[HISTORY: Adopted by the Annual Town Meeting
of the Town of North Reading 3-18-1963 by Art. 65, approved 4-10-1963. Amendments noted where applicable.]
[Amended 10-17-1977 OTM by Art. 16, approved 2-28-1978]
No person, firm, or corporation shall use the
public ways or streets of the Town of North Reading to transport or
convey thereon sand, fill, gravel, or other like materials by open
motor vehicle, truck, or trailer, unless the cargo shall be covered
by properly secured tarpaulin or other suitable covering material.
Penalty for violation of this section shall be a fine of fifty dollars
($50.00) for each violation.
[Added 3-12-1973 ATM by Art. 2, approved 10-11-1973]
The riding or leading of horses on a public
way shall be prohibited between one half (1/2) hour after sundown
and one half (1/2) hour before sunrise.
[Added 3-12-1973 ATM by Art. 2, approved 10-11-1973; amended 10-2-2000 OTM by Art.
13, approved 3-29-2001]
No person shall break or dig up any sidewalk,
curbing, street, highway, or public way, or place thereon any staging
or other temporary structure, or move any building in or along the
same without first obtaining proper insurance coverage and a written
permit from the Director of Public Works. Any permit issued hereunder
shall be in force for such time as the Director of Public Works may
specify and shall be subject to such conditions as he may prescribe.
Lighted lanterns or similar warning devices and proper barriers shall
be so placed so as to protect travelers from danger.
[Added 3-12-1973 ATM by Art. 2, approved 10-11-1973; amended 10-17-1977 OTM by Art.
20, approved 2-28-1978]
A.
No person shall, when constructing, reconstructing,
or altering any building or structure located on a lot bordering on
an accepted public way within the Town, or when excavating, grading,
or landscaping on such a lot, cause any construction equipment or
vehicle to pass over any curbing or sidewalk bordering said public
way without having first obtained a permit therefor from the Director
of Public Works. It shall be a condition of the granting of any such
permit that any damage occurring to the way, sidewalk, or curbing
as a result of the use of said equipment or vehicle shall be repaired
by the holder of the permit at his own expense.
B.
No person shall remove or alter any section of a curbing
without having first obtained a permit from the Director of Public
Works.
C.
No person shall break or dig up any sidewalk, curb,
street, highway, or public way without a permit. A person issued a
permit under this section shall restore the sidewalk, curb, street,
highway, or public way to its original condition or to a condition
satisfactory to the Director of Public Works and shall maintain such
restoration for a period of two years. Application for permits must
be filed with the Director of Public Works, and said Director of Public
Works may revoke said permit at any time and may require a bond before
the work commences.
[Added 3-12-1973 ATM by Art. 2, approved 10-11-1973]
When construction on any sidewalk, street, highway,
or public way is to be performed, there shall be a police officer
to direct traffic if, in the opinion of the Chief of Police, such
officer is necessary. The expense of such officer shall be assumed
by the party or parties doing the construction work.
[Added 3-12-1973 ATM by Art. 3, approved 10-11-1973; amended 10-8-1981 OTM by Art.
16, approved 3-2-1982; 10-2-2000 OTM by Art. 13, approved 3-29-2001]
No person shall place or cause to be placed
on any public sidewalk, street, highway, public way, or upon any of
the common lands of the Town any gravel, dirt, wood, lumber, snow,
or any other material without the permission of the Director of Public
Works.
[Added 3-12-1973 ATM by Art. 2, approved 10-11-1973]
No person shall cause any water or other liquid
substances to run or be discharged from any building or land owned
by him or under his control on or across any sidewalk, street, highway,
or public way, except that any person may wash, with water from hose
or pipe, windows or other parts of a building or vehicles on private
property without danger to the public safety.
[Added 10-23-1980 OTM by Art. 7, approved 1-8-1981; amended 10-5-1992 OTM by Art.
8, approved 1-6-1993]
The Town shall not repair or maintain private
ways, except that the Town may make repairs on private roads provided:
A.
That such repairs are necessary to keep such ways
open for emergency vehicles;
B.
That only such drainage work shall be performed as
is necessary to keep such ways passable;
C.
That the repairs are required by public necessity;
D.
That at least 1 percent of the abutters of any private
way which is to be the subject of repairs shall have previously made
a request for road repairs, and then the decision as to whether to
make repairs shall lie in the exclusive discretion of the Department
of Public Works;
E.
That no betterment charges shall be assessed;
F.
That the liability limit of the Town on account of
damages in any fashion caused by such repairs shall not exceed ten
thousand ($10,000) dollars;
G.
That such ways shall have been open to public use
for at least six (6) years prior to the passage of the by-law; and
H.
No cash deposit shall be required for said repairs.
[Added 10-7-2002 OTM by Art. 3, approved 12-30-2002; amended 10-5-2015 OTM by Art. 19, approved 1-14-2016; 6-5-2017 ATM by Art. 26, approved 9-21-2017]
A.
[2]The owner, or any other person having the care of any non-residential building abutting upon or any part of which stands within fifteen (15) feet of the line of any street, the roof of which building pitches or slopes toward the street or sidewalk, shall fit or provide such roof with snow barriers or guards sufficient to prevent the sliding of snow and ice from such building onto any part of the street or sidewalk. Failure to comply with the requirements of this section may result in the Town causing the snow and ice to be removed from the public sidewalks, and the costs of such removal, if not paid by the tenant, occupant, or other person within thirty (30) days of the issuance of a statement therefor by the Town, shall be assessed and collected in accordance with the provisions of General Laws Chapter 80. The foregoing shall not limit the remedies set forth in Subsection C.[3]
[2]
Editor’s Note: Former Subsection A, which immediately preceded this subsection and required the tenant or occupant of a building or land used for nonresidential purposes to clear sidewalks of snow and ice within 24 hours after the cessation of snowfall, was repealed 10-15-2018 OTM by Art. 21, approved 2-6-2019. Said Art. 21 also included an effective date of 7-1-2019 and redesignated former Subsections B through E as Subsections A through D, respectively.
[3]
Editor’s Note: This reference to Subsection C originally read "Subsection D." The reference was changed to read "Subsection C" due to the redesignation of the remaining subsections following removal of Subsection A (see Editor’s Note at Subsection A above) with the permission of the Town Clerk. See § 1-1.1 of the Code for authorization to make such changes.
B.
No person shall lay, throw or place or cause to be placed any snow or ice on any portion of any street or sidewalk within the town, which has been cleared or plowed for travel. No snow shall be plowed across any public way by any private plow to deposit snow from one property to another. No snow shall be deposited in such a way as to obstruct the operation of any fire hydrant, including Fire Department connections to buildings, cisterns and dry hydrants. This provision shall be in addition to the provisions of § 158-6.
C.
This bylaw shall be enforceable through the non-criminal disposition provided for in § 1-5. The penalty for violation shall be $300 per offense. Each day or portion thereof during which a violation continues shall constitute a separate offense. The Chief of the North Reading Police Department or his/her designee and the Director of the North Reading Department of Public Works or his/her designee shall be authorized to enforce this bylaw.
D.
To the extent that any particular provision of this
bylaw is determined to be invalid, such invalidation shall not affect
the validity of any other provision.[4]
[4]
Editor's Note: Former § 158-10,
Utility poles, added 4-4-2002 ATM by Art. 8, approved 6-11-2002, which
immediately followed this section, was repealed 4-3-2006 ATM by Art.
26, approved 6-27-2006.
