The regulations for each district pertaining to frontage, minimum lot area, minimum lot width, minimum lot depth, minimum front yard depth, minimum side yard width, minimum rear yard depth, maximum height of buildings, maximum number of stories, and minimum open space shall be as specified in §
350-2.1, Definitions, and as set forth in the Table of Dimensional and Density Regulations, and subject to the further provisions of this chapter.
The following standards apply whenever land is divided:
A. The required lot or yard areas for any new building or use may not include any part of a lot that is required by any other building or use to comply with any provisions of this chapter.
B. The required lot or yard areas may not include any property of which ownership has been transferred subsequent to the effective date of this chapter if such property was a part of the area required for compliance with the dimensional regulations applicable to the lot from which such transfer was made.
C. Notwithstanding any other section or this chapter, land purchased by the City of Northampton or by a nonprofit, tax-exempt conservation organization for permanent water supply protection or for permanent open space and conservation purposes need not meet dimensional requirements of this chapter.
This section shall not apply to CB-Core, Side, Gateway, FV-General, Center. See §§ 350-21 and 350-22.
A. Screening and buffers shall be required on any lot in any industrial or business district and for any industrial or business use where it adjoins a lot in a residential district and shall be required on any lot in a planned business park where it adjoins land not in the planned business park, including collector streets which exist when a business park is proposed, and on any nonresidential lot in a planned business park district where it adjoins a residential lot as follows:
(1) This strip shall be at least 30 feet in width (100 feet in width in a planned business park). It shall contain a screen of plantings of vertical habit in the center of the strip not less than three feet in width and six feet in height at the time of occupancy of such lot. Individual shrubs shall be planted not more than five feet on center, and individual trees thereafter shall be maintained by the owner or occupants so as to maintain a dense screen year round. At least 50% of the plantings shall be evenly spaced. Whenever possible, existing trees and ground cover should be preserved in this strip, reducing the need to plant additional trees. Trees may not be cut down in this strip without site plan approval. (See § 350-11.)
(2) The Planning Board may issue a site plan approval (See § 350-11.) allowing for a ten-foot reduction in the required width of the landscaped buffer strip, provided that the Board finds that a sight-impervious wall or fence is erected of appropriate materials and sufficient height to screen abutting properties and will provide at least as much noise mitigation as the vegetated barrier described above.
B. In all industrial and business districts, except General Business building built with 0 foot front yard setback, and for any other industrial or business use, street frontage shall include shade trees, and there shall be one tree planted an average of every 30 feet of street frontage, using trees no less than 2.5 inches caliper at the time of installation. Trees may be placed within the City right-of-way instead of private property with the permission of the Department of Public Works. In the case of an uncleared site, existing vegetation can be preserved to achieve said objective.
C. In all industrial and business districts and for any industrial or business use, when a parking lot is located adjacent to a public right-of-way at least a ten-foot wide landscaped area between the right-of-way and the parking lot shall be provided. This landscaped area shall include shade trees, and there shall be one tree planted an average of every 30 feet of street frontage, using trees no less than 2.5 inches caliper at the time of installation.
D. All landscaping required by this chapter shall be maintained in a healthy growing condition, neat and orderly in appearance, and free of refuse and debris. All plantings shall be arranged and maintained so as to not obscure the vision of traffic. All landscaping must be conform to §
350-6.8, Other general dimensional and density provisions.
No encroachments (including fill), new construction, substantial improvements, or any other development shall be permitted within the regulatory floodway, as designated on the National Flood Insurance Program's Flood Boundary and Floodway Map, unless certification by a registered professional engineer or architect is provided, demonstrating that encroachments shall not result in any increase in flood levels during the occurrence of the one-hundred-year flood.
In addition to the regulations in §§ 350-6.1 through 350-6.7 above, the following regulations shall apply:
A. Principal structures on the same lot shall be located at least 10 feet apart.
B. Projections into required yards or other required open spaces are permitted subject to the following:
(1) Open terrace or steps or stoop, less than four feet in height, may project into a required yard or open space up to 1/2 the required setback.
(2) Steps or stoop four feet and over in height, window sill, chimney, roof eave, fire escape, fire tower, awnings, storm enclosure, or similar architectural features may project not more than three feet into a required setback.
C. The provisions of this chapter governing the height of buildings shall not apply to the following, provided that these facilities comply with FAA regulations and are no more than 130 feet above the ground, except as provided in §
350-10.9, Telecommunications and personal wireless facilities, or as further specified below:
(1) Chimneys, cooling towers, elevators, skylights, ventilators, electronic equipment, or other necessary appurtenances usually carried above the roof, but in no case may the total height of the building including such facilities exceed 85 feet;
(2) Domes, towers, stacks, or spires on a principal building if not used for human occupancy and, other than for churches, if not occupying more than 20% of the ground floor area of the building, but in no case may the total height of the building including such structures exceed 85 feet;
(3) Ornamental towers, water towers, water storage facilities, water stand pipes, cooling towers, observation towers, radio and television broadcasting towers and antennas, telecommunication facilities, or other like structures, which do not occupy more than 20% of the lot area, provided that no tower or similar structure is located closer to a property line than the distance equal to its height, except as provided in § 350-11.8, Telecommunications and personal wireless facilities.
(4) Municipal- and publicly owned water towers, water storage facilities, and water standpipes exceeding 20% of the lot area or located closer to a property line than the distance equal to its height shall be allowed by site plan approval from the Planning Board, with the review limited to site layout and landscaping.
D. At no street intersection in any district shall any obstruction to vision exceeding three feet in height above the plane established by the intersection streets be placed or permitted to grow, on any lot within the triangle formed by the lot lines abutting the intersection and a line connecting points on these lot lines at a distance of 25 feet from the point of intersection of the lot lines. This restriction shall also apply to the intersection of a street and a driveway in a B or I District.
E. A fence, hedge, wall, sign or other structure or vegetation may be maintained on any lot, provided that in the front yard area, no such structure or vegetation shall be over three feet in height above the adjacent ground within five feet of the front lot line unless it can be shown that such vegetation will not restrict visibility in such a way as to hinder the safe entry of a vehicle from any driveway to the street. In residential districts, no fence shall exceed a height of 6 1/2 feet (eight feet when abutting a nonresidential district) unless a special permit has been received from the Zoning Board of Appeals.
Where a lot is located in more than one zoning district or municipality, the following dimensional and density regulations shall apply:
A. Frontage. The frontage requirement for the district or municipality in which a majority of the frontage is located shall apply. If the lot has equal frontage in all districts or municipalities, then the most restrictive shall apply.
B. Lot area. The lot area requirement for the district or municipality in which a majority of the lot area is located shall apply. If the lot has equal area in all districts or municipalities, then the most restrictive shall apply.
C. All other dimensional and density regulations. Those dimensional and density regulations required in a particular district or municipality shall apply to that portion of the lot, or structure, located in said district.
Whereas, the “Massachusetts Comprehensive Permit Law” (Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 40B, Sections 20 to 22) and the “Massachusetts Comprehensive Permit: Low- and Moderate-Income Housing” regulations (760 CMR 56.00), allow for a single local board to administer and to waive any and all local zoning ordinances and other local ordinances and regulations, as the single approving authority, to encourage affordable housing, upon obtaining a site eligibility letter from the Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD). Such site eligibility letter creates a burden for some projects, especially small projects. It requires the paying of a fee, the calculation of a developer's reasonable return, and the provision of architectural elevations, among other requirements;
Whereas, it is the City's intention to provide some zoning relief, consistent with City needs, and while avoiding the need for a DHCD site eligibility letter:
A. All projects approved under this section must meet the following criteria:
(1) At least 50% of the residential units being created shall be "affordable units."
(2) All permanent energy sources (thermal loads, hot water, and electric loads) shall be from grid-supplied electricity or otherwise not use fossil fuels (natural gas, propane, oil). This shall not apply to emergency generators, outdoor grilling, or mobile energy uses.
(3) Prior to obtaining a building permit, the applicant shall obtain a) DHCD approval as Local Initiative Program (LIP) units, so that all affordable units created under this section can be listed by DHCD on their Subsidized Housing Inventory; or b) show evidence of commonwealth funding that requires units to be counted on the DHCD SHI.
(4) Prior to obtaining a building permit, the applicant shall obtain site plan approval.
B. The Planning Board may approve affordable housing projects as part of a site plan approval when:
(1) The allowable dwelling units per acre (density) of the entire project is 250% of that otherwise allowed by this zoning ordinance in the zoning district in which the property is located. There are no other minimum lot size requirements for any lots created under this section.
(2) The minimum frontage, lot depth, and lot width is at least 40% of that otherwise required by this zoning ordinance in the zoning district in which the property is located.
(3) When significant trees on the property are cut, they shall be replaced on site with new trees to the extent feasible without blocking solar photovoltaic or hot water systems, but no payment in lieu is required when such planting is not feasible. Full mitigation is required for cutting public shade trees.
(4) All other zoning applies and is complied with.
C. The Planning Board may issue a special permit for additional zoning dimensional and density relief when:
(1) The application specifically details requested zoning relief to ensure that the project and project permit conditions are not uneconomic, as defined by MGL c. 40B and 76 CMR 56.00.
(2) The Planning Board finds that the project, with a special permit for the requested zoning relief, still meets local concerns (as defined in 760 CMR 56.00 and as evidenced by the City's Master, Comprehensive, and strategic plans).
(3) The Planning Board finds that the special permit conditions of § 350-10 are met.
Reduced lot line (RLL) developments are developments, or portions of developments, where house lots have a side yard setback of zero or more feet on a side lot line (the "reduced lot line"). Such a reduction in the standard side yard setback may be granted if the following standards in Subsections A through E are met:
A. The reduced lot line side of a house lot:
(1) Abuts permanently protected open space; or
(2) Abuts the lot line of a lot which is under common ownership at the time the reduced lot line development is proposed and:
(a) Shares a party wall with the abutting structure on the commonly owned lot; or
(b) Has a reduction from the standard setback such that the combined setbacks may be up to 10 feet less than double the standard setback.
B. A five-foot maintenance easement must be obtained or reserved by the owner of a house on a reduced lot line from the property owner abutting the reduced lot line in any development pursuant to Subsection A(1)or A(2)(b)above where the setback is five feet or less to allow normal maintenance. Said easement may allow a roof overhang of up to two feet, and in such case the easement shall allow roof drainage onto the easement area and sheet flow across the abutting property.
C. There shall be a minimum of four shade trees of not less than 1.5 inches' caliper planted or maintained on each lot in accordance with the City's Tree List and Planting Guidelines, including two along the street frontage. (See also §
350-6.5D.)
D. Only one principal structure per lot is allowed in a reduced lot line development.
E. Any detached accessory structure on the lot must meet the standard setbacks for such structures.