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.