[Amended 5-10-2004 ATM by Art. 15]
The purpose of this chapter is to protect the
wetlands, related water resources and adjoining land areas in the
Town by controlling activities deemed by the Conservation Commission
("the Commission") to have an impact or cumulative effect upon wetland
values, including but not limited to the following: public water supply,
groundwater and groundwater quality, water quality in the numerous
ponds of the Town, flood control, erosion and sedimentation control,
storm damage prevention, prevention of water pollution, wildlife and
wildlife habitat, fisheries, shellfish, aquaculture, marshland and
eelgrass beds, marine and shoreline ecology, rare and endangered species
habitat, including plant species, and passive recreational enjoyment
of wetlands and adjoining uplands (collectively, the "interests protected
by this chapter").
[Amended 5-10-2004 ATM by Art. 15]
The following words, for the purpose of this
chapter of these bylaws, shall, unless another meaning is clearly
apparent for the way in which the word is used, have the following
meanings:
ADJACENT UPLAND RESOURCE AREA
Means the land within 100 feet of any freshwater wetland, coastal wetland, marsh, wet meadow, bog, vernal pool or swamp, bank, beach, dune or flat, any lake, river, pond, stream, estuary, watercourse or the ocean, or land subject to flooding or inundation by groundwater, surface water, or tidal action as articulated in §
272-3 of the bylaw. It shall also mean the land within 200 feet of a perennial stream or river.
[Amended 5-12-2014 ATM
by Art. 46]
ALTER
Means, without limitation, the following activities when
undertaken to, upon, within or affecting resource areas protected
by this chapter:
A.
Removal, excavation or dredging of soil, sand,
gravel, or aggregate materials of any kind;
B.
Changing of preexisting drainage characteristics,
flushing characteristics, salinity distribution, sedimentation patterns,
flow patterns, or flood retention characteristics;
C.
Drainage or other disturbance of water level
or water table;
D.
Dumping, discharging or filling with any material;
E.
Placing of fill, or removal of material;
F.
Driving of piles, erection of buildings, or
structures of any kind;
G.
Placing of obstructions or objects in water;
H.
Destruction of plant life including cutting
of trees;
I.
Changing water temperature, biochemical oxygen
demand, or other physical or chemical characteristics of water;
J.
Any activities, changes or work which may cause
or tend to contribute to pollution of any body of water or groundwater.
FISHERIES and/or MARINE FISHERIES
Means:
A.
The fish and shellfish resource itself, including
all fish and shellfish found in fresh, salt or brackish waters and
any organisms including plants that make up part of the food chain
of such animals regardless of their commercial value; and/or
B.
The recreational or commercial catching of fish
or shellfish from the ocean or from freshwater bodies.
NO-DISTURB ZONE
Means that part of an adjacent upland resource area that
extends 50 feet landward from an abutting resource area and which
is designated by the Commission to be an area where no substantial
activity (other than maintenance of an already existing structure),
which will result in the building within or upon, filling, removing,
or altering of land, shall be permitted by the Commission, except
for that which is allowed under a conservation variance.
PASSIVE RECREATION
Means activities which have no significant adverse impact
on the natural environment and are consistent with the rules and regulations
promulgated by the Commission to achieve the purposes of this chapter.
PERSON
Means any individual, group of individuals, association,
partnership, corporation, company, business organization, trust, estate,
the Commonwealth or political subdivision thereof to the extent subject
to Town bylaws, administrative agency, public or quasi-public corporation
or body, this municipality, and any other legal entity, its legal
representatives, agents or assigns.
[Amended 5-10-2004 ATM by Art. 15]
Except as permitted by the Commission or as
provided in this chapter, no person shall remove, fill, dredge, build
upon, or alter the following resource areas:
A. Upon or within 100 feet of any freshwater wetland,
coastal wetland, marsh, wet meadow, vernal pool, bog or swamp;
B. Upon or within 100 feet of any bank, beach, dune or
flat;
C. Any lake, river, pond, stream, estuary, watercourse,
or the ocean;
D. Within 100 feet of any lake, pond, stream, estuary,
watercourse, or the ocean;
E. Within 200 feet of any river;
F. Any land under said waters;
G. Upon or within 100 feet of any land subject to flooding
or inundation by groundwater, surface water, or tidal action;
H. Any land subject to coastal storm flowage;
[Amended 5-12-2014 ATM
by Art. 46]
I. Within the boundaries of any area of critical environmental
concern.
[Amended October 1997 STM by Art. 11; 5-10-2004
ATM by Art. 15]
A. Public structures or facilities. The permit and application
required by this chapter shall not be required for maintaining, repairing,
or replacing an existing and lawfully located structure or facility
which is used in the service of the public to provide electric, gas,
water, sanitary sewer, storm drainage, public roadway, public transportation
facility, telephone, telegraph, or other telecommunication services,
provided that written notice has been given to the Commission prior
to the commencement of work and that the structure or facility will
not be, in the opinion of the Commission, substantially changed or
enlarged.
B. Conservation variance provision. In rare and unusual
circumstances the Commission, at its discretion, may grant a conservation
variance from the requirements of the fifty-foot no-disturb zone.
Such a conservation variance shall be granted only in the following
cases:
(1) Where maximum feasible compliance is achieved; or
(2) Where there are clear and compelling reasons of public
safety and welfare; or
(3) Where the proposed project will enhance the environmental
values protected by the bylaw; or
(4) Upon a clear and convincing showing of evidence by
the applicant that the proposed work will not adversely affect the
environmental values protected by the bylaw.
C. Emergency projects.
(1) The permit and application required by this chapter
shall not apply to emergency projects necessary for the protection
of the health and safety of the public, provided that the work is
to be performed by or has been ordered to be performed by an agency
of the Commonwealth or a political subdivision thereof, provided that
adequate notice, oral or written, has been given to the Commission
prior to the commencement of work or, in any event, provided that
written notice is given to the Commission within 24 hours after commencement,
provided that a majority of the Commission certifies the work as an
emergency project, and provided that the work is performed only for
the time and place certified by the Commission for the limited purpose
necessary to abate the emergency.
(2) Within 21 days of commencement of an emergency project,
a permit application shall be filed with the Commission for review
as provided in this chapter.
D. Eastward Ho! Country Club.
(1) Projects necessary for the protection of the property
of Eastward Ho! Country Club, Inc., said property being bounded easterly
by the private properties located on Rush Drive; southeasterly by
Fox Hill Road and the private properties located on Fox Hill Road;
southwesterly by Route 28 (Orleans Road), and northerly by property
of the Town of Chatham and Pleasant Bay, more specifically shown on
the Assessor's records as Parcel 10M-2-1, shall be exempt from the
following portion of Section 2.05(3) of the Town of Chatham Wetlands
Protection Regulations:
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"(a) no new bulkhead, revetment, seawall, groin
or other coastal engineering structure shall be permitted on or within
100 feet of a coastal bank, except that such a coastal engineering
structure shall be permitted when required to prevent storm damage
to buildings constructed prior to August 10, 1978 or constructed pursuant
to a Notice of Intent (issued under MGL c. 131, § 40) filed
prior to August 10, 1978, including reconstruction of such buildings
subsequent to the effective date of these regulations..."
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(2) Such projects shall be subject to the requirements
set forth in Section 2.05(3)(a)(I), (ii), (iii) and (iv).
[Amended 5-10-2004 ATM by Art. 15]
A. Any person filing an application or a request for
determination with the Commission at the same time shall give written
notice thereof, by certified mail or hand delivery, to all abutters
according to the most recent records of the Assessors, including those
across a traveled way, and to all other persons as the Commission
shall in writing require.
(1) The notice shall enclose a copy of the application
or request with plans, or shall state where copies may be examined
and obtained by abutters.
(2) When a person requesting a determination is other
than the owner, the request, the notice of the hearing and the determination
itself shall be sent by the Commission to the owner as well as to
the person making the request, and the applicant shall supply the
Commission with the name and current address of the owner.
B. The Commission shall conduct a public hearing on any
application or request for determination, with written notice published
at the expense of the applicant, five working days prior to the hearing,
in a newspaper of general circulation in the Town.
C. The Commission shall commence the public hearing within
21 days from receipt of a completed application or request for determination.
D. The Commission shall issue its permit or other action,
or determination, in writing within 21 days of the close of the public
hearing thereon.
E. The Commission in an appropriate case may combine
its hearing under this chapter with the hearing conducted under the
Wetlands Protection Act, MGL c. 131, § 40.
F. The Commission shall have the authority to continue
the hearing to a date certain announced at the hearing, for reasons
stated at the hearing, which may include receipt of additional information
offered by the applicant or others, information and plans required
of the applicant, deemed necessary by the Commission in its discretion,
or comments and recommendations of other local or state boards and
officials. In the event the applicant objects to a continuance, the
hearing shall be closed and the Commission shall take action on such
information as is available.
[Amended 5-8-2000 ATM by Art. 24; 5-10-2004
ATM by Art. 15]
A. If the Commission after a public hearing determines
that the activities which are the subject of the application are likely
to affect the interests protected by this chapter, the Commission,
within 21 days of the close of the hearing, shall issue or deny a
permit for the activities requested.
B. If it issues a permit, the Commission shall impose
conditions which the Commission deems necessary or desirable to protect
those interests, and all activities shall be done in accordance with
those conditions.
C. The Commission is empowered to deny a permit for failure
to meet the requirements of this chapter; for failure to submit necessary
information and plans requested by the Commission; for failure to
meet the design specifications, performance standards, and other requirements
in regulations of the Commission; for failure to avoid or prevent
unacceptable or cumulative effects upon wetland values protected by
this chapter; and where no conditions are adequate to protect those
values.
D. If the activities are not deemed to affect the interests
protected by this chapter, the Commission shall so inform the applicant
that the activities do not require a permit.
E. Permits, excepting those for maintenance dredging,
shall expire three years from the date of issuance. Any such permit
may be renewed annually for an additional year, up to a maximum of
three years, upon request for an extension received in writing by
the Commission prior to expiration.
F. Permits for maintenance dredging shall expire 10 years
from issuance. The applicant shall provide written notice to the Commission
at least 30 days prior to each commencement of dredging. Such notice
shall contain the location of the project, the permit number, the
proposed work start date and the name of the applicant.
G. For good cause the Commission may revoke or modify
a permit issued under this chapter after public notice and public
hearing, and notice to the holder of the permit.
H. The Commission in an appropriate case may combine
the permit or other action on an application issued under this chapter
with the order of conditions issued under the Wetlands Protection
Act, MGL c. 131, § 40.
I. To prevent potential wetland loss or damage, the Commission
shall require applicants to:
(1) Avoid wetlands loss or damage wherever feasible;
(2) Design the project so as to minimize potential impact
on the wetlands using best management practices (BMPs);
(3) Provide adequate mitigation.
This chapter is adopted under the Home Rule
Amendment of the Massachusetts Constitution and the Home Rule Statutes,
independent of the Wetlands Protection Act (MGL c. 131, § 40)
and regulations thereunder.