[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Meeting of
the Town of Boxford 5-13-1986 ATM, Art. 33. Amendments noted where applicable.]
[Amended 5-11-1994 ATM, Art. 34; 5-10-1995 ATM, Art. 41; 5-22-1997 ATM, Art.
41]
A.
The purpose of this bylaw is to protect the wetlands,
water resources and adjoining land areas in the Town of Boxford by
controlling activities deemed by its Conservation Commission (hereinafter
"Commission") likely to have a significant or cumulative effect upon
resource area values, including but not limited to the following:
public or private water supply, groundwater, flood control, erosion
and sedimentation control, storm damage prevention, water quality,
water pollution control, fisheries, wildlife habitat, rare species
habitat including rare plant species, agriculture, recreation values
deemed important to the community and riverfront area values (collectively,
the "resource area values protected by this bylaw").
B.
This bylaw is intended to utilize the Home Rule authority
of this municipality to protect additional resource areas, for additional
values, with additional standards and procedures stricter than those
of the Wetlands Protection Act, (MGL c. 131, § 40) and regulations
thereunder, 310 CMR 10.00, as they may be amended.
[Amended 5-11-1994 ATM, Art. 36; 5-10-1995 ATM, Art. 41; 5-22-1996 ATM, Art.
57; 5-22-1997 ATM, Art. 41; 5-13-1998 ATM, Art. 59]
Except as permitted by the Commission or as
provided by this bylaw, no person shall commence to remove, fill,
dredge, build upon, degrade, discharge into or otherwise alter the
following resource areas: any freshwater wetlands; marshes; wet meadows;
bogs; swamps; lakes; ponds; rivers; streams; creeks; banks; beaches;
vernal pools; large isolated wetlands; lands within 100 feet of any
of the aforesaid resource areas; lands under water bodies; lands subject
to flooding or inundation by groundwater or surface waters; land within
100 feet of said land subject to flooding or inundation; riverfront
area as stated in the Wetlands Protection Act Regulations 310 CMR
10.58(2), as they may be amended; (collectively the "resource areas
protected by this bylaw"). Said resource areas shall be protected
whether or not they border surface waters.
A.
The permit and application required by this bylaw
shall not be required for maintaining, repairing or replacing, but
not substantially changing or enlarging, an existing and lawfully
located structure or facility used in the service of the public to
provide electric, gas, water, telephone, telegraph or other telecommunication
services, provided that the structure or facility is not substantially
changed or enlarged, provided that written notice has been given to
the Commission prior to commencement of work and provided that the
work conforms to performance standards and design specifications in
regulations adopted by the Commission.
B.
The permit and application required by this bylaw
shall not apply to emergency projects necessary for the protection
of the health or safety of the public, provided that the work is to
be performed by or has been ordered to be performed by an agency of
the commonwealth or political subdivision thereof, provided that advance
notice, oral or written, has been given to the Commission prior to
commencement of work or within 24 hours after commencement, provided
that the Commission or its agent certifies the work as an emergency
project, provided that the work is performed only for the time and
place certified by the Commission for the limited purposes necessary
to abate the emergency and provided that within 21 days of commencement
of an emergency project a permit application shall be filed with the
Commission for review as provided in the bylaw. Upon failure to meet
these and other requirements of the Commission, the Commission may,
after notice and public hearing, revoke or modify an emergency project
approval and order restoration and mitigation measures.
[Amended 5-13-1998 ATM, Art. 59]
C.
The application and permit required by this bylaw
shall not be required for forestry activities when said activities
have received approval by the Massachusetts Department of Environmental
Management via an approved forest cutting plan under the authority
of the Massachusetts Forest Cutting Practices Act (MGL c. 132, §§ 40
- 46) and only when said forest cutting plan complies in all respects
with the Massachusetts Forest Cutting Practices Regulations (304 CMR
11.00), as they may be from time to time amended.
[Added 5-13-1998 ATM, Art. 59]
D.
The application and permit required by this bylaw
shall not be required for agricultural activities that comply in all
respects with the definitions and requirements in Wetlands Protection
Act Regulations 310 CMR 10.04 Agriculture (a) Land in agricultural
use; and one or more of the following: 310 CMR 10.04 Agriculture (b)
Normal maintenance of land in agricultural use 1 through 12; or 310
CMR 10.04 Agriculture (c) Normal improvement of land in agricultural
use, as they may be from time to time amended.
[Added 5-13-1998 ATM, Art. 59]
E.
Other than stated in this section, the exceptions
provided in the Wetlands Protection Act (MGL c. 131, § 40)
and Regulations (310 CMR 10.00), as they may be amended, shall not
apply under this bylaw.
[Amended 5-22-1997 ATM, Art. 41]
A.
Written application shall be filed with the Commission
to perform activities affecting resource areas protected by this bylaw.
The application, formally known as the "notice of intent" or "request
for determination of applicability," shall include such information
and plans as are deemed necessary by the Commission to describe proposed
activities and their effects on the resource areas protected by this
bylaw. No activities shall commence without receiving and complying
with a permit, formally known as an "order of conditions" or "conditions
imposed on a negative determination of applicability," issued pursuant
to this bylaw.
[Amended 5-22-1997 ATM, Art. 41]
B.
The Commission in an appropriate case may accept as
the permit application and plans under this bylaw the notice of intent
and plans filed under the Wetlands Protection Act (MGL c. 131, § 40)
and Regulations (310 CMR 10.00), as they may be amended.
[Amended 5-22-1997 ATM, Art. 41]
C.
At the time of a permit application (notice of intent),
request for determination of applicability, application for an amendment
to the order of conditions, application for certificate of compliance,
application for partial certificate of compliance or request for extension
permit, the applicant shall pay a filing fee specified in the regulations
of the Commission.[1] The fee is in addition to that required, if any, by the
Wetlands Protection Act (MGL c. 131, § 40) and Regulations
(310 CMR 10.00), as they may be amended.
[Added 5-22-1997 ATM, Art. 41; amended 5-13-1998 ATM, Art.
59]
[1]
Editor's Note: The regulations are on file
in the office of the Town Clerk.
D.
Any person desiring to know whether or not proposed activity or an area is subject to this bylaw may, in writing, request a determination from the Commission. Such a request for determination of applicability shall contain data and plans as the Commission specifies, unless said request is only for an informal opinion as stipulated in § 192-5 of this bylaw.
[Added 5-22-1997 ATM, Art. 41]
E.
In an appropriate case, a person may request in writing
that the Commission review a minor activity proposed within a wetland
resource area or buffer zone for a determination of negligible impact.
The Commission shall review the request at a public meeting within
21 days from receipt of the request. In order to approve the request,
the Commission must find that the proposed activity will have negligible
or no impact on the wetland resource area or buffer zone. A request
for a determination of negligible impact is decided upon at the sole
discretion of the Commission, can be denied for good cause, including
failure to submit information requested by the Commission, and can
only be approved by a two-thirds majority vote of the Commission members
present. A letter shall be sent informing the applicant of the Commission's
decision within 21 days of the decision.
[Added 5-13-1998 ATM, Art. 59]
F.
In accordance with the provisions of MGL c. 44, § 53G,
the Commission is authorized to promulgate regulations to require
an applicant or other person subject to the Commission’s jurisdiction
to pay reasonable fees for employment of outside consultants deemed
necessary by the Commission to implement the authority conferred upon
the Commission under Section 8C of Chapter 40 and Section 40 of Chapter
131 of the Massachusetts General Laws, and Section 310 of the Code
of Massachusetts Regulations, and the Town’s local Wetlands
Bylaw, and to deposit such fees into a special account for expenditure
by the Commission to cover such consulting fees without further appropriation
and to return unused fees to the applicant.
[Added 5-8-2007 ATM, Art. 12[2]]
[2]
Editor's Note: This article also repealed
former Subsections F, G and H, which set forth provisions on payment
of costs and expenses for expert consultation deemed necessary by
the Commission.
A.
Any person filing a permit application (notice of
intent), request for determination of applicability or request for
amendment to order of conditions with the Commission at the same time
shall give written notice thereof by certified mail (return receipt
requested), first class mail, if evidenced by certificates of mailing,
or hand delivery to all abutters at their mailing addresses shown
on the most recent applicable tax list of the Assessors, including
owners of land directly opposite on any public or private street or
way, and abutters to the abutters within 250 feet of the property
line of the applicant, including any in another municipality or across
a body of water. In case of property that has frontage on a pond,
abutters will include all those properties with frontage on the pond
or pond association if in existence.
[Amended 5-22-1997 ATM, Art. 41; 5-13-2008 ATM, Art.
18; 5-12-2009 ATM, Art. 15]
B.
The notice to abutters shall enclose a copy of the
application or request, with plans, or shall state where copies may
be examined and obtained by abutters. An affidavit of the person providing
such notice, with a copy of the notice mailed or delivered, shall
be filed with the Commission. When a person requesting a determination
is other than the owner, the request, the notice of the hearing and
the determination itself shall be sent by the Commission to the owner
as well as to the person making the request.
[Amended 5-22-1997 ATM, Art. 41]
C.
The notice to abutters shall include at a minimum
a sketch or map of the location and a description of proposed work.
[Amended 5-23-1997 ATM, Art. 41]
D.
Waiver.
(1)
The Commission may waive the above procedure, as it
applies to requests for determinations under the following circumstances:
(2)
The Commission shall conduct a public hearing or meeting
on any application or request for determination of applicability,
with written notice given at the expense of the applicant at least
five business days prior to the hearing or meeting in a newspaper
of general circulation in the municipality, chosen at the discretion
of the Commission.
[Amended 5-13-1998 ATM, Art. 59]
E.
The Commission shall commence the public hearing within
21 days from receipt of a completed permit application or request
for determination of applicability unless an extension is authorized
in writing by the applicant.
[Amended 5-22-1997 ATM, Art. 41]
F.
The Chairman of the Commission may appoint a committee
comprised of members of the Commission to conduct preliminary investigations
with regard to applications and requests for determination submitted
to the Commission or to the aforesaid committee. This committee may
conduct such preliminary investigations, without notice or public
hearing, but shall report all material findings obtained relative
thereto to the Commission at the next public meeting or hearing regarding
such application or request.
G.
The Commission shall issue its permit or determination
in writing within 21 days of the close of the public hearing thereon
unless an extension is authorized in writing by the applicant.
[Amended 5-22-1997 ATM, Art. 41]
H.
The Commission in an appropriate case may combine
its hearing under this bylaw with the hearing conducted under the
Wetlands Protection Act (MGL c. 131, § 40) and Regulations
(310 CMR 10.00), as they may be amended.
[Amended 5-22-1997 ATM, Art. 41]
I.
The Commission shall have authority to continue the
hearing to a date certain announced at the hearing, for reasons stated
at the hearing, which may include receipt of additional information
offered by the applicant or others, information and plans required
of the applicant, deemed necessary by the Commission in its discretion,
or comments and recommendations of other boards and officials. In
the event the applicant objects to a continuance or postponement,
the hearing shall be closed and the Commission shall take action on
such information as is available. Any such continuance or postponement
shall require approval by a majority of the Commission.
J.
A quorum is defined as a majority of the members then
in office.
[Added 5-11-1994 ATM, Art. 35]
A.
If the Commission, after a public hearing, determines
that the activities which are the subject of the application are likely
to have a significant or cumulative effect upon the resource area
values protected by this bylaw, the Commission, within 21 days of
the close of the hearing, shall issue or deny a permit for the activities
requested. If it issues a permit, the Commission shall impose conditions
which the Commission deems necessary or desirable to protect those
values, and all activities shall be done in accordance with those
conditions.
[Amended 5-10-1995 ATM, Art. 41]
B.
The Commission is empowered to deny a permit for failure
to meet the requirements of this bylaw; for failure to submit necessary
information and plans requested by the Commission; for failure to
meet the design specifications, performance standards and other requirements
in the regulations of the Commission; for failure to avoid or present
unacceptable significant or cumulative effects upon the resource area
values protected by this bylaw; and where no conditions are adequate
to protect those values. Due consideration shall be given to any demonstrated
hardship on the applicant by reason of denial as presented at the
public hearing.
[Amended 5-13-1998 ATM, Art. 59]
C.
A permit shall expire three years from the date of
issuance. Notwithstanding the above, the Commission in its discretion
may issue a permit expiring five years from the date of issuance for
recurring or continuous maintenance work, provided that annual notification
of time and location of work is given to the Commission. Any permit
may be renewed twice for an additional one-year period, provided that
a request for a renewal is received in writing by the Commission prior
to expiration. Notwithstanding the above, a permit may contain requirements
which shall be enforceable for a stated number of years, indefinitely
or until permanent protection is in place, and shall apply to all
owners of the land.
[Amended 5-13-1998 ATM, Art. 59]
D.
For good cause, the Commission may revoke or modify
a permit issued under this bylaw after public notice and public hearing,
and notice to the holder of the permit.
E.
The Commission in an appropriate case may combine
the permit or determination (other action on an application) issued
under this bylaw with the order of conditions or determination of
applicability issued under the Wetlands Protection Act (MGL c. 131,
§ 40) and Regulations (310 CMR 10.00), as they may be amended.
[Amended 5-10-1995 ATM, Art. 41; 5-22-1997 ATM, Art. 41]
F.
No work proposed in any permit application shall be
undertaken until the permit issued by the Commission with respect
to such work has been recorded in the Registry of Deeds or, if the
land affected is registered land, in the registry section of the Land
Court for the district wherein the land lies and until the holder
of the permit certifies in writing to the Commission that the permit
has been recorded.
[Amended 5-22-1996 ATM, Art. 57]
G.
All actions taken by the Commission pursuant to this
section shall require the approval of a majority of the Commission.
[Amended 5-13-1998 ATM, Art. 59]
A.
After public notice and public hearing, the Commission
shall promulgate rules and regulations to effectuate the purposes
of this bylaw effective when voted and filed with the Town Clerk.
Failure by the Commission to promulgate such rules and regulations
or a legal declaration of their invalidity by a court of law shall
not act to suspend or invalidate the effect of this bylaw. At a minimum,
these regulations shall determine key terms in this bylaw not inconsistent
with the bylaw. These regulations shall also determine procedures
governing the amount and filing of fees.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: The regulations are on file
in the office of the Town Clerk.
B.
In addition, these regulation shall list minimum setback
distances for activities in Buffer Zones and other Resource Areas
based on the environmental sensitivity of those Resource Areas. The
Conservation Commission may require greater than the minimum setback
distances for activities within areas of jurisdiction based on the
type of work proposed and/or features specific to the site, in order
to protect the Resource Area values.
[Added 5-9-2000 ATM, Art. G57]
A.
ABUTTER
ALTER
(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)
(5)
(6)
(7)
(8)
(9)
(10)
(11)
(12)
BANK
BEACH
BOGS
BORDERING VEGETATED WETLANDS
BORDERING LAND SUBJECT TO FLOODING
BUFFER ZONE
CREEK
DREDGE
FRESHWATER WETLANDS
ISOLATED LAND SUBJECT TO FLOODING
LAKE
LARGE ISOLATED WETLANDS
MARSHES
MEAN ANNUAL HIGH-WATER LINE
PERSON
PONDS
(1)
(2)
RARE SPECIES
RESOURCE AREAS
RESOURCE AREA VALUES
RIVER
RIVERFRONT AREA
STREAM
SWAMPS
VERNAL POOL
WETLAND RESOURCE AREA
WET MEADOWS
The following definitions shall apply in the interpretation
and implementation of this bylaw:
The owner of any property any portion of which lies within
250 feet radially from any lot line of the subject property including
owners of land directly opposite on any public or private street or
way including any in another municipality or across a body of water.
In the case of property that has frontage on a pond, abutters shall
include all those properties with frontage on the pond or pond association
if in existence.
[Added 5-22-1997 ATM, Art. 41; amended 5-12-2009 ATM, Art.
15]
Include, without limitation, the following activities when
undertaken to, upon, within or affecting resource areas protected
by this bylaw:
Removal, excavation or dredging of soil, sand,
gravel or aggregate materials of any kind.
Changing of preexisting drainage characteristics,
flushing characteristics, salinity distribution, sedimentation patterns,
flow patterns or flood retention characteristics.
Drainage or other disturbance of water level
or water table.
Dumping, discharging or filling with any material
which may degrade water quality.
Placing of fill or removal of material, which
would alter elevation.
Driving of piles, erection or repair of buildings
or structures of any kind.
Placing of obstructions or objects (including
docks and piers) in water.
[Amended 5-22-1997 ATM, Art. 41]
Destruction of plant life, including the cutting
of trees.
Changing water temperature, biochemical oxygen
demand or other physical, biological or chemical characteristics of
water.
[Added 5-10-1995 ATM, Art. 41]
Any activities, changes or work which may cause
or tend to contribute to pollution of any body of water or groundwater.
Incremental activities which have or may have
a cumulative adverse impact on the resource areas protected by this
bylaw.
[Added 5-22-1996 ATM, Art. 57]
Application of pesticides or herbicides.
[Added 5-22-1996 ATM, Art. 57]
Includes the land area which normally abuts and confines
a water body, the lower boundary being the mean annual low flow level
and the upper boundary being the first observable break in the slope
or the mean annual flood level, whichever is higher.
[Added 5-10-1995 ATM, Art. 41]
A naturally or man-made unvegetated bank which normally abuts
and confines a water body.
[Added 5-22-1997 ATM, Art. 41]
Areas where standing or slowly running water is near or at
the surface during a normal growing season and where a vegetational
community has a significant portion of the ground or water surface
covered with Sphagnum moss (Sphagnum) and where the vegetational community
is made up of a significant portion of one or more of, but not limited
to nor necessarily including all, of the following plants or groups
of plants: aster (Aster nemoralis), azaleas (Rhododendron canadense
and R. viscosum), black spruce (Picea mariana), bog cotton (Eriophorum),
cranberry (Vaccinium macrocarpon), high-bush blueberry (Vaccinium
corymbosum), larch (Larix laricina), laurels (Kalmia angustifolia
and K. polifolia), leatherleaf (Chamaedaphne calyculata), orchids
(Arethusa, Calopogon, Pogonia), pitcher plants (Sarracenia purpurea),
sedges (Cyperaceae), sundews (Droseraceae), sweet gale (Myrica gale)
and white cedar (Chamaecyparis thyoides).
[Added 5-22-1997 ATM, Art. 41]
Freshwater wetlands which border on creeks, streams, rivers,
ponds and lakes. Bordering vegetated wetlands are areas where the
soils are saturated and/or inundated such that they support a predominance
(50% or greater) of wetland indicator plants.
[Added 5-22-1997 ATM, Art. 41]
An area with low, flat topography adjacent to and inundated
by floodwaters rising from creeks, streams, rivers, ponds or lakes.
The boundary of bordering land subject to flooding is the one-hundred-year
floodplain. It extends from the outer edge of a bank or bordering
vegetated wetland.
[Added 5-22-1997 ATM, Art. 41]
That area of land extending 100 feet horizontally outward
from the boundary of the following resource areas: freshwater wetlands,
marshes, wet meadows, bogs, swamps, lakes, ponds, rivers, streams,
creeks, banks, beaches, vernal pools, large isolated wetlands, lands
under water bodies, lands subject to flooding or inundation by groundwater
or surface water.
[Added 5-22-1997 ATM, Art. 41]
The same as a stream.
[Added 5-22-1997 ATM, Art. 41]
To deepen, widen or excavate, either temporarily or permanently.
[Added 5-22-1997 ATM, Art. 41]
Wet meadows, marshes, swamps and bogs.
[Added 5-22-1997 ATM, Art. 41]
Any isolated depression without an inlet or outlet which
at least once a year confines standing water to a volume of at least
1/4 acre-foot of water with an average depth of at least six inches.
The boundary is the perimeter of the largest observed or recorded
volume of water confined in the basin.
[Added 5-22-1997 ATM, Art. 41]
Any open body of fresh water with a surface area of 10 acres
or more, and shall include great ponds.
[Added 5-22-1997 ATM, Art. 41]
Isolated wetlands 5,000 square feet or larger.
[Added 5-22-1997 ATM, Art. 41]
Areas where a plant community exists in standing or running
water during the growing season and where a significant part of the
vegetational community is composed of, but not limited to nor necessarily
including, all of the following plants or groups of plants: arums
(Araceae), bladder worts (Utricularia), burr reeds (Sparganiaceae),
button bush (Cephalanthus occidentalis), cattails (Typha), duck weeds
(Lemnaceae), eelgrass (Vallisneria), frog bits (Hydrocharitaceae),
horsetails (Equisetaceae), hydrophilic grasses (Gramineae), leatherleaf
(Chamaedaphne calyculata), pickerel weeds (Pontederiaceae), pipeworts
(Eriocaulon), pond weeds (Potamogeton), rushes (Juncaceae), sedges
(Cyperaceae), smartweeds (Polygonum), sweet gale (Myrica gale), water
milfoil (Haloragaceae), water lilies (Nymphaeaceae), water starworts
(Callitrichaceae) and water willow (Decodon verticillatus).
[Added 5-22-1997 ATM, Art. 41]
As defined in the Wetlands Protection Act Regulations 310
CMR 10.58(2), as they may be amended.
[Added 5-22-1997 ATM, Art. 41; amended 5-13-1998 ATM, Art.
59]
Includes any individual, group of individuals, association,
partnership, corporation, company, business organization, trust, estate,
the commonwealth or political subdivision thereof to the extent subject
to town bylaws, administration agency, public or quasi-public corporation
or body, this municipality and any other legal entity, its legal representatives,
agents or assigns.
Includes any substantially open body of fresh
water with a surface area observed or recorded within 10 years prior
to the date of application, of at least 5,000 square feet. Ponds may
be either naturally occurring or man-made by impoundment, excavation
or otherwise. Ponds shall contain standing water except for periods
of extended drought. For purposes of this definition, extended drought
shall be defined in the Wetlands Protection Bylaw Regulations.
[Added 5-22-1996 ATM, Art. 57; amended 5-22-1997 ATM, Art.
41; 5-9-2000 ATM, Art. G58]
Notwithstanding the above, the following man-made
bodies of open water shall not be considered ponds: swimming pools
or other impervious man-made basins, fire ponds for approved subdivisions,
approved stormwater mamagement structures, irrigation ponds for agricultural
purposes, golf courses, and individual gravel pits or quarries excavated
from upland areas unless such gravel pit or quarry has been inactive
for five or more consecutive years.
[Added 5-22-1996 ATM, Art. 57; amended 5-22-1997 ATM, Art.
41; 5-9-2000 ATM, Art. G58]
Includes, without limitation, all vertebrate and invertebrate
animal and plant species listed as endangered, threatened or of special
concern by the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife, regardless
of whether the site in which they occur has been previously identified
by the Division.
[Added 5-10-1995 ATM, Art. 41]
Includes any freshwater wetlands, marshes, wet meadows, bogs,
swamps, lakes, ponds, rivers, streams, creeks, banks, beaches, vernal
pools, large isolated wetlands, land under water in each resource
area, riverfront area, land subject to flooding or inundation by groundwater
or surface waters and buffer zones as defined in this bylaw.
[Added 5-10-1995 ATM, Art. 41; amended 5-22-1997 ATM, Art.
41]
Includes but is not limited to the following: public or private
water supply, groundwater, flood control, erosion and sedimentation
control, storm damage prevention, water quality, water pollution control,
fisheries, wildlife habitat, rare species habitat including rare plant
species, agriculture, riverfront area values and recreation values
deemed important to the community.
[Added 5-22-1997 ATM, Art. 41]
A natural flowing body of water of any size that empties
to any ocean, lake or other river and which flows throughout the year.
[Added 5-22-1997 ATM, Art. 41]
Is defined in the Wetlands Protection Act Regulations 310
CMR 10.58 (2), as they may be amended, and as amended in the Town
of Boxford Wetlands Protection Bylaw Regulations, Section 10.58. If
any part of the definition of "riverfront area" in 310 CMR 10.58(2)
is different from the definitions in the Boxford Wetlands Protection
Bylaw and Regulations, the definitions in the bylaw and regulations
shall prevail.
[Added 5-22-1997 ATM, Art. 41; amended 5-13-1998 ATM, Art.
59; 5-9-2000 ATM, Art. G58]
A body of running water, and the land under the water, including
brooks, creeks and man-made watercourses, which moves in a definite
channel in the ground due to hydraulic gradient. A portion of a stream
may flow through a culvert or beneath a bridge or beneath the surface
of the ground. Such a body of running water which does not flow throughout
the year (i.e., which is intermittent) is a stream except for that
portion upgradient of all wetland resource areas including freshwater
wetlands, marshes, wet meadows, bogs, swamps, lakes, ponds, rivers,
streams, creeks, banks, beaches, vernal pools, and large isolated
wetlands.
[Added 5-22-1997 ATM, Art. 41; amended 5-9-2000 ATM, Art. G58]
Areas where groundwater is at or near the surface of the
ground for a significant part of the growing season or where runoff
water from surface drainage frequently collects above the soil surface,
and where a significant part of the vegetational community is made
up of, but not limited to nor necessarily include, all of the following
plants or groups of plants: alders (Alnus), ashes (Fraxinus), azaleas
(Rhododendron canadense and R. viscosum), black alder (Ilex verticillata),
black spruce (Picea mariana), buttonbush (Cephalanthus occidentalis),
American or white elm (Ulmus americana), white Hellebore (Veratrum
viride), hemlock (Tsuga canadensis), highbush blueberry (Vaccinium
corymbosum), larch (Larix laricina), cowslip (Caltha palustris), poison
sumac (Toxicodendron vernix), red maple (Acer rubrum), skunk cabbage
(Symplocarpus foetidus), sphagnum mosses (Sphagnum), spice bush (Lindera
benzoin), black gum tupelo (Nyssa sylvatica), sweet pepper bush (Clethra
alnifolia), white cedar (Chamaecyparis thyoides), willow (Salicaceae),
common reed (Phragmites communis) and jewelweed (Impatiens capensis).
[Added 5-22-1997 ATM, Art. 41]
Includes a confined basin depression of any size which is
free of naturally occurring fish populations and which contains evidence
of breeding by obligate vernal pool species as recognized by the Massachusetts
Natural Heritage and Endangered Species Program.
[Added 5-22-1996 ATM, Art. 57; amended 5-22-1997 ATM, Art.
41; 5-9-2000 ATM, Art. G58]
Any resource area other than the buffer zone.
[Added 5-22-1997 ATM, Art. 41]
Areas where groundwater is at the surface for the significant
part of the growing season and near the surface throughout the year
and where a significant part of the vegetational community is composed
of various grasses, sedges and rushes, made up of, but not limited
to nor necessarily including, all of the following plants or groups
of plants: blue flag (Iris), vervain (Verbena), thoroughwort (Eupatorium),
dock (Rumex), false loosestrife (Ludwigia), hydrophilic grasses (Gramineae),
loosestrife (Lythrum), marsh fern (Dryopteris thelypteris), rushes
(Juncaceae), sedges (Cyperaceae), sensitive fern (Onoclea sensibilis)
and smartweed (Polygonum).
[Added 5-22-1997 ATM, Art. 41]
B.
Except as otherwise provided in this bylaw or in regulations
of the Commission, the definitions of terms in this bylaw shall be
as set forth in the Wetlands Protection Act (MGL c. 131, § 40)
and Regulations (310 CMR 10.00), as they may be amended.
[Added 5-22-1996 ATM, Art. 57; amended 5-22-1997 ATM, Art.
41]
[Amended 5-10-1995 ATM, Art. 41; 5-22-1997 ATM, Art. 41]
As part of a permit issued under this bylaw,
in addition to any security required by any other municipal or state
board, agency or official, the Commission may require that the performance
and observance of the conditions imposed thereunder (including conditions
requiring mitigation work) be secured by the following method: by
a proper bond or deposit of money or negotiable securities or other
undertaking of financial responsibility sufficient in the opinion
of the Commission to be released in whole or in part upon issuance
of a certificate of compliance for work performed pursuant to the
permit.
A.
No person shall remove fill, dredge, build upon, degrade
or otherwise alter resource areas protected by this bylaw, or cause,
suffer or allow such activity, or leave in place unauthorized fill
or otherwise fail to restore illegally altered land to its original
condition or fail to comply with a permit or an enforcement order
pursuant to this bylaw.
[Added 5-22-1996 ATM, Art. 58]
B.
The Commission, its agents, officers and employees
shall have authority to enter upon privately owned land for the purpose
of performing their duties under this bylaw and may make or cause
to be made such examinations, surveys or sampling as the Commission
deems necessary, subject to the constitutions and laws of the United
States and the commonwealth.
[Amended 5-22-1996 ATM, Art. 58]
C.
The Commission shall have authority to enforce this
bylaw, its regulations and permits issued thereunder by violation
notices, administrative orders and civil and criminal court actions.
D.
Upon request of majority of the Commission, the Select
Board and the Town Counsel may take legal action for enforcement under
civil law. Upon the request of majority of the Commission to the Select
Board and the approval thereof, the Chief of Police shall take legal
action for enforcement under criminal law.
[Amended 9-12-2020 ATM by Art. 19]
E.
Municipal boards and officers, including any police
officer or other officer having police powers, shall have authority
to assist the Commission in the enforcement of this bylaw.
F.
Any person who violates any provision of this bylaw
or regulations thereunder, or any permits, enforcement order or violation
notice of the Commission or of the Conservation Administrator issued
thereunder, shall be punished by a fine of not more than $300. Each
day or portion thereof during which a violation continues, or unauthorized
fill or other alteration remains in place, shall constitute a separate
offense, and each provision of the bylaw, regulations or permit, enforcement
order or violation notice violated shall constitute a separate offense.
[Amended 5-10-1995 ATM, Art. 41; amended 5-13-1998 ATM, Art.
59]
G.
As an alternative to criminal prosecution in a specific case, the Commission may issue citations under the noncriminal disposition procedure set forth in MGL c. 40, § 21D, as set forth in Chapter 1 of the General Bylaws.
[Amended 5-22-1997 ATM, Art. 41]
H.
The specific penalties as listed here shall apply,
and in addition to police officers, who shall in all cases be considered
enforcing persons for the purpose of this provision, the municipal
personnel listed shall also be enforcing persons for such penalties.
Each day on which any violation exists shall be deemed to be a separate
offense.
(1)
Specific penalties.
[Added 5-22-1996 ATM, Art. 58; amended 5-13-1998 ATM, Art.
59]
|
Buffer Zone
|
Wetlands Resource Area
|
Noncompliance with an Order of Conditions
or Enforcement Order or Violation Notice
| ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
First offense
|
$25
|
$50
|
$50
| |
|
Second offense
|
$50
|
$150
|
$200
| |
|
Third offense (and any subsequent offense)
|
$300
|
$300
|
$300
|
(2)
Municipal personnel authorized: Conservation Commission
members or Administrator.
[Added 5-22-1996 ATM, Art. 58]
[Amended 5-13-1998 ATM, Art. 59]
The applicant for a permit shall have the burden
of proving by a preponderance of the credible evidence that the work
proposed in the permit application will not have adverse significant
or cumulative effect upon the resource area values protected by this
bylaw.
[Amended 5-10-1995 ATM, Art. 41; 5-22-1997 ATM, Art. 41]
This bylaw is adopted under the Home Rule Amendment
of the Massachusetts Constitution and the Home Rule statutes and regulations
thereunder independent of the Wetlands Protection Act (MGL c. 131,
§ 40) and Regulations (310 CMR 10.00) thereunder, as they
may be amended.
The invalidity of any section or provision of
this bylaw shall not invalidate any other section or provision thereof,
nor shall it invalidate any permit or determination which previously
has been issued.
A.
Applicant shall bear the cost to the Commission for
all reasonable advertising, mailing and other costs associated with
the application or request.
B.
No fee shall be charged for informal request for determinations as defined in § 192-5 of this bylaw.
C.
The Commission may waive the filing fee, consultant
fee and costs and expenses for a permit application or request for
determination of applicability filed by a government agency or nonprofit
organization.
[Amended 5-13-1998 ATM, Art. 59]
D.
The fee schedule shall be as defined in the Regulations.
[Added 5-22-1997 ATM, Art. 41]
[Amended 5-22-1997 ATM, Art. 41; 5-13-1998 ATM, Art. 59]
Wetlands resource areas and their boundaries
shall be identified and delineated as specified in this bylaw and/or
promulgating regulations. Bordering vegetated wetland shall be further
delineated as specified in Wetlands Protection Act Regulations 310
CMR 10-55(2)c, as they may be amended.
[Amended 5-22-1997 ATM, Art. 41]
The Chairman, with the approval of a majority
of the Commission, may appoint individuals for the purpose of assisting
the Commission in various projects not involving applications or requests
for determinations as defined in this bylaw. Such individuals shall
be referred to as Associate Members, shall be nonvoting members and
shall serve for a term of one year and may be reappointed as deemed
appropriate by a majority of the Commission.
