[HISTORY: Adopted by the Special Town Meeting
of the Town of North Reading 11-25-1968 by Art. 10, approved 1-16-1969. Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Excavations — See Ch. 62.
No person shall strip or remove any soil, except
from land in public use, for purposes not in conformity with the intent
and purpose of this by-law. The removal of soil, loam, sand, peat,
or gravel shall be in accordance with one of the following procedures.
[Amended 6-4-2018 ATM
by Art. 28, approved 9-21-2018]
A.
For general removal (sand pit) operations, a written
permit must be obtained therefore from the Select Board after a public
hearing, at which time all interested persons shall be given the opportunity
to be heard. At least fourteen (14) days notice of the time and place
of such hearing shall, at the expense of the applicant for a permit,
be published in a newspaper of general circulation in the Town.
B.
Before granting any such permit, the Select Board
shall give due consideration to the location of the place from which
it is proposed to remove soil, loam, sand, peat, or gravel, to the
general character of the neighborhood surrounding such location, and
to the effect of the proposed removal on such neighborhood, to the
amount of noise, dust, and vibration likely to result from the proposed
removal, to the extent, depth, and contour of the location and surrounding
neighborhood from which such removal is proposed, to the general safety
of the public in the immediate vicinity of such location and to the
use to which such location has been put prior to the application for
a permit. A determination shall be made as to the existence of any
other gravel pit in the close vicinity of the proposed location, the
existence of which shall normally be considered an inhibiting factor
in granting the proposed permit. No permit granted by the Select Board
shall be valid for a period in excess of three (3) years from its
date of issue.
C.
As part of and set forth in such permit shall be the
restriction forbidding excavation to a depth below the mean grade
of an adjacent serving street in the immediate vicinity of the street.
No excavation shall be such as to alter the direction of a watercourse
or to cause surface water to gather as in a sump or swale. In addition,
the Select Board shall impose and set forth in the permit such other
restrictions and conditions as they deem reasonable and in the public
interest, including but not limited to the following:
(1)
The duration of time during which the permit may be
exercised;
(2)
The extent, depth, and contour of the area of removal;
(3)
The grade of the slope of the banks of the area of
removal;
(4)
The proximity of such operations to any public way;
(5)
The hours of the day during which such operations
may be permitted;
(6)
The hours of the day during which vehicles may be
loaded with soil, loam, sand, peat, and gravel and during which such
loaded vehicles may be permitted to leave such location;
(7)
The use of covers over soil, loam, sand, peat, or
gravel loaded in vehicles for removal from the area;
(8)
The shoring and reinforcement of the banks of any
excavation; and
(9)
The placement of topsoil and the replanting of the
area of removal and screening the same from public view.
D.
In the renewal of any permit upon its expiration,
the Select Board shall give full consideration to the manner in which
the permit holder has lived up to his contractual relations with the
Town, and under no circumstances shall renewal be granted where there
has been a history of repeated failure to live up to restrictions
and requirements of the previous permit.
A.
Where soil is to be removed in connection with the
preparation of a subdivision, the soil, loam, sand, peat, or gravel
may, under normal circumstances, be removed solely from the road down
to the grades indicated on the subdivision plan only after the approval
of said plan by the Community Planning Commission and the issuance
of a permit by the Select Board. Where special circumstances exist
requiring regrading of other than the road areas, the developer shall
with the approval of the Community Planning Commission, file a topographic
plan showing the proposed initial and final contours of the area involved.
In these circumstances, sufficient loam must be retained on the subdivision
for regrading to a minimum depth of six (6) inches over the exposed
subsoil.
[Amended 10-2-2000 ATM by Art. 11, approved 3-29-2001; 6-4-2018 ATM by Art. 28, approved 9-21-2018]
B.
Where soil is to be removed in connection with the preparation of a specific site for building, removal may take place only after the issuance of a building permit by the Building Inspector. Removal will normally be only from the area for the building, the driveways, from parking areas, and from areas where removal is specifically required by the Board of Health in connection with disposal systems. Where special circumstances exist requiring general regrading, removal of peat, etc., the builder may file a rough plan and request for additional soil removal with the Building Inspector as provided in § 149-4 below. In all cases, sufficient loam shall be retained on the premises for regrading to a minimum depth of six (6) inches over the subsoil.
Removal of miscellaneous amounts of soil not covered under the provisions of § 149-2 or § 149-3 above is permitted, provided the removal is concomitant with the improvement of the property from which removal takes place and provided the removal is in accord with the expressed intent and purpose of the provisions of this by-law.
A.
Removal of aggregate quantities of less than fifty
(50) cubic yards from any one general site requires no formal permit.
Where the removal of soil in quantities in excess of fifty (50) cubic
yards but less than five hundred (500) cubic yards is desired, application
must be made to the Building Inspector for a miscellaneous soil removal
permit. If appropriate, the Building Inspector, with the concurrence
of the Town Engineer, may issue the permit. The permit, if issued,
shall indicate the approximate quantity of soil to be removed, the
purpose of removal, and the location of the site of removal. The permit
shall also specify that upon completion of excavation, exposed subsoil
shall be graded and covered with loam to a minimum depth of six (6)
inches and that failure to do so shall be deemed a violation of the
by-law.
B.
Where special circumstances exist which indicate the removal of soil in excess of five hundred (500) cubic yards but for which a general permit under § 149-2 above is not appropriate, a permit for a larger amount up to two thousand (2,000) cubic yards may be issued, provided that it additionally has the approval of and bears the signature of the Chairman of the Select Board or his designated representative.
[Amended 6-4-2018 ATM
by Art. 28, approved 9-21-2018]
C.
Except where the removal under this § 149-4 is done in connection with the formation or enlargement of a pond, excavation shall not be permitted below the mean grade of the street or road serving the property where the excavation is in the immediate vicinity of the street and, in any case shall not be such as to change the direction of flow of a watercourse or to cause surface water to gather as in a sump or swale. Pits for burying large rocks, stumps, or other large objects shall immediately be backfilled for safety reasons.
[Amended 10-2-1989 ATM by Art. 9, approved 12-7-1989]
The penalty for violation of this by-law shall
be as follows: for the first offense fifty ($50) dollars, for the
second offense, one hundred ($100) dollars, and for the third and
subsequent offenses, two hundred ($200) dollars.
