[Added 12-11-1967 STM by Art. 5; amended 4-13-1968 ATM by Art. 36; 3-22-1969 ATM by Art. 41]
To promote the health, safety, convenience, morals, and welfare
of its inhabitants, the Town adopts this Bylaw in accordance with
the Constitution of the Commonwealth and Chapter 40A and other provisions
of the General Laws. With due regard to the characteristics of the
different parts of the Town, the Bylaw is designed among other purposes:
A.Â
To conserve health;
B.Â
To secure safety from fire, wind, flood, and traffic;
C.Â
To preserve and increase the value of land and buildings;
D.Â
To protect the community from the detrimental effects of unsuitable
development;
E.Â
To preserve and increase the amenities of the Town;
F.Â
To prevent overcrowding of the land;
G.Â
To provide for compatibility with individual water supply and sewage
disposal systems and their renewal, and with public systems which
may become available;
H.Â
To facilitate future reuse and redevelopment of property;
I.Â
To provide for safe, rapid traffic flow to, from, and along the streets;
J.Â
To avoid confusing and distracting signs in areas along the streets;
K.Â
To avoid unsuitable traffic on residential streets;
L.Â
To preserve the streets of the Town as firebreaks;
M.Â
To protect persons and property against the hazards of inundation
and pollution;
N.Â
To prevent pollution or contamination of, to conserve, and to protect
watercourses, and their adjoining lands, groundwater absorption areas,
and the groundwater table on which the inhabitants depend for their
water supply;
O.Â
To preserve storage areas for seasonal or periodic high waters;
P.Â
To protect ponds from accelerated and excessive plant growth and
premature decay into swamps;
Q.Â
To conserve natural conditions and open spaces;
R.Â
To separate and otherwise isolate potentially conflicting property
uses.
[Added 12-11-1967 STM by Art. 6; amended 3-31-1990 ATM by Art. 18]
For the purposes of this Bylaw, terms shall have the following
interpretations unless another is required by context or is specifically
prescribed. Other definitions used only in particular portions of
the Bylaw are defined in place there.
As applied to land, access is that portion of a lot which
is usable as a matter of right for the passage of people, vehicles,
farm animals, and public services, from the street to the main buildings
or other lawful activities on the lot. (See also "street.")
[Added 3-29-1980 ATM by Art. 26; amended 3-25-1995 ATM by Art. 28]
An accessory use or structure is one clearly subordinate
to, and customarily incidental to, and located on the same premises
with the main use or structure to which it is accessory.
Daytime services, such as skilled care and supervision, group
activities, provision of meals, transportation, trips, and light exercise,
provided to elderly adults and the physically challenged who require
assistance with daily needs of living.
[Added 10-28-2019 STM
by Art. 20]
A community-based and non-residential service that provides
nursing care, supervision, and health related support services in
a structured group setting to MassHealth members who have physical,
cognitive, or behavioral health impairments. The adult day health
(ADH) service has a general goal of meeting the activities of daily
living (ADL), and/or skilled nursing therapeutic needs of MassHealth
members delivered by a MassHealth agency-approved ADH provider that
meets the conditions of 130 CMR 404.000.
[Added 10-28-2019 STM
by Art. 20]
[Added 3-28-2015 ATM
by Art. 43]
ADULT BOOKSTOREAn establishment having as a substantial or significant portion of its stock in trade, books, magazines, and other matter which are distinguished or characterized by their emphasis depicting, describing, or relating to sexual conduct or sexual excitement as defined in M.G.L. Ch. 272, § 31.
ADULT MOTION PICTURE THEATREAn enclosed building used for presenting material distinguished by an emphasis on matter depicting, describing, or relating to sexual conduct or sexual excitement as defined in M.G.L. Ch. 272, § 31 .
ADULT PARAPHERNALIA STOREAn establishment having as a substantial or significant portion of its stock devices, objects, tools, toys or other matter which are distinguished or characterized by their association with sexual activity, including sexual conduct or sexual excitement as defined in M.G.L. Ch. 272, § 31.
ADULT VIDEO STOREAn establishment having as a substantial or significant portion of its stock in trade, videos, any visual material, movies, digital media, or other film material which are distinguished or characterized by their emphasis depicting, describing, or relating to sexual conduct or sexual excitement as defined in M.G.L. Ch. 272, § 31.
ESTABLISHMENT WHICH DISPLAYS LIVE NUDITY FOR ITS PATRONSAny establishment which provides live entertainment for its patrons, which includes the display of nudity, as that term is defined in M.G.L. Ch. 272, § 31.
Includes ordinary farming, orchard keeping, animal husbandry,
and all of the other agricultural specialties enumerated in Section
3 of the Zoning Act, whether or not practiced for profit.
[Added 3-27-1993 ATM by Art. 22]
Any entity, however organized, whether conducted for profit
or not for profit, which is certified by the Executive Office of Elder
Affairs and which meets all of the following criteria:
[Added 4-5-2016 ATM by
Art. 52; amended 10-16-2021 ATM by Art. 7]
Provides room and board; and
Provides, directly by employees of the entity or through arrangement
with another organization which the entity may or may not control
or own, assistance with activities of daily living for three or more
adult residents who are not related by consanguinity or affinity to
their care provider; and
Collects payments or third party reimbursements from or on behalf
of residents to pay for the provision of assistance with the activities
of daily living or arranges for the same.
A portion of an assisted living facility designed for and
occupied pursuant to residency agreements by one or more individuals
as the private living quarters of such individuals.
[Added 4-5-2016 ATM by
Art. 52]
A program of resident services primarily for the benefit
of the residents of the CCRC.
[Added 10-16-2021 ATM
by Art. 5]
A block is the smallest area that is surrounded by streets.
Blocks are the space for buildings within the street pattern of a
city or town, and form the basic unit of the town's pattern of development.
Blocks may be subdivided into any number of smaller land lots usually
in private ownership, though in some cases, it may be other forms
of tenure. Blocks are usually built-up to varying degrees and thus
form the physical containers or "streetwalls" of public space. Most
town centers are composed of a greater or lesser variety of sizes
and shapes of block.
[Added 10-28-2019 STM
by Art. 20]
That part of a shared driveway which provides access to the
buildings or uses of a single lot.
[Added 3-29-1980 ATM by Art. 26]
Land area available, under the Bylaw and any other lawful
restrictions, for location of a main building. Does not include area
in a W District, a WFH District, or an inland wetland.
[Added 3-7-1970 ATM by Art. 45; amended 3-29-1980 ATM by Art. 25; 3-27-1993 ATM by Art. 25]
A mathematical formula that is a measure of the regularity
of lot shape.
[Added 4-2-2005 ATM by Art. 31]
The area included within surrounding exterior walls exclusive
of vent shafts and courts. Interior firewalls shall not be used to
determine building area.
[Added 3-28-2015 ATM
by Art. 44]
Business use includes commercial or industrial use. Business
use includes accommodations for transient persons, as a motel, but
does not include residence. A home occupation as permitted in the
Bylaw is not considered a business use.
The Protective Bylaw of the Town of Harvard.
A motor vehicle having two axles and three or four wheels,
and which is up to 19.5 feet long, and up to seven feet wide, and
has a gross vehicle weight less than 7,500 pounds. Includes ordinary
passenger cars, station wagons, light delivery vans, and pickup trucks.
[Added 3-31-1984 ATM by Art. 28]
The addition of wireless communications equipment to a wireless communications tower permitted under § 125-27 of the Harvard Protective (Zoning) Bylaw.
[Added 3-25-2000 ATM by Art. 32]
Open land (see definition) previously called "common open
space" under the former flexible plan subdivision (FPS) provisions
or under the mini-subdivision provisions of the Bylaw.
[Added 3-7-1970 ATM by Art. 46; amended 3-4-1972 ATM by Art. 45; 3-25-1978 ATM by Art. 23; 3-31-1990 ATM by Art.
18]
Congregate care refers to residential living for seniors
in a congregated setting. Residents of congregate care facilities
have private apartments but share a common dining room, kitchen facilities,
and other amenities. The purpose of congregate care is to allow seniors
to continue living an independent life although assisted with such
tasks like cooking. Unlike other housing arrangements for seniors,
this senior living option does not offer around the clock care.
[Added 10-16-2021 ATM
by Art. 5]
A development comprised of a dwelling or dwellings with residential
services operated or sponsored as a coordinated unit by a corporation
or organization, having among its principal purposes the provision
of housing and associated services for persons 55 years or older.
[Added 10-16-2021 ATM
by Art. 5]
The use of land, buildings, or structures, or parts thereof,
to provide or dispense products or services, either wholly or in part,
through an attendant or window or automated machine, to persons remaining
in motorized vehicles that are in a designated stacking lane. A drive-through
facility may be permitted only as an accessory use (i.e., in combination
with another use such as a bank or financial institution or pharmacy).
A drive-through facility does not include a vehicle washing facility,
a vacuum cleaning station accessory to a vehicle washing facility,
or an automobile/gasoline service station.
[Added 5-1-2010 ATM by Art. 2]
An improved access for regular use by vehicles from the roadway
of a street to a dwelling or other main building on a lot, or for
a use for which site plan approval or a special permit is required.
A track or path used primarily by animals, or primarily for access
of farm equipment to a field or orchard, or primarily for wood cutting,
or for maintenance of a utility line, is not a driveway. A driveway
includes all of its branches.
[Added 3-29-1980 ATM by Art. 26]
A room or group of rooms within a dwelling, or a dwelling,
used or intended for use by one household for living quarters including
cooking facilities.
[Added 3-7-1970 ATM by Art. 46]
Includes or is equivalent to alter, construct, move, or reconstruct,
but does not include repair. Restoration of any structure which has
been damaged to an extent less than 75% of its insurable value is
considered repair; restoration after destruction or greater damage
is considered reconstruction.
[Amended 3-22-1969 ATM by Art. 37; 3-27-1993 ATM by Art. 25]
Gross floor area as defined in the Massachusetts Building
Code, with the following exclusions:
[Added 3-27-1993 ATM by Art. 22; amended 4-5-1997 ATM by Art. 44]
The ratio of total gross building square footage to the surface
area (in square feet) of the lot (see Figure 1 below).
[Added 10-28-2019 STM
by Art. 20]
 |
Distance between adjacent intersections of lot and street
side lines.
[Added 3-7-1970 ATM by Art. 45]
The radius of the smallest circle which includes or contains
the lot frontage, with the end points, and at least one other distinct
point, of the frontage lying on the circle.
[Added 3-29-1980 ATM by Art. 29; amended 3-27-1982 ATM by Art. 42]
A term used in engineering practice which includes installation
of swales and drains, excavation and fill, and other steps in site
preparation.
[Added 3-27-1993 ATM by Art. 22]
An area left as a natural or landscaped area except for fences,
signs, and poles, and for footpaths and access driveways intersecting
the area.
[Added 3-7-1970 ATM by Art. 46]
An establishment where at least 70% of the gross sales floor
area is devoted to the sale of food products for home preparation
and consumption.
[Added 3-28-2015 ATM
by Art. 44]
Medical and therapeutic services provided to residents in
their dwelling units.
[Added 10-16-2021 ATM
by Art. 5]
Facilities or services designed to provide for the physical
and emotional needs of the terminally ill.
[Added 10-16-2021 ATM
by Art. 5]
Means "including but not limited to."
Residential units and associated facilities designed for
seniors who are self-sufficient and require no on-site personal or
health care services. An independent living housing unit consists
of a room or group of rooms designed or intended to provide a habitable
unit for one or more persons with provisions for cooking, living,
sanitation and sleeping for the exclusive use of the household unit.
Associated facilities may include substantial common and socializing
areas and other amenities.
[Added 10-16-2021 ATM
by Art. 5]
All wetlands as defined in the Wetlands Protection Act, General
Laws, Chapter 131, Sections 40 and 40A, including any amendments through
March 1, 2004.
[Added 3-29-1980 ATM by Art. 25; amended 3-27-2004 ATM by Art. 40]
Does not include any area in a W District.
[Added 3-22-1969 ATM by Art. 40]
The portion of the roadway or driveway for the movement of
vehicles, exclusive of shoulders.
[Added 4-1-2014 ATM by Art. 43]
All adjoining parcels of land held in common ownership constitute
a single lot except as provided in Chapter 40A, G.L. A lot does not
include area inside the street side line.
[Amended 3-3-1973 ATM by Art. 37; 4-6-2002 ATM by Art. 28]
[Added 3-22-1969 ATM by Art. 40; amended 3-3-1973 ATM by Art.
37; 3-31-1990 ATM by Art. 18]:
A building not accessory to another on the same premises.
[Added 3-22-1969 ATM by Art. 40]
A marijuana cultivator, independent testing laboratory, marijuana
product manufacturer, marijuana retailer, medical marijuana treatment
center and/or any combination thereof, but excluding a marijuana social
consumption establishment.
[Added 5-5-2018 ATM by
Art. 33]
A facility, licensed under the relevant state and federal
statutes, for the production and packaging of malt, wine, or hard
cider beverages for distribution retail or wholesale, on or off the
premises, with a capacity of not more than 5,000 barrels per year.
(One barrel contains 31 U.S. gallons). A tasting room is permitted
as an accessory use.
[Added 11-6-2017 STM
by Art. 2]
Does not include a rooming house as defined in the State
Sanitary Code (1960), except that a nursing or rest home licensed
under G.L., Chapter 111, is included. For said nursing or rest home,
one dwelling unit is considered to be housing designed or used for
three persons.
[Added 3-7-1970 ATM by Art. 46]
A building or institution owned and operated by a nonprofit
corporation, or the Town of Harvard, in the service of society and
its development, and open to the public, which has as its fundamental
activities to acquire, conserve, research and exhibit, for the purpose
of study and enjoyment, material evidence of people and their environment,
especially objects of artistic, historical, or scientific importance
and value.
[Added 3-29-2008 ATM by Art. 25]
An area which is kept for permanent use as park or open space in an open or natural state as set forth in § 125-35D(2), Uses of open land.
[Added 3-31-1990 ATM by Art. 18]
Residential cluster development for open space conservation as provided under § 125-35, Open Space Conservation - Planned Residential Development.
[Added 3-31-1990 ATM by Art. 18; amended 4-2-2005 ATM by Art. 37]
Lot and structures thereon.
Any building which is used in whole or in part as a school,
lending library, post office, museum, theater, shopping arcade, hospital,
police station, church, or state or federal or municipal offices.
[Added 11-7-1992 STM by Art. 10]
A nonprofit corporation or trust which is tax exempt under
Section 501(c)(3) of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code and has as its
principal purpose the conservation of open space.
[Added 3-31-1990 ATM by Art. 18][1]
A nonprofit corporation or trust with automatic membership,
which is conducted such that all income either is from membership
dues, fees, or assessments, received from owners and arising solely
from membership and not from extent of use of facilities, or is from
interest. "Automatic membership" means owned or to be owned by the
owners of the building lots or residential units within the overall
tract developed and only such owners, and such that ownership passes
with conveyances of the lots or units.
[Added 3-31-1990 ATM by Art. 18]
Includes expansion, repair, replacement, and relocation,
in whole or in part.
[Added 3-31-1984 ATM by Art. 27]
Street.
[Added 3-31-1990 ATM by Art. 18]
The portion of the street intended for vehicular travel;
the traveled way. The roadway center line is determined from street
plans, or if no plans exist, from the traveled way, stone walls, and
similar evidence. Where a (single) roadway is offset from the street
center line to provide for a footpath, the street center line is considered
the roadway center line; a dual (divided) roadway is considered two
roadways.
[Added 3-3-1973 ATM by Art. 37[2]]
A section of the Bylaw is identified by its name and/or its
numbering. A section includes all material within the section and
unless otherwise qualified consists both of the identified section
and of its subsections as indicated by numbering or as may be explicitly
specified.
A senior is any person having reached the age of 55 years.
[Added 10-16-2021 ATM
by Art. 5]
Any household having at least one person 55 years or older.
[Added 10-16-2021 ATM
by Art. 5]
Includes septic tanks, dosing tanks, siphons, pumps, distribution
boxes, leaching or absorption areas or appurtenant components which
are required or regulated by Title V of the State Environmental Code
of 1978 for the proper sewage treatment and disposal functioning of
the system. For purposes of measuring setback distance from wetlands,
sewage disposal systems shall also include those features which are
necessary to provide structural support for other components, including
fill connected with aboveground disposal extending to that point at
which the fill returns to natural grade.
[Added 3-30-1985 ATM by Art. 40]
A driveway of which any portion lies on more than one lot.
[Added 3-29-1980 ATM by Art. 26]
Any device, symbol, drawing, picture, design or object which
is used for visual communication and intended to attract attention
or convey a message. An on-site sign is one that is related to the
premises on which it is located. An off-site sign is one that is not
located on the premises to which it is related. Historical date plaques
and markers, and flags and insignias of governmental jurisdictions
shall not be considered signs.
[Added 4-28-2012 ATM by Art. 43]
A facility for the care of senior persons requiring regular
attention by medical or nursing personnel for reasons of age, ill
health, or physical incapacity and which has been licensed as a long-term
care facility by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health.
[Added 10-16-2021 ATM
by Art. 5]
For the purposes of this Bylaw, soil includes loam, peat,
silt, clay, sand, and gravel.
[Added 3-27-1993 ATM by Art. 22]
Rules relative to the issuance of special permits, adopted by a special permit granting authority in accordance with the provisions of the Zoning Act, Section 9, § 125-46, Special permits, of the Bylaw, and any provisions for the applicable classes of special permits provided in the Bylaw.[4]
[Added 3-31-1990 ATM by Art. 18]
A building level for human occupancy. The volume of a level
directly below a sloping roof, or the above-grade volume of a level
partly below grade, counts as a fractional story. Such fraction is
the ratio of said volume to the volume of the adjacent story. "For
human occupancy" includes usable for, designed for, or intended for
such occupancy.
[Added 3-4-1972 ATM by Art. 46]
[Added 3-3-1973 ATM by Art. 37]:
Includes the entire width of the taking (right-of-way). The street side line is the boundary between the street and the lot. A residential street is a street which is not a state or Chapter 90 road, located in a residential (AR or MR) district.
[Amended 4-5-1997 ATM by Art. 44]
A driveway easement is not a street. For the issuance of building
permits, a street does not provide access to lots unless:
[Added 3-25-1995 ATM by Art. 28]
There is already in existence within it an all-season roadway
satisfactory for use by ordinary traffic and also by emergency vehicles;
and
The roadway is either:
A public way; or
Used by the public and maintained by the Town as if it were
a public way; or
Approved in accordance with the Subdivision Control Law and
the Planning Board's subdivision rules; or
A private way which the Planning Board acting in accordance
with procedure specified in its subdivision rules finds to be satisfactory
in its present condition for the number and uses of the lots being
served; and
There is a defined responsibility for maintenance of and snow
removal from the roadway of such street.[5]
Any construction or assemblage of materials with a fixed
location, including a building, platform, tower, pole, sign, fence,
wall, dam, swimming pool, or any part of a structure. Underground
utilities and driveways shall not be considered structures.
[Amended 4-21-1992 STM by Art. 4]
The Rules and Regulations of the Harvard Planning Board Relative
to Subdivision Control, as amended, issued in accordance with Section
81Q of the Subdivision Control Law (G.L., Chapter 41, Sections 81K
to 81GG).[6]
[Added 3-31-1990 ATM by Art. 18]
Includes "substantial hardship" as used in the Zoning Act,
Section 10.
[Added 3-31-1979 ATM by Art. 28]
Town of Harvard.
[Added 3-31-1990 ATM by Art. 18]
A motor vehicle more than 19.5 feet long, or more than seven
feet wide, or having more than two axles or more than four wheels,
or having a gross vehicle weight over 7,500 pounds.
[Added 3-31-1984 ATM by Art. 28][7]
A pier, landing, or platform for boating, fishing, or swimming.
[Added 3-22-1969 ATM by Art. 39]
Antennas and related transmission and reception equipment,
including any accessory equipment or structures but excluding ground-mounted
structures used primarily for their support, which may be used for
the provision of wireless communications services.
[Added 3-25-2000 ATM by Art. 32]
A structure having the primary purpose of providing personal
wireless communications services, including but not limited to a ground-mounted
or otherwise supported structure with antenna(s) or other wireless
communications equipment, if any, together with any guy wires and
accessory structures, which shall not include a service yard, a garage,
or the outside storage of equipment or vehicles.
[Added 6-19-1997 STM by Art. 6; amended 3-25-2000 ATM by Art. 32]
Services which facilitate the transmission of writing, signs,
signals, pictures, and sounds of all kinds without the aid of wire,
cable, or other like connection between the points of origin and reception
of such transmission, in order to facilitate the following services:
cellular telephone service, personal communications service, paging
service, or enhanced specialized mobile radio service.
[Added 6-19-1997 STM by Art. 6]
The Zoning Act, General Laws, Chapter 40A, as enacted by
Chapter 808, Acts of 1975, as amended. References are for information
only and are not necessarily complete or exclusive.
[Added 3-25-1978 ATM by Art. 23]
[1]
Editor's Note: The definition of "residential street," added
3-22-1969 ATM by Art. 41, was repealed 3-3-1973 ATM by Art. 37.
[2]
Editor's Note: This article also repealed the definition of
"roadway center line," added 3-7-1970 ATM by Art. 45.
[3]
Editor's Note: The definition of "Selectmen" was repealed
3-25-1978 ATM by Art. 23.
[4]
Note: Copies of the current rules for each special permit
granting authority are available from the Town Clerk.
[5]
Editor's Note: The definition of "street center line," added
3-22-1969 ATM by Art. 40, was repealed 3-7-1970 ATM by Art. 45.
[7]
Editor's Note: The definition of "usable land," added 3-4-1972
ATM by Art. 45, was repealed 3-31-1990 ATM by Art. 18.
