Town of Orleans, MA Article IV Area Regulations

§ 164-20 General requirements.

[Amended 5-9-2005 ATM, Art. 36]

Subject to the provisions of §§ 164-4 and 164-43, a dwelling or structure hereafter erected shall be located on a lot having not less than the minimum requirements set forth in the schedule in § 164-21. For each dwelling unit or guesthouse on a lot, there shall be required forty thousand (40,000) square feet of contiguous upland as set forth in § 164-23 unless otherwise provided within this chapter. No lot occupied by a dwelling or structure shall be reduced in area to less than the minimum requirements, nor shall any lot be divided so that the distance between an existing dwelling or structure and the new lot line or new ways shall be less than the minimum requirements set forth in the schedule in § 164-21. In no case shall the total number of single family dwellings, accessory apartments and guesthouse(s) on any lot in the Residence District or on any lot in any other zoning district in which single family dwelling(s), accessory apartments(s) or guesthouse are permitted, exceed two (2).

§ 164-21 Schedule of Lot, Yard and Bulk Requirements.

[Amended 10-23-1985 STM, Art. 40]

A. The following shall be the lot, yard and bulk requirements:

[Amended 5-5-1981 ATM, Art. 49; 5-15-1989 ATM, Art. 62; 11-18-1991 ATM, Art. 3; 5-19-1997 ATM, Art. 29; 5-12-1998 ATM, Arts. 28, 29; 5-13-2002 ATM, Art. 24; 5-10-2004 ATM, Art. 24; 5-7-2007 ATM, Art. 23]

			Minimum Yard Dimensions (feet)
District	Minimum Lot Size (square feet)	Minimum Frontage (feet)	Front	Side	Rear	Maximum Building Height8,10 (feet)	Maximum Lot Shape Number
R	40,0005	1501,2	25	25	25	30	22
RB	—3	1001	25	25	25	30	N/A
LB11	—	—	25	10	10	30	N/A
GB11	—	—	25	10	10	30	N/A
VC11	—	—	See § 164-22, Subsection 1		30	3012	N/A
I11	30,000	100	25	107	107	30	N/A
CD	—	—	See § 164-15B(7)				—
SC	—	—	See § 164-14		—		—
MB11	—3	1004	25	25	25	30	N/A

NOTES:

¹ Refer to § 164-22H.

² Unless granted a Special Permit by the Board of Appeals for buildings in existence at the time of the passage of this amendment, i.e., March 1973.

³ The building coverage may not exceed fifteen percent (15%) of the lot.

⁴ Minimum frontage requirements shall not apply to lots with less than one hundred (100) feet and more than fifty (50) feet of frontage which existed prior to the creation of the RB and MB Districts and which are not in common ownership with any abutting lot.

⁵ The building coverage in a Residential District shall not exceed fifteen percent (15%) of the buildable upland. However, building coverage in a Residential District shall not exceed four thousand (4,000) square feet without the issuance of a Special Permit under the provisions of § 164-44. In no event shall the Board of Appeals be authorized to grant a Special Permit which would result in building coverage which exceeds fifteen percent (15%) of the buildable upland.

⁷ Except 50' set back from any wetland as defined in the Massachusetts Wetlands Protection Act, MGL C. 131 Sec. 40 and the Regulations issued thereunder, 310 CMR 10.04 as of April 1, 1983, or land shown on Assessor's Maps 8, 9, 10, and 11 as Town of Orleans Watershed.

⁸ See § 164-40.2 for the dimensional requirements for educational, municipal and religious uses.

¹⁰ Refer to § 164-39C(9) Height for communication structure height limitations.

¹¹ See also paragraph D, subparagraphs (3) and (4) in Section 164-34 for gross floor area ratio and impervious surface coverage.

¹² See Section 164-19.1 E for alternative building height in the Village Center.

B. Building separation. Any building intended for human habitation, except in licensed boys' or girls' camps, shall be separated from any other such building on the same lot by a distance equal to the required side yard unless connected with a solid roofed structure with a permanent floor to create usable space fit for occupancy or access between the two buildings.

[Amended 10-15-1986 STM, Art. 34; 5-10-2004 ATM, Art. 25; 5-9-2016 ATM, Art. 38]

C. In all zoning districts, all construction, with the exception of water-dependent facilities, such as piers, docks, floats, boathouses, structures used in conjunction with fishing and shellfishing and structures used for agricultural purposes, shall be set back a minmum distance equal to one and one-half (1 1/2) times the building height from any coastal bank, coastal beach, coastal dune, salt marsh, inland pond, lake or inland bank bordering on any pond or lake. "Building height," for the purpose of this section, shall be the vertical distance from the preexisting natural grade at the foundation on the side of a building facing the coastal bank, coastal beach, coastal dune, salt marsh, inland pond, lake or inland bank bordering on any pond or lake, as defined herein, to the highest point of the building(s). Notwithstanding anything contained in this section, no building shall be required to be set back more than fifty (50) feet from any coastal bank, coastal beach, coastal dune, salt marsh, inland pond, lake or inland bank bordering on any pond or lake. The terms "coastal bank," "coastal beach," "coastal dune," "salt marsh," "inland bank," "pond" or "lake," as used in this section, shall be defined as in the Massachusetts Wetlands Protection Act, MGL C. 131, § 40, and the regulations issued thereunder, 310 CMR 10.04, as of May, 2008.

[Added 5-5-1987 ATM, Art. 44; amended 5-11-2009 ATM, Art. 25]

§ 164-22 Modifications.

A. Exempted lots.

(1) A lot or parcel of land in a Residential District having an area, frontage, width or depth less than that required by this section may be developed for single residential use, provided that such lot or parcel complies with the specific exemptions of MGL C. 40A, § 6.6.

(2) One (1) single-family dwelling may be erected on any lot, regardless of a common ownership with that of adjoining land located in the same Residential District, which, at the time this subsection was adopted, March 9, 1971, contained at least fifteen thousand (15,000) square feet and had a minimum frontage of one hundred (100) feet or has fifty (50) feet of frontage on a cul-de-sac and the proposed structure is to be located on such lot so as to conform to the minimum requirements for such structures in effect at the time of the building.

(3) One (1) single family dwelling may be erected, enlarged, or maintained on any lot, regardless of a common ownership with that of adjoining land located in the same residential district, which existed on August 2, 1973 or which was shown on a preliminary plan prior to that date and which was further shown on a definitive plan which was subsequently filed and approved by the Planning Board, and contained at least 20,000 sq. ft. and had a minimum frontage of 120 ft. or has 50 ft of arc frontage on a cul-de-sac and is 120 ft. wide at the building line and the existing structure(s) or the proposed structure is located on such lot so as to conform with the minimum requirements of front, side and rear yard setbacks and to all other requirements for such structures in effect at the time of building.

[Amended 5-10-2010 ATM, Art. 26]

(4) Such nonconforming lots exempted under Subsections A(1), (2) and (3) may be increased in size or shape or their land area recombined without losing this exemption, so long as the change does not increase the actual or potential number of lots.

(5) 

Panhandle Lots. The Planning Board may waive the lot frontage requirements for up to two (2) lots on a subdivision plan of land located in the Residence District R. Each lot shall be served by a separate access area, although the Planning Board may require the use of common driveways. These access areas must be approved by the Planning Board and clearly shown on the plan. The access area shall not be used in determining minimum lot area. Each such lot must meet the following requirements:

[Amended 5-9-1989 ATM, Art. 25; 5-12-1992 ATM, Art. 18; 5-8-2023 ATM by Art. 64]

(1) The lot shall be capable of containing a circle with diameter equal to the frontage normally required in that district.

(2) Panhandle frontage shall be at least thirty feet.

(3) The width of the lot, at any point between the street line and the proposed building setback line, shall be no less than twenty (20) feet.

(6) One (1) single-family dwelling may be erected on any lot, regardless of a common ownership with that of adjoining land located in the same Residential District, which, at the time this subsection was adopted, May 6, 1982, contained at least forty thousand (40,000) square feet and had a minimum frontage of one hundred fifty (150) square feet or fifty (50) feet of arc frontage on a dead-end turnaround and is one hundred twenty (120) feet wide at the building line or was an approved panhandle lot under Subsection A(5) above and contained at least twenty thousand (20,000) square feet of buildable upland and the proposed structure is to be located on such lot so as to conform to minimum requirements for such structures in effect at the time of the building.

(7) (Reserved)[1]

[1] Editor's Note: Former Subsection A(7), which provided exempted lot details, as amended, became null and void 5-6-2008 and has been removed from this bylaw at the direction of the Town.

(8) One (1) single-family dwelling may be erected on any lot in a Residential District which, at the time this subsection was adopted, May 7, 1984, contained at least forty thousand (40,000) square feet, of which a minimum of thirty thousand (30,000) square feet shall be of contiguous upland, as set forth in § 164-20, General requirements.

(9) Commercial Lots. A lot or parcel of land in the Industrial District which existed at the time this amendment was adopted may be developed for commercial use provided the structure is located on the lot so as to conform with the minimum setbacks in effect at the time of construction.

[Added 5-15-1989 ATM, Art. 62; amended 5-10-1999 ATM, Art. 20]

(10) One single-family dwelling may be erected on any lot pre-existing the passage of Section 164-22A(5) which had less than the required frontage and was shown on an approved subdivision plan.

[Added 5-9-1989 ATM, Art. 25]

(11) One (1) single-family or two-family dwelling may be erected on any lot located in the General Business, Limited Business, or Village Center District, regardless of common ownership with that of adjoining land located in the same district, which existed on January 1, 2023 and contained at least twenty thousand (20,000) s.f. of buildable upland and had a minimum frontage of one hundred (100) feet.

[Added 5-8-2023 ATM by Art. 63]

B. Corner lots. A corner lot shall maintain front yard requirements for each street frontage, and at least one (1) of the remaining yards shall be a rear yard.

C. Appurtenant open space. No yard or other open space required for a building by this chapter shall, during the existence of such building, be occupied by or counted as open space for another building.

D. Projections. The projection of steps eaves, chimneys, cornices, bay windows, and other building elements into any required yard shall be allowed. In no event shall the projection of steps and stoops exceed 30 square feet in area nor shall it be covered by a structure.

[Amended 5-7-2007 ATM, Art. 25]

E. Visual corner clearance. In any district, no structure, fence, planting or off-street parking [except a transparent fence in which the solid area is not more than five percent (5%) of the total area] shall be maintained between horizontal parallel planes two and one-half (2 1/2) feet and eight (8) feet above street level within the triangular area prescribed by two (2) street lines and a straight line connecting points on such lines fifteen (15) feet distant from the point of intersection.

F. Location of accessory buildings. No accessory building shall be located within a required front yard, nor in a Residence, Rural Business or Marine Business District shall any accessory building be located closer to any principal building or any lot line than a distance equal to the height of such accessory building. No fence or other structure enclosing animals, except house pets, shall be within fifty (50) feet of any lot line. Generators, heating/ventilation/air conditioning units, pool pumps and filtration systems and the like shall be no closer to any lot line than ten (10) feet.

[Amended 5-8-1995 ATM, Art. 14; 5-8-2023 ATM by Art. 65]

G. Location of recreational facilities. Ground-level tennis courts, other paved game surfaces and unenclosed ground-level swimming pools shall be no closer to any lot line than ten (10) feet. Elevated court games and elevated or enclosed swimming pools shall be considered accessory buildings.

H. Lots may be created having a frontage of fifty (50) feet of arc frontage on a dead-end turnaround, provided that the lot in every other respect meets the requirements of § 164-21 and is at least one hundred twenty (120) feet wide at the building line. The "building line," for the purposes of this subsection, shall be defined as follows: a line which measures at least one hundred twenty (120) feet between the side lot lines measured perpendicular to mid-lot road frontage radial.

I. Yard requirements in the VC District.

[Added 10-23-1985 STM, Art. 40]

(1) The minimum setback for a front yard shall be fifteen (15) feet or, if smaller, the front yard existing on the premises on October 1, 1985, or, if smaller, the average of the front yards existing on adjacent lots. The maximum setback for a front yard shall be twenty-five (25) feet or, if greater, the shallowest setback where the distance between lot line, measured parallel to the street, exceeds fifty (50) feet. However, no maximum setback is required for development where a building exists and is to be retained on the lot. The required minimum front yard may contain pedestrian areas, terraces, landscaped areas and required driveways approximately perpendicular to the street.

[Amended 10-15-1986 STM, Art. 34]

(2) Side and rear yards shall be a minimum of ten (10) feet or more, except that, by Special Permit by the Board of Appeals, following consultation with the Fire Chief and Board of Health, said side and rear yards may be reduced to zero (0) for party wall construction, or access for disabled persons, provided that adequate access is assured for fire or other emergency and public services and that satisfactory provisions have been made for storm drainage and sewage disposal.

[Amended 5-11-2009 ATM, Art. 26]

(3) Side yards shall contain no parking spaces.

§ 164-23 Minimum lot size conditions.

The minimum required area of a lot, when used for building purposes, shall not be less than the minimum required by this chapter for the district in which it is located. Said lot shall not be interpreted to include any area below mean water level on freshwater and below mean high water on tidal water or within the limits of any defined way, nor shall less than forty thousand (40,000) square feet consist of contiguous upland (see § 164-4), exclusive of marsh, bog, swamp and wetland, except as provided for in § 164-22A.