Trailers and other movable structures shall
not be occupied as dwellings; provided, however, that for reasons
of necessity or hardship, the Board of Appeals, after public notice
and a hearing, may grant temporary occupancy permits for such structures
for dwelling purposes for not more than one year at a time in any
part of the Town, or except as permitted by state law.
The removal of sod, loam, sand, gravel, or other
products from a lot is prohibited. However, where such removal is
permitted as an accessory use, the Board of Appeals, subject to the
Town bylaws, may authorize incidental removal by the grant of a special
permit. In such cases, the Board shall impose conditions relative
to the hours of operation and routes for transporting the material
through the Town and impose requirements for regrading and planting
the area to suitable cover when operations are completed. Said Board
shall require a bond or other security for compliance with the terms
of its authorization.
6.3.1.
General. For the purpose of promoting the safety
of the residents of the Town, an application for a building permit
for a residential structure shall include a plan, at a scale of 1
inch = 100 feet, showing the driveway serving the premises, and showing
existing and proposed topography at ten-foot or three-meter contour
intervals. All driveways shall be constructed in a manner ensuring
reasonable and safe access from the public way serving the premises
to within a distance of 100 feet or less from the building site of
the residential structure on the premises, for all vehicles, including,
but not limited to, emergency, fire, and police vehicles. The Building
Inspector shall not issue a building permit for the principal structure
on the premises unless all of the following conditions have been met:
6.3.2.
Location. Wherever possible, a driveway shall
not be located within 10 feet of any side or rear lot line.
6.3.3.
Maximum distance. The distance of any driveway
measured from the street line to the point where the principal building
is proposed shall not exceed a distance of 500 feet, unless the Board
of Appeals grants a special permit after a determination that said
driveway will provide safe and reasonable access for fire, police
and emergency vehicles.
6.3.4.
Grade: The grade of each driveway where it intersects
with the public way shall not exceed 6% on major streets, 9% on secondary
streets, or 9% on minor streets for a distance of 20 feet from the
travel surface of the public way, unless the Board of Appeals shall
grant a special permit after a determination that said driveway will
provide safe and reasonable access for fire, police and emergency
vehicles.
[Amended 5-14-2013 ATM by Art. 6]
6.3.5.
Access. Driveways serving the premises shall
provide access through the required frontage of the serviced lot,
except in the case of a common driveway under Section 6.3.6, herein.
6.3.6.
Common driveways. Common driveways serving not
more than two lots may be allowed on special permit by the Board of
Appeals. A common driveway must satisfy all of the conditions in this
section, as well as all of the following conditions:
1.
The center line intersection with the street center
line shall not be less than 45 degrees;
2.
A minimum cleared width of 12 feet shall be maintained
over its entire length;
3.
A roadway surface of a minimum of four inches of graded
gravel, placed over a properly prepared base, graded and compacted
to drain from the crown shall be installed;
4.
The driveway shall be located entirely within the
boundaries of the lots being served by the driveway;
5.
Proposed documents shall be submitted to the Planning
Board demonstrating that, through easements, restrictive covenants,
or other appropriate legal devices, the maintenance, repair, snow
removal, and liability for the common driveway shall remain perpetually
the responsibility of the private parties, or their successors-in-interest.
Driveway openings on the same side of the street
shall be separated by at least 100 feet if on the same premises, or
at least 50 feet if on separate premises, measured center line to
center line at the street line. At intersections with North Main Street
and South Main Street, no driveway side line shall be located within
20 feet of the intersection of the street way lines. No driveway opening
shall exceed 24 feet in width at the street line unless necessity
of greater width is demonstrated by the applicant and the opening
is designed consistent with the Massachusetts Department of Highways
Regulations, Section 10A-9 or subsequent revisions. All driveways
serving five or more parking spaces shall be constructed with a minimum
edge radius of five feet on both sides. Lot divisions which would
preclude meeting the above requirements shall provide access easements
or other means of satisfying those requirements, on each lot.
6.5.1.
Special permit required. Wireless telecommunication
facilities may be allowed by special permit issued by the Board of
Appeals in the following districts and areas:
1.
The M-1 Light Industrial District;
2.
The IH Interstate Highway Business District; and
3.
The I Institutional District overlaying the R-1b Residential
District on land owned by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. This area within the Institutional
District is defined as Lot 20A and Lot 16 respectively located off
Maple Street at the Danvers Town Line and as shown on the Middleton
Assessor's Map No. 20 and consisting of approximately 60 acres.
6.5.2.
Procedures. The procedures to be followed shall
be according to the Rules and Regulations for Granting Special Permits
adopted by the Board of Appeals. A building permit from the Building
Commissioner for the Town shall be required for the installation of
any antenna support structures, antenna attached to buildings or other
independent support structures and unmanned equipment buildings developed
for a wireless communication system. Applications for a permit shall
be accompanied by the following:
1.
Four complete sets of construction documents showing
the proposed method of installation.
2.
A copy of the manufacturer's recommended installation
instructions.
3.
A certified plot plan to scale showing the antenna,
property and setback lines, easements, power lines, all structures
and the distances from all residential zoning districts.
4.
Certification by a structural or civil engineer registered
by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts that the proposed installation
complies with the latest edition of the Massachusetts State Building
Code.
5.
Certification shall be submitted stating that all
antennas and antenna support structures shall comply with the height
and illumination restrictions established by the FAA (Federal Aviation
Administration) or other applicable federal or state agencies.
6.5.3.
Colocation. The shared use of existing antenna
support structures and approved antenna support structure sites shall
be preferred to the construction of new such facilities. The antenna
support structures must be constructed to support a minimum of two
antenna arrays from two separate wireless communication system providers
or users.
6.5.4.
Tower illumination. Towers shall not be illuminated
except as required by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) or
other applicable federal or state agencies.
6.5.5.
Radiation standards. Wireless communication
systems shall comply with current Federal Communications Commission
(FCC) standards for non-ionizing electromagnetic radiation (NIER).
The applicant shall submit verification that the proposed site plan
ensures compliance with these standards.
6.5.6.
Fencing. A fence shall be required around the
antenna support structure and other equipment, unless the antenna
is mounted on a building or other independent support structure. The
fence shall not be less than eight feet in height measured from finish
grade. Access to the antenna support structure shall be through a
locked gate.
6.5.7.
Landscaping. Landscaping shall be required to
screen as much of the antenna support structure as possible, the fence
surrounding the antenna support structure, and any other ground-level
features, such as a building. A combination of existing native vegetation,
natural topography, man-made features such as berms, walls, and decorative
fences and any other features can be used instead of landscaping if
those features achieve the same degree of screening as the required
landscaping.
6.5.8.
Signs. There shall be only one sign allowed
on any wireless communication tower or antenna support structure.
Any such sign shall be no greater in size than three square feet and
shall be limited to the identification of the owner/operator of such
facility. Signs advertising any products or services not pertinent
to the operation of the facility shall be prohibited. Any such sign
allowed shall not be placed at a height of greater than eight feet
from ground level.
6.5.9.
Setbacks. Antenna support structures and unmanned
equipment buildings shall meet the minimum building setback requirements
for both the IH District and this Section 6.5. In addition, antenna
support structures shall be set back from all other buildings and
structures a minimum of 150% of the height of such antenna support
structure.
6.5.10.
Abandonment. In the event the use of any wireless
communication system, which would include any antenna support structure,
has been discontinued for a period for 180 consecutive days, the antenna
support structure shall be deemed to be abandoned. Determination of
the date of abandonment shall be made by the Building Commissioner,
who shall have the right to request documentation and/or affidavits
from the antenna support structure owner/operator regarding the issue
of usage. Upon determination of abandonment, the owner/operator of
the antenna support structure shall remove the antenna support structure
within 90 days of receipt of notice from the Building Commissioner
notifying the owner/operator of such abandonment. If such antenna
support structure is not removed within said 90 days, the Building
Commissioner may cause such antenna support structure to be removed
at the owner's expense. If there are two or more users of an antenna
support structure, then this provision shall not become effective
until all users cease using the antenna support structure.
6.5.11.
Interstate Highway Business District.
1.
Antenna support structures shall be 200 feet from
all residential zoning districts, measured from the base of the antenna
support structure to the nearest residential zoning district boundary.
2.
The unmanned equipment buildings shall not exceed
750 feet of gross floor area and shall not exceed 12 feet in overall
height.
3.
The overall height of antenna support structures,
including the antenna, shall not exceed 150 feet. Antennas placed
on buildings or other support structures shall comply with the maximum
height requirement.
6.5.12.
Institutional Overlay District. Development
standards shall be those set forth for the Interstate Highway Business
District, above.
6.6.1.
General. An industrial park shall have a minimum
lot size of at least 320,000 square feet (7.346 acres). This requirement
does not prohibit the construction of more than one building on a
lot of less than 320,000 square feet in the M-1 District, provided
that the lot meets all other requirements of the M-1 District.
6.6.2.
Permitted uses. The following uses shall be
permitted in an industrial park:
1.
Research, experimental or testing laboratories with
incidental processing or pilot manufacture.
2.
Office building.
3.
Wholesale establishment, the principal activities
of which shall be the preparation, storage, transfer or distribution
of goods (such as building materials, automobile parts, etc.).
[Amended 5-12-2009 ATM by Art. 28]
4.
Plants for bottling of beverages or packaging food
products; for light metal fabrication or finishing; for manufacture
of electrical or electronic devices or appliances; for manufacture
of medical, dental or drafting instruments, optical goods or watches;
for manufacture of advertising displays, awnings, shades, bakery products,
books, brushes, candy, clothing or textile products, cosmetics, dairy
products, greeting cards, jewelry, ice, finished leather, and toys;
and for similar manufacturing activities.
5.
Parking, indoor storage and other accessory uses customarily
associated with permitted uses.
[Added 5-12-2009 ATM by Art. 27]
6.7.1.
General.
No building permit shall be issued unless the lot to be built upon
has frontage on a street, as defined in this Zoning Bylaw, or, if
it is on an unconstructed way, such way shall be constructed in accordance
with the Planning Board rules and regulations providing adequate access
to existing lots. A street plan based on the criteria set forth in
the regulations relating to adequate access shall be approved by the
Middleton Planning Board.
[Added 5-9-2017 ATM by
Art. 19]
6.8.1.
Definition. "Marijuana," "marijuana establishment," "marijuana
product," "marijuana retailer" shall have the meaning as set forth
in the "Regulation of the Use and Distribution of Marijuana Not Medically
Prescribed Act of 2016."
6.8.2.
Purpose. By vote at the state election on November 8, 2016,
the voters of the commonwealth approved a law entitled the Regulation
and Taxation of Marijuana Act (the "Act"), regulating the control
and production and distribution of marijuana under a system of licenses
and regulations. This Act was revised by Chapter 351 of the Acts of
2016, which added six months to the timeline for implementation of
legalized retail marijuana. Currently under the Zoning Bylaw, a marijuana
retailer or establishment is not a permitted use in the Town and any
regulations promulgated by the Cannabis Control Commission are expected
to provide guidance to the Town in regulating marijuana sales and
distribution. The regulation of marijuana raises novel and complex
legal, planning, and public safety issues and the Town needs time
to study and consider the regulation of marijuana retail or distribution
centers and address such novel and complex issues, as well as to address
the potential impact of the state regulations on local zoning and
to undertake a planning process to consider amending the Zoning Bylaw
regarding regulation of marijuana retail sales and distribution and
other uses related to the regulation of marijuana. The deadline for
the Cannabis Control Commission to adopt initial regulations is March
15, 2018, according to the new deadlines contained in Chapter 351
of the Acts of 2016. The Town intends to adopt a temporary moratorium
on the use of land and structures in the Town for marijuana retail
and distribution so as to allow the Town sufficient time to engage
in a planning process to address the effects of such structures and
uses in the Town and to enact bylaws in a manner consistent with sound
land use planning goals and objectives.
6.8.3.
Temporary moratorium. For the reasons set forth above and notwithstanding
any other provision of the Zoning Bylaw to the contrary, the Town
of Middleton hereby adopts a temporary moratorium on the use of land
or structures for "marijuana," "marijuana establishment," "marijuana
product," and "marijuana retailer." The moratorium shall be in effect
through June 30, 2018. During the moratorium period, the Town shall
undertake a planning process to address the potential impacts of marijuana
in the Town, consider the Cannabis Control Commission regulations
regarding "marijuana," "marijuana establishment," "marijuana product,"
and "marijuana retailer" and related uses, and shall consider adopting
new Zoning Bylaws to address the impact and operation of marijuana
establishments and marijuana retailers and related uses.
[1]
Editor's Note: Former Section 6.8, Temporary moratorium on
medical marijuana treatment centers, added 5-14-2013 ATM by Art. 6,
was repealed 5-12-2015 ATM by Art. 39.
[Added 5-9-2017 ATM by
Art. 21]
6.9.1.
Prohibition. Consistent with MGL c. 94G, § 3(a)(2),
all types of marijuana establishments as defined in MGL c. 94G, § 1(j),
to include all marijuana cultivators, marijuana testing facilities,
marijuana product manufacturers, marijuana retailers or any other
types of licensed marijuana-related businesses, shall be prohibited
within the Town of Middleton.
