and solar screening.

Town Administrator Cameron Durant said that although there is only one Rochester short term rental listed on popular sites like AirBnB, the bylaw review committee is trying to get ahead of a possible issue.

The proposed bylaw will require registration of short-term rentals. A limit of 30 total short-term rentals in town is proposed.

Short-term rentals will also be subject to a mandatory initial inspection according to the proposed bylaw.

A section will also be added to town bylaws about accessory dwelling units after Governer Maura Healey signed the Affordable Homes Act in August.

The act allows for ADUs of up to 900 square feet to be constructed by right in single-family zoning districts.

ADUs are secondary residential spaces located on the lots of single-family houses. The new state law essentially allows the units to be built without a discretionary zoning approval process.

ADUs are limited to 900 square feet or one half of the floor area of the principal dwelling, whichever is smaller.

Only one ADU per single family dwelling is permitted, the bylaw reads.

A certified plot plan is also required for all ADUs.

There are also proposed changes to a bylaw regarding battery energy saving systems.

A battery energy saving system is a container or structure providing containment to one or more battery cells for storing electrical energy derived from solar or sourced directly from the electrical grid, according to town bylaws.

Durant said the “tweaks” are meant to keep these systems away from drinking water resource areas.

An additional section proposed to be added to town bylaws says that large-scale photovoltaic structures, or solar panels, must be screened from abutting properties by either a combination of existing vegetation, landscape paintings and/or fencing.