[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town of Ashland
May 1993 Special Town Meeting. Amendments noted where applicable.]
As used in this chapter the following terms
shall have the meanings indicated:
The Planning Board of the Town of Ashland.
All forms of soil, including, without limitation, loam, sand,
gravel, clay, peat, hardpan or rock.
A single piece or parcel of land lying in a solid body, under
single, joint or several ownership, and separated from contiguous
land by property lines or street lines.
The owner of the land with respect to which earth is sought
to be removed or the person lawfully standing in the stead of such
owner as, for example, a lessee or tenant.
Stripping, digging, excavating or blasting earth from one
lot and removing or carrying it away from said lot.
B.
Applications for earth removal permits shall be made
to the Board. A majority vote of the Board shall be sufficient to
grant a permit. The applicant shall pay such filing fee as is established
by the Board.
C.
The procedure to be followed by applicants shall be
as follows:
(1)
An applicant shall submit adequate evidence of his
ownership to seek the permit.
(2)
An applicant shall submit three (3) copies of a plan
showing original grades in the area from which material is to be removed,
together with three (3) copies of a plan showing the grades as they
will be at the conclusion of the operation or at the end of two (2)
years, whichever period is the shorter. The plan showing the grades
at the conclusion of the operation shall show no grades in excess
of one (1) foot of vertical rise in four (4) feet of horizontal distance
for the first one hundred (100) feet from all property lines and no
grades below existing center-line road grade for a distance of two
hundred (200) feet from the street line. All finished grades on the
remaining interior of the parcel resulting from earth removal shall
not exceed a slope of one (1) foot of vertical rise to two (2) feet
of horizontal distance.
(3)
The applicant shall also submit the route his trucks
or other vehicles shall use in coming and going to said land.
D.
Any permits granted by the Board must be made subject
to the following conditions, said conditions to be written on the
permit and made a part thereof:
(1)
That proper and reasonable surface drainage of the
land affected by earth removal operations is assured during and after
the removal operations.
(2)
That at the conclusion of the earth removal operations
or of any substantial portion thereof, the whole area where removal
has taken place is covered with not less than eight (8) inches of
topsoil and seeded with a suitable cover crop, except where ledge
rock is exposed, and that all large stones and boulders which protrude
above the finished grade are to be removed or buried.
(3)
That the applicant post a bond with the Treasurer
of the Town of Ashland in an amount determined by the Board as sufficient
to guarantee conformity with the provisions or conditions of the permit,
the amount of the bond to be not less than eighty cents ($0.80) per
square foot of area (vertical projection) of land from which earth
is to be removed.
(4)
That the trucks or other vehicles shall follow a specified
route in coming and going to and from said land, not exceeding specified
speeds.
(5)
That temporary traffic signs are posted by the applicant
as required by the Board.
(6)
That all requirements of the Registrar of Motor Vehicles
be met pertaining to trucks.
E.
Before issuing a permit, the Board shall hold a public
hearing, after giving at least seven (7) days' notice by public announcement
and by written notice to all abutters and the Conservation Commission.
The expenses incurred in giving such notices shall be charged to and
paid by the applicant.
F.
Applications for permits may be granted, denied or
granted in part and denied in part.
G.
No permit shall be issued for a period in excess of
twenty-four (24) months. The duration of the permit, including the
beginning and terminating dates, shall be set forth on the permit.
H.
Where a permit is required hereunder for earth removal activities at a Priority Development Site (PDS), as defined by Section 10.0 of the Zoning By-laws, an application therefor shall be submitted simultaneously with any other permit application(s) required by the Code of the Town of Ashland, including the Zoning By-laws, relating to the use or development of the PDS or the buildings and/or structures located thereon, and not otherwise exempted by G.L. c. 43D, and a decision thereon shall be rendered no later than one hundred eighty (180) days from said date of submittal.
[Added 5-5-2010 ATM, Art. 18]
The following activities are exempted from the
provisions of this chapter:
A.
Public land: earth removal on lands in public use.
C.
Surplus earth: removal of surplus earth resulting
from a bona fide construction project being carried on pursuant to
the issuance of a building permit.
D.
Small quantities: any earth removal involving fifty
(50) cubic yards or fewer in total.
Permits to remove earth in quantities not exceeding two hundred fifty (250) cubic yards, but in excess of the exempted amount of fifty (50) cubic yards, may be issued informally by a majority vote of the Board without need of complying with the provisions of § 242-3 above as to the submission of plans, notice, hearings, recover, bonds, etc.; provided, however, that:
A.
Proper surface drainage of the parcel is assured during
and after the removal of earth.
B.
No grades resulting from such earth removal exceed
a slope of one (1) foot of vertical rise to four (4) feet of horizontal
distance for the first one hundred (100) feet from all property lines,
and no grades are below existing center-line road grade for a distance
of two hundred (200) feet from the street line.
C.
Informal permits shall not exceed one (1) year from
date of issue.
D.
No more than three hundred (300) yards of earth shall
be removed from any one (1) lot by informal permit during any three-year
period.
In no event may any loam be stripped and removed
from any land in the Town of Ashland, except surplus loam incidental
to and in connection with bona fide construction on a lot.
There shall be no removals of earth or earth
movements of any kind, whether from one parcel to another or whether
conducted entirely within a single parcel, the result of which is
to remove lateral support from adjoining land, unless a one-to-four
grade or slope is preserved for a distance of twenty-five (25) feet
in from all lot lines or is reduced to an extent greater than herein
provided if written consent is obtained in advance from the owner
of an adjoining lot or from the Board, in the case of adjoining public
ways, and if evidence of such written consent is filed with the Board
prior to commencement of this work. In all cases of adjoining lands
under public ownership or control, written permission from the Board
will suffice notwithstanding what political subdivision owns or controls
said adjoining land.
A.
Application. This chapter shall take effect on the effective date hereof as defined in Subsection B below; provided, however, that any continuous earth removal activities in actual working operation as of the effective date hereof may continue unaffected by this chapter until January 1, 1968. Permits with respect to the latter will be required after January 1, 1968.
B.
Effective date. This chapter shall take effect upon
its approval by the Attorney General and its publication and postings
as required by M.G.L.A. C. 40, § 32.
The penalty for violating any provision of this
chapter shall be as follows:
The provisions of this chapter are hereby declared
to be severable; and if any such provision or the application of such
provision to any person or circumstances shall be held invalid or
unconstitutional, such invalidity or unconstitutionality shall not
be construed to affect the validity or constitutionality of any of
the remaining provisions or the application of such provisions to
persons or circumstances other than those as to which it is held invalid.
It is hereby declared to be the legislative intent of this chapter
that said remaining sections would have been adopted has such invalid
or unconstitutional provisions not been included therein.
The Board shall be responsible from the administration
and enforcement of this chapter.
