[HISTORY: Adopted by the Annual Town Meeting
of the Town of Townsend 4-3-1893 by Art. 18. Amendments noted where applicable.]
No person shall pasture any cattle, or other
animals, with or without a keeper, in any of the streets of the Town.
No person shall tie or fasten any horse, cattle
or team to any of the trees planted or reserved for shade or ornament
in any public highway, street, or public lands in the Town or to any
structure put up for the protection of such trees; or, except for
necessary repairs drive into such trees or structures any nails, spikes,
hooks or staples or affix any signboards thereto.
No owner or person for the time having the care
or use of any horse or any other beast of burden shall ride, drive
or permit the same to go at a faster rate than 10 miles an hour in
any street or public highway of the Town, except in case of sickness,
death, accident or fire.
No person shall place or cause to be placed
in any public street or way of the Town any rubbish, ashes or garbage
except for the purpose of immediate removal therefrom.
No person shall make any marks or post any bills
upon any wall, fence, post, tree, bridge or other structure within
the limits of any street or public highway in said Town, without having
first obtained permission in writing from the Selectmen.
No person shall make any bonfires in any of
the streets, public highways or public lands or commons of the Town.
No person shall coast, course or slide down,
in or along any of the sidewalks, streets or public ways of the Town,
except at such places and under such restrictions and regulations
as the Selectmen shall first designate and specify in writing.
No person shall play at ball, or throw balls,
stones, sticks, or other missiles within any of the streets or public
ways of the Town, or do the same in any of the public grounds of the
Town without permission of the Selectmen first obtained in writing,
but this section shall not apply to any of the grounds connected with
any of the school buildings of said Town.
No person shall fire or discharge any gun, pistol
or firearms, or set fire to any material know as fireworks, or throw
any such lighted fireworks, in, into or across any of the streets,
public ways or sidewalks of the Town.
Any person violating any of the provisions of
the preceding sections of this chapter shall be punished by a fine
not exceeding $20 for each and every offense, to be recovered by complaint
before any trial justice or district court in the County of Middlesex
having jurisdiction.
It shall be the duty of the Selectmen, constables
and police officers to prosecute, and any person injured may prosecute,
any violations of any of the preceding sections of this chapter, by
complaint as hereinbefore mentioned; providing, however, that all
prosecutions shall be commenced within one month from the date of
such violation.
All penalties recovered for violation of any
of the preceding sections of this chapter shall be paid into the treasury
of the Town, to be applied to such as the Town from time to time shall
direct.
[Added 3-2-1964 ATM by Art. 26; amended 5-7-2013 ATM by Art. 27]
Except in case of emergency, no Town way, or
other way, which the Town of Townsend is, by law, obligated to maintain
and keep in repair shall be dug up, no opening made therein for any
purpose, nor shall any material be dumped or placed thereon, or removed
therefrom, or changed, without the written permit from a majority
of the Board of Selectmen or its designee and then only in accordance
with the Board's regulations, and the work shall be done under supervision
of the Superintendent of Highways, and the entire expense of replacing
and resurfacing the highway at the same level and in as good condition
as before, with materials equal in specifications to those removed,
shall be paid by the person or persons to whom the permit was given,
or by whom the work was done. The Board of Selectmen or its designee
may require a bond to guarantee the faithful and satisfactory performance
of the work and payment for any damage to any such way caused by or
resulting from the operations authorized by such permit. The amount
of the bond shall be determined by the Selectmen or its designee,
not to exceed the estimated cost of the work and any possible damage.
[Added 7-27-1965 STM by Art. 3]
No person shall be or remain in any doorway
or upon any stairs, doorstep, portico, or other projection, from any
house or building, or upon any wall or fence on or near any street
or public place, after having been requested by the owner or occupant
of the premises or by any police officer to remove therefrom. Any
person violating this section shall be punished by a fine of not less
than $1 nor more than $20, to be recovered by complaint before any
trial justice in the County of Middlesex or any other court having
jurisdiction.
[Added 11-5-1973 STM by Art. 5]
No person shall drink any alcoholic beverages
as defined in MGL c. 138, § 1 while on, in or upon any public
way or upon any way to which the public has a right of access, or
any public common, park or playground, or any place to which members
of the public have access as invitees or licensees, or any private
land or place, without consent of the owner, or person in control
of such public or private land or place. All alcoholic beverages being
used in violation of this by-law shall be seized and safely held until
final adjudication of the charge against the person or persons arrested
or summoned before the court, at which time they shall be returned
to the person entitled to lawful possession. Whoever violates this
by-law shall be punished by a fine of not more than $50.
[Added 11-5-1973 STM by Art. 6]
No person shall saunter or loiter in a street
in such manner as to obstruct travelers, but nothing in this section
shall be construed to curtail, abridge, or limit the right of opportunity
of any person to exercise the right of peaceful persuasion guaranteed
by MGL c. 149, § 24 or to curtail, abridge or limit the
intendment of any statute of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Whoever
violates any portion of this by-law shall be punished by a fine of
not more than $50 for each offense.
[Added 5-15-1996 ATM by Art. 10]
A.Â
No person, other than an employee in the service of
the Town of Townsend or an employee in the service of an independent
contractor acting for the Town, shall pile, push, plow or blow and
then leave snow or ice onto or across a public way or sidewalk which
is plowed and/or sanded by the Town or deposit snow in such a way
as to obstruct the operation of any fire hydrant. Whoever is proven
to be in violation of this by-law shall be punished by fine of not
more than $50.
B.Â
The Highway Department, for the purpose of ensuring
the free flow of traffic or for the purpose of snow and ice control
operations on a public way, may, by its own employees or with such
other assistance as it may require, and at the owner's expense, remove
or cause to be removed to the nearest convenient place any vehicle
interfering with such traffic or such operation. Said Department shall
keep records of the registration number of each vehicle so removed
and of the place to which it was removed.
[Added 5-4-1999 ATM by Art. 27]
The Highway Department, upon approval of the
Board of Selectmen, for the purpose of ensuring public safety on private
ways, may make temporary repairs to the roadway surface and/or draining
structures from private ways that have been open to the public use
for a period of five years or more as of April 1, 1999. The Town or
its agents, servants or employees shall not be liable for any damages
caused by such temporary repairs. Before such temporary repairs are
made, all abutters with property fronting on the section(s) of road
to be repaired must submit a petition to the Board of Selectmen specifying
the reason for the specific repairs requested and the reason that
the repairs are necessary for the public safety. The Board shall submit
the petition to the Highway Superintendent for his comments and recommendations.
The Board shall consider the petition at a regularly scheduled meeting
within 30 days of receipt of the petition. In considering the petition
for temporary repairs, the Board shall determine whether the repairs
may be made within the operating budget of the Highway Department
during that fiscal year or whether the repairs would require a betterment
assessment. If the Board determines that the repairs would require
a betterment assessment, then it shall notify the petitioners that
a betterment will be assessed at the estimated costs of the work to
be performed and that the written consent of all petitioners shall
be required to perform the work and accept the betterment. No such
repairs, in excess of the operating budget for the fiscal year, shall
be performed without the written consent of the petitioners to pay
the betterment assessment.
[Added 5-7-2002 ATM by Art. 20]
A winter parking ban will be in effect from
November 30 until April 1 of each year prohibiting the parking of
motor vehicles on any public way between the hours of 11:00 p.m. and
7:00 a.m. for the purpose of insuring public safety. Vehicles in violation
will be ticketed by the Police Department, which will carry a fifteen-dollar
fine. Those vehicles directly hampering snow removal will be ticketed
and towed at the expense of the owner.
[Added 6-2-2009 ATM by Art. 19]
No person shall consume marijuana or tetrahydrocannabinol as defined by General Laws Chapter 94C, Section 1, while on, in or upon any public way or upon any way which the public has the right of access, or upon any public common, park, playground, school ground, public building, or public land owned or under the control of the Town of Townsend. This bylaw may be enforced through any lawful means in law or in equity, including but not limited to noncriminal disposition in accordance with the provisions of MGL c. 40, § 21D and § 1-1 of the Townsend Code, Article II. The fine for violation of this bylaw shall be $300. Any penalty imposed under this bylaw shall be in addition to any civil penalty imposed under MGL. c. 94C, § 32L.
