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Duxbury, Massachusetts: what can you build or do?

Plain-English answers to common homeowner questions, taken from Duxbury's published bylaws, with every rule linked to the section it comes from.

Last reviewed 2026-10-05

• Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs)
  Yes. Duxbury's zoning bylaw allows one attached or detached ADU per lot with a single-family home. It can be no larger than half the main home's floor area or 900 sq ft, whichever is smaller. You need a building permit, one parking space, and a ban on rentals under 31 days. An ADU in a newly built structure also needs site plan review with a public hearing.Allowed with a permit
• Short-Term Rentals (Airbnb / VRBO)
  Duxbury has no local short-term rental bylaw, license or registration in the documents we reviewed, so renting a typical single-family home is governed mainly by state rules. One big exception: if your lot has an accessory dwelling unit (ADU), neither the ADU nor the main house may be rented for less than 31 days.Allowed
• Fences
  Duxbury's zoning bylaw doesn't mention fence height or fence setbacks for homes, so this answer rests on that silence, not on an explicit permission. On a corner lot, keep anything between 3.5 and 8 feet tall out of the 15-foot sight triangle at the intersection. Extra review applies in the Local Historic District, the flood hazard district and near wetlands.Allowed
• Sheds & Accessory Buildings
  In Duxbury's main residential district, a shed is an accessory structure. It must be at least 15 feet from side and rear lot lines and meet the same front setback as the house: 25 feet from the street line, or 45 feet from the centerline of a narrow road. The zoning bylaw says no structure may be built without a permit from the Zoning Enforcement Officer, so check with the Building Department even for a small shed.Allowed with a permit
• Burn Permits & Backyard Fires
  You can burn brush in Duxbury only from January 15 to May 1, between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., with a $12.50 Fire Department permit bought online. Check each day that burning is allowed, and burn at least 75 feet from all buildings. The town's materials don't address backyard fire pits.Allowed with a permit
• Home-Based Businesses
  Yes, with approval. A quiet home business with no clients, no sign, no unusual deliveries and only household members as staff needs a permit from Duxbury's Zoning Enforcement Officer. If clients or pupils will visit, or you want a sign, you need a special permit from the Board of Appeals, and the business can use no more than 25% of the home's floor area.Allowed with a permit
• Swimming Pools
  Yes, with a permit. In Duxbury's main residential district a pool must be at least 10 feet from side and rear lot lines and meet the front setback: 25 feet from the street line, or 45 feet from the centerline of a narrower road. Near wetlands, the Conservation Commission won't allow a pool, including its grading and patio, within 50 feet of a wetland resource area.Allowed with a permit
• Building Near the Water (Wetlands Rules)
  Work within 100 feet of any wetland, bank, beach, marsh or water body in Duxbury, or within 200 feet of a river, needs Conservation Commission approval under the town wetlands bylaw. The Commission's regulations bar new foundation-built structures within 50 feet of a resource area (35 feet on open piles) and lawns or patios within 25 feet. Zoning also generally prohibits building within 25 feet of the water unless the Board of Appeals grants a special permit. In FEMA coastal velocity (V) zones, the regulations prohibit new buildings and additions.Allowed with board review
• Docks, Piers & Floats
  Possibly, but a new residential pier in Duxbury needs a special permit from the Zoning Board of Appeals and an Order of Conditions from the Conservation Commission. Zoning caps a pier at 200 feet long and 4 feet wide, with floats up to 200 sq ft, and requires a 25-foot setback from neighbors' lines. Only one pier is allowed per lot, and boat lifts aren't allowed.Allowed with board review

We couldn't download Duxbury's bylaw text for the other 1 topics yet, so we don't cover them rather than guess.