The regulations for each district pertaining to minimum lot area, minimum lot width, minimum lot depth, minimum front yard depth, minimum side yard width, minimum rear yard depth, maximum height of buildings, maximum number of stories, maximum building area, maximum floor area ratio and minimum open space shall be as specified in this article and as set forth in the Table of Dimensional and Density Regulations and subject to the further provisions of this chapter.
See table attached to this chapter plus attached notes, which are declared to be part of this chapter.
[Amended 5-1-1995 by Ord. No. 95-189]
The lot or yard areas required for any new building or use may not include any part of a lot that is required by any other building or use to comply with any provisions of this chapter, nor may these areas include any property of which the ownership has been transferred subsequent to the effective date of this chapter if such property was a part of the area required for compliance with the dimensional regulations applicable to the lot from which such transfer was made. At least 60% of the lot area required for zoning compliance shall be contiguous land other than land located in a wetland, as defined in MGL c. 131, § 40, or land located under a brook, creek, stream, river, pond or lake.
Lots shall not be separated or transferred in ownership so as not to comply with the provisions of this chapter.
Screening and buffers shall be required in any industrial or business district which adjoins a residential district as follows: this strip shall be at least 25 feet in width, except when abutting a residential use in the UR-C District, in which case the width may be reduced to 10 feet. It shall contain a screen of plantings of vertical habitat in the center of the strip not less than three feet in width and six feet in height at the time of occupancy of such lot. Individual shrubs or trees shall be planted not more than three feet on center and shall thereafter be maintained by the owner or occupants so as to maintain a dense screen year round. At least 50% of the plantings shall consist of evergreens and they shall be evenly spaced.
A building, except a boathouse, shall not be erected in a floodway or in any area subject to periodic flooding unless the first floor elevation is higher than the highest flood recorded. If such flood elevation shall have been reduced by construction of dams at the headwaters, or by other means, the first floor elevation may be correspondingly lowered to the reduced flood level.
[Amended 4-17-1973 by Ord. No. 17859; 12-18-1978 by Ord. No. 20211]
A. 
In the "R" districts, a detached accessory building shall conform to the provisions set forth in the following schedule:
Distance From Lot Line
(feet)
District
Maximum Coverage
(percent of required rear yard area)1
Front
Side and Rear
Building Height
(feet)
SR
25%
20
10
20
SR-A
25%
20
10
20
SR-B
40%
15
10
20
UR-A
50%
15
42
20
UR-B
50%
15
42
20
UR-C
50%
15
42
20
UR-D
50%
15
42
20
NOTES:
1
The required rear yard area is calculated by multiplying the required rear yard depth by the required lot width.
2
The required distance from side and rear lot lines for accessory private swimming pools shall be 10 feet in all districts. Any swimming pool with side walls over two feet in depth shall be enclosed in an impassable six-foot-high fence with a self-latching gate or an equivalent enclosure or means of protection from access to the pool as defined in the State Building Code. Self-enclosed pools shall be enclosed to a height of six feet above ground level with a self-latching gate or an equivalent impassable enclosure as approved by the Building Commissioner.
B. 
An accessory building attached to the principal building shall be considered as an integral part thereof and shall be subject to front, side and rear yard requirements applicable to the principal building. Accessory buildings in the "B" and "I" districts may be located on the lot so as not to violate the minimum front yard, height restrictions and minimum open space requirements set forth in the Table of Dimensional and Density Regulations. Other accessory structures shall be governed by the regulations for accessory buildings unless specifically exempted by the Board as a special exception.
[Amended 12-2-1974 by Ord. No. 18564; 12-18-1978 by Ord. No. 20211; 12-7-1989 by Ord. No. 1735; 5-1-1995 by Ord. No. 95-189]
In addition to the regulations in §§ 235-18 through 235-24 above, the following regulations shall apply:
A. 
Existing and new residential uses in all nonresidential districts shall be subject to the regulations for the particular type of dwelling in the UR-C District.
[Amended 4-6-2015 by Ord. No. 2015-90]
B. 
Except for planned developments for multifamily development, cluster residential development, planned unit development or commercial development, and except for community facilities and public utilities, only one principal structure shall be permitted on a lot. In the case of planned multifamily developments other than planned unit development, the minimum distance between the walls of such principal buildings which contain windows shall be twice the minimum side yard or side setback required in the district. The minimum lot area required per each individual dwelling unit, building or other unit or use shall be multiplied by the number of such units to obtain the minimum lot area required for the total tract of land. Other area regulations shall apply to the tract.
C. 
Corner lots.
[Amended 4-18-2023 by Order No. 2023-59]
(1) 
For a corner lot, the street frontage that is used to access the main entrance (typically identified by street address) of the structure from the street shall be considered a front yard. The other street frontage shall be considered a side yard.
(2) 
Of the remaining two yards, the yard with the shallower depth shall be considered a side yard and the yard with the deeper depth shall be considered the rear yard. If the remaining yards have the same depth, the owner can designate the side and rear yards.
D. 
At each end of a through lot, there shall be a setback depth required which is equal to the front yard depth required for the district in which each street frontage is located.
E. 
Projections into required yards or other required open spaces are permitted subject to the following:
(1) 
Balcony or bay window, limited in total length to 1/2 the length of the building, not more than two feet.
(2) 
Open terrace or steps or stoop, such as a porch, platform or entrance stairway, under four feet in height, up to 1/2 the required yard setback.
(3) 
Steps or stoop over four feet in height, windowsill, chimney, roof eave, fire escape, fire tower, storm enclosure or similar architectural features, not more than two feet.
(4) 
No permit shall be required for the erection or replacement of fixed or retractable awnings installed on one- and two-family dwellings, unless they project over public property.
[Amended 12-5-2011 by Ord. No. 12-10]
F. 
The provisions of this chapter governing the height of buildings shall not apply to chimneys, cooling towers, elevator bulkheads, skylights, ventilators, electronic equipment, elevator shafts and other necessary appurtenances usually carried above the roof; nor to domes, towers, stacks or spires, if not used for human occupancy and which occupy not more than 20% of the ground floor area of the building; nor to ornamental towers, observation towers, radio broadcasting towers, television and radio antennas and other like structures which do not occupy more than 20% of the lot area; nor to churches or public, agricultural or institutional buildings or private schools not conducted for profit that are primarily used for school purposes, provided that the proposed appurtenances are not located within the flight paths of an airport or heliport as defined by FAA regulations and approved by the FAA.
G. 
The maximum gross floor area for a commercial establishment in a BC District shall be 10,000 square feet.
H. 
Where the existing development along a block amounts to more than 50% of the block frontage, and where said development has an average setback less than required by this chapter, then any vacant lot setback may be reduced to said average of the existing development.
I. 
(Reserved)[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Former Subsection I, regarding gross floor area in dwellings and dwelling units, was repealed 4-18-2023 by Order No. 2023-89.
J. 
In all districts the lot width as measured at any point between the front lot line and the rear building line shall not be less than that prescribed in the Table of Dimensional and Density Regulations.
K. 
For a corner lot in a district with a required front yard setback, a fence, wall, or other structure shall not exceed three feet in height above the plane of the intersecting streets herein (also see § 202-4.1[2]):
[Amended 4-18-2023 by Order No. 2023-87]
(1) 
Within the triangular area formed by measuring 20 feet from the intersection of the property lot lines and bounded by a straight line connecting the two points;
(2) 
Notwithstanding § 235-25K(1), if a fence, wall, or similar structure is set back three feet from the lot line in the side yard as designated in § 235-25C, they are exempt from the height restrictions in this section; and
(3) 
Otherwise, § 235-25L applies.
235 235-25K(3).tif
[2]
Editor's Note: This Code section is pending codification.
L. 
For a noncorner lot, a fence, wall, or similar structure within the required front yard setback or from the front lot line to the line of the existing primary structure, whichever is less, shall not exceed three feet in height (also see § 202-4.1B). Height is measured from the grade of land where the structure is installed. Existing retaining walls may be replaced in kind.
[Amended 4-18-2023 by Order No. 2023-87]