Barnstable

Barnstable County · Pop. 48,916

B

Barnstable has approved 6 of 31 ADU applications (19% approval rate) and has 7 of 10 bylaw provisions consistent with state law.

Bylaws align with state law, but the approval rate is below average. Expect a longer permitting timeline.
How active is your town?
1.2
per 10K residents0.6x state average
Barnstable
1.2
State avg
2.0

Based on 6 approved ADU applications and 48,916 residents

Permits

19%approval rateShare of 2025 applications approved in 2025
6 approved0 denied0 pending

31 applications since the ADU law took effect in Feb 2025

Bylaw Consistency

7 / 10
provisions consistent with Chapter 150

Barnstable has the lowest approval rate in the tracker at 19%. The entrance visibility requirement and site plan review process appear to be limiting approvals. Builders should factor in a longer timeline and potential pushback from planning staff.

Provision-by-provision analysis available

We've mapped 10 provisions in Barnstable against Chapter 150. See which specific bylaw sections appear inconsistent with state law.

See full compliance analysis

Cost Snapshot

No cost data available yet for Barnstable.

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ADU Impact on Housing Production

In 2024, Barnstable issued 193 total residential building permits. In the first year of the ADU law, 6 ADU permits were approved — equivalent to 3.1% of prior-year housing production.

2024 Building Permits
193
2025 ADU Approvals
6

Source: Census Bureau (2024) via UMass Donahue Institute; EOHLC ADU Survey (2025)

How Barnstable Compares

Next Steps

Sources: EOHLC ADU Survey 2025. Population estimates from 2024 Census ACS.

Disclaimer: ADU Pulse provides data for informational purposes only. It does not constitute legal, financial, or construction advice.Bylaw consistency analysis reflects our interpretation of public records and may not reflect the most current local amendments.

See methodology for details on data collection, scoring, and consistency analysis.