[HISTORY: Adopted by the Annual Town Meeting of the Town
of Easton 4-13-1992 by Art. 6
(Art. 15 of the 1922 Bylaws). Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Excavations — See Ch. 136.
Earth is a limited and valuable, albeit not totally municipally
owned, resource of the town. Movement of earth from one parcel of
land to another not only can create health and safety problems to
the residents, but also can create a general nuisance. Its loss in
excess could lead to permanent and irreparable harm to the public.
The town deems it prudent to control the movement and relocation of
earth beyond the limits of privately owned parcels of land within
its borders.
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
The Select Board of the Town of Easton. The Board may assign
agents other than the Building Inspector to participate in the activities
of this chapter.
[Amended 5-20-2019 ATM by Art. 21]
Clay, gravel, loam, ledge, peat, sand, soil and stone.
The Building Inspector of the Town of Easton.
Any individual, firm, copartnership, association or corporation.
A.
No permit is required for the movement of earth within the property
limits of a parcel of land within the town.
B.
Authority for granting a permit for the removal of earth beyond the
property limits of any parcel of land within the town shall rest with
the Board or Inspector in accordance with this chapter.
C.
The issuance of permits for the removal of up to 1,000 cubic yards
of earth is delegated to the Inspector in the following instances:
(1)
As part of farming, gardening or nursery activities.
(2)
Where incidental to landscaping or other similar activities for which
building or zoning permits are not required.
(3)
As part of cemetery activities.
(4)
Where the earth is not necessary for the construction of a building
being constructed in accordance with a building permit.
(5)
Where the earth is not necessary for the construction of a leaching
field installed in accordance with a permit from the Board of Health.
(6)
Where the earth is not necessary for the construction of a private
road.
D.
Where the Inspector issues a permit, a public hearing is not required.
E.
Loam shall not be removed from within the limits of the town unless
written permission is granted by the Board.
A.
All applications for earth removal permits shall be submitted on
a form prepared by the Inspector.
B.
A person seeking to obtain a permit for the removal of earth having
a volume of less than 1,000 cubic yards shall submit the application
to the Inspector for approval.
C.
A person seeking to obtain a permit for the removal of earth having
a volume of 1,000 cubic yards or more shall first submit four copies
of the application to the Inspector. The application shall include
but not be limited to the following:
(1)
A locus plan.
(2)
The legal name(s) and address(es) of the Applicant(s).
(3)
The legal names and addresses of the property owner(s) and all abutters.
(4)
A topographic plan, prepared by a Registered Land Surveyor and referenced
to the National Geodetic Vertical Datum (NGVD), showing the existing
and proposed grades and having a contour interval of five feet. The
plan shall be at a horizontal scale of one inch equals 40 feet.
(a)
The plan shall show the relationship between the project and
the property lines. The bearing and distances of all property lines
shall be shown. The plan shall extend for a distance of 100 feet beyond
the limits of the project.
(b)
The calculations shall be prepared by a Professional Engineer.
The engineer shall also indicate the proposed grades on the plan and
shall indicate representative cross sections at a horizontal scale
of one inch equals 40 feet and at a vertical scale of one inch equals
four feet, unless the Board, with the recommendation of the Inspector,
allows for other scales to be used. In such a case, however, the relationship
between the horizontal and vertical scales shall be 10 to 1.
(5)
The location of all buildings, existing and proposed, within the
property and the location of all existing buildings within 100 feet
of the project.
(6)
The location of all adjacent roads.
(7)
The location of all water bodies, brooks, swamps, wetlands and floodplains
within the property and for a distance of 100 feet beyond the limits
of the property.
(8)
Two bench marks each within 500 feet of the project.
(9)
A minimum of one boring or test pit per acre. The boring(s) or test
pit(s) shall indicate the type of material and the elevation of the
groundwater. The bottom of the boring(s) or test pit(s) shall be at
least two feet below the calculated elevation of the proposed grade.
(10)
Proposed revisions to the existing movement of surface waters
across the site. Increases in the rates of surface runoff because
of the project may not be acceptable.
D.
The Inspector shall receive and review the application within 30
days. If the volume to be removed is no more than 1,000 cubic yards
and if the documents are satisfactory, the Inspector may issue a permit
for the earth removal. If the volume to be removed is more than 1,000
cubic yards and if the documents are satisfactory, the Inspector shall
submit the application to the Board for its action. If the application
is unsatisfactory, the Inspector shall reject the application and
shall indicate to the Applicant the reason(s) for the rejection.
E.
The Board shall receive and review the application submitted by the
Inspector at a public hearing within 30 days after first giving 14
days' notice of the time and place of the hearing in a newspaper
having general circulation within the town, by posting a notice of
said public hearing in the Town Offices and by mailing notices thereof
to all abutters and town agencies. The Applicant shall pay all costs
to the foregoing advertising and mailing requirements. Within 14 days
after the closing of the public hearing, the Board shall notify the
applicant of its decision.
F.
If the Board votes to grant the permit, it shall notify the applicant
of its decision. Prior to receiving the permit, the Applicant shall
deliver to the town a fee of $100 for each acre or part of any acre
thereof of the approved removal area. If the Board votes to reject
the application, it shall notify the Applicant and indicate the reason(s)
for the rejection.
G.
Earth removal permits shall be for a period not to exceed one year.
H.
An extension may be granted by the Board, without a hearing, or by the Inspector, in accordance with § 128-3 of this chapter, for a period not to exceed one year. Where the Applicant seeks to obtain an extension, the Applicant shall submit as part of the application for extension, through the Inspector, a plan showing the conditions at the site before the permit was issued and the existing conditions at the site at the time that the application for extension is submitted. The Inspector shall submit a report to the Board, where required by § 128-3 of this chapter, whether the Applicant has conducted the work in accordance with the permit and whether the work has progressed continuously and in good faith.
I.
Earth removal activities on any parcel of land may continue for the
duration of the permit or extension unless and until abandoned for
more than 12 consecutive months.
J.
No permit shall be issued if, in the opinion of the Board or Inspector, and, in accordance with § 128-3 of this chapter, the removal:
(1)
May endanger the public health or safety;
(2)
May constitute a public nuisance;
(3)
May produce noise, dust or other effects observable at the lot lines
in amounts objectionable or detrimental to the normal use of the property;
or
(4)
May result in a change in topography or cover material which will
be disadvantageous to the normal use of adjacent property.
A.
An excavation intended for building purposes shall be no closer than
any of the following:
B.
Trucks directly involved in the earth removal operation shall enter
and leave the site only between the hours of 7:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m.,
Monday through Friday. All loaded trucks shall be adequately covered
to prevent the contents from spilling and blowing from the load and
to prevent a hazard to the movements of other vehicles.
C.
All trucking routes and methods of movement shall be subject to the
written approval of the Police Chief.
D.
The active earth removal area shall not exceed five acres at any
one time, unless the Board determines that the project is such that
this limitation is impractical.
E.
All access roads shall be constructed at an angle with the public
way or constructed with a curve so that the operation will be screened
from public view.
F.
All access roads leading to public ways shall be treated frequently
with a dust palliative or paved for a distance of 200 feet to the
public way.
G.
No earth shall be removed closer to the maximum groundwater elevation than would preclude its subsequent reuse according to existing health standards, unless permitted by the Board in accordance with § 128-3 of this chapter. These elevations shall be established from borings or test pits and referenced to the NGVD.
H.
When an excavation site is located within 300 feet of a residential
area or public way, where the excavation has a depth of more than
five feet and where a temporary slope steeper than two horizontal
to one vertical (2 to 1) is created, a fence at least three feet high
shall be erected to limit access to the area.
I.
No area shall be excavated so as to cause an accumulation of standing water, unless permitted by the Board in accordance with § 128-3 of this chapter. Drainage shall be provided as needed in accordance with the permit. Drainage shall not lead directly into streams or ponds.
J.
All topsoil and subsoil shall be stripped from the excavated area
and stockpiled either for use in restoring the area after the earth
has been removed or for use in other areas of the town.
A.
Work shall be accomplished in accordance with the permit.
B.
No slope, other than the slope for the creation of a pond or detention/retention basin, shall be left with a grade steeper than three horizontal to one vertical (3 to 1). No slope along a pond or a detention/retention basin, as described in § 128-7, shall be left with a grade steeper than four horizontal to one vertical (4 to 1).
C.
All debris, stumps, boulders, etc. shall be removed from the site
and properly disposed. The disposal site(s) shall be listed in the
permit.
D.
Previously stockpiled subsoil and topsoil shall be respread over
the disturbed area to a minimum depth of five inches. This soil shall
be treated with three tons of lime and 1,000 pounds of 10-10-10 fertilizer
per acre and seeded with a grass of legume mixture. Sufficient trees
and shrubs of species approved by the Tree Warden shall be planted
in order to provide screening, to improve the appearance and to prevent
erosion. Planted areas shall be protected from erosion during the
establishment period using good conservation practices.
E.
Upon completion of the project, the land shall be restored such that
the drainage pattern shall not be altered and that the rate of runoff
to any one point shall not be increased from its original configuration.
F.
Within 60 days after completion of the project, the Permittee shall
have all equipment, buildings erected specifically for the project
and any unsightly evidence of the operation removed from the site.
A.
Where a person seeks to construct a pond or a detention/retention
basin or where a person seeks to drain a pond for the purpose of removing
the earth under it, thereby increasing the depth of the pond, that
person shall seek a permit from the Board for such an endeavor.
B.
The order of conditions and the permit for work issued by the Conservation
Commission and an approved subdivision plan, where applicable, must
accompany the application to construct the pond or detention/retention
basin.
In order to ensure the satisfactory restoration of the project, the Board or Inspector, in accordance with § 128-3 of this chapter, shall require a suitable performance bond or other security, as the Board or Inspector determines, for the project. The Board or Inspector shall release the bond or other security only after it has been satisfied that the project has been completed in accordance with the permit.
A.
The Board or Inspector, in accordance with § 128-3 of this chapter, may suspend or revoke a permit if it is determined that the work is not being accomplished in accordance with the permit. The Permittee, however, shall not be relieved of its obligations in accordance with the permit.
B.
The Board or Inspector, before suspending or revoking the permit,
shall notify the Permittee by certified mail of the violations. The
Board or Inspector shall include in the written notice the remedial
action to be taken. If the Board or Inspector determines that remedial
action is not being accomplished within a reasonable time, written
notice, by certified mail, shall be given the Permittee of the suspension
or revocation of the permit.
C.
The Board or Inspector may seek punitive damages in accordance with MGL c. 40, § 21, cl. (17). Each day of noncompliance shall constitute a separate offense. The Board or Inspector may require a person who conducts an earth removal operation without a permit to restore the land in accordance with § 128-6 of this chapter. Failure to comply with this requirement shall constitute a violation of this chapter and shall subject the person to punitive damages in accordance with this section.
