Incremental activities that have, or may have, a cumulative adverse
impact on the resource areas protected by this chapter.
APPLICANT
Any person submitting an application to the Commission.
APPLICATION
Any written request for action or determination by the Commission,
including but not limited to a request for a permit, RFD, waiver,
certificate of compliance, or any request pursuant to the Wetlands
Protection Act.
BANK
Includes the land area which normally abuts and confines
a water body, the lower boundary being the mean annual low flow level
and the upper boundary being the first observable break in the slope
or the mean annual flood level, whichever is higher.
BUFFER ZONE
Lands abutting within 100 feet horizontally outward from
any resource area.
CITY
The City of Melrose, Massachusetts, a municipal corporation.
COMMISSION
The Conservation Commission of the City of Melrose.
CONSULTANT FEE
The fee charged to an applicant to cover the reasonable costs
and expenses borne by the Commission for specific expert engineering
and other consultant services.
DAYS
In calculating time periods under this chapter, shall mean
business days for periods less than or equal to five days and calendar
days for periods of greater than five days.
LAND SUBJECT TO FLOODING
The area bounded by the estimated maximum lateral extent
of floodwater which would result from the statistical one-hundred-year
frequency storm. Said boundary shall be that determined by reference
to the most recently available data prepared for the community under
the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP, currently administered
by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, successor to the U.S.
Department of Housing and Urban Development). Where NFIP profile data
is unavailable, the boundary of bordering land subject to flooding
shall be the maximum lateral extent of floodwater which has been observed
or recorded. In the event of a conflict, the issuing authority may
require the applicant to determine the boundary of bordering land
subject to flooding by engineering calculations which shall be:
[Amended 8-21-2017 by Ord. No. 2018-4]
(1)
Based upon a design storm of seven inches of precipitation in
24 hours (i.e., a Type III Rainfall, as defined by the U.S. Natural
Resources Conservation Service);
(2)
Based upon the standard methodologies set forth in U.S. Natural
Resources Conservation Service Technical Release No. 55, Urban Hydrology
for Small Watersheds, and Section 4 of the U.S. Natural Resources
Conservation Service, National Engineering Hydrology Handbook; and
(3)
Prepared by a registered professional engineer or other professional
competent in such matters.
PERSON
Includes any individual, group of individuals, association,
partnership, corporation, company, business organization, trust, estate,
the commonwealth or political subdivision thereof to the extent subject
to City ordinances, administrative agency, public or quasi-public
corporation or body, this municipality, and any other legal entity,
its legal representatives, agents, or assigns.
POND
Shall follow the definition of 310 CMR § 10.04.
RARE SPECIES
Includes, without limitation, all vertebrate and invertebrate
animal and all plant species listed as endangered, threatened, or
of special concern by the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and
Wildlife (the Division), regardless of whether the site in which they
occur has been previously identified by the Division.
RFD
A request for determination from the Commission.
VERNAL POOL
An intermittent pond that meets the criteria set forth in
"Guidelines for Certification of Vernal Pool Habitat" issued by the
Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife. Prior certification
is not required. Vernal pools function as essential breeding habitat
for a variety of amphibian species, such as wood frog (Rana sylvatica)
and mole salamanders, and provide other important wildlife habitat
functions for amphibians and other wildlife. Vernal pool habitat includes
a one-hundred-foot setback area.
WETLANDS
Any freshwater wetlands, marshes, wet meadows, bogs, swamps,
vernal pools, banks, lakes, ponds of any size, rivers, streams (including
intermittent streams), creeks, or lands subject to flooding or inundation
by groundwater or surface water.
WETLANDS PROTECTION ACT
The Wetlands Protection Act at MGL c. 131, § 40,
and the regulations promulgated thereunder at 310 CMR 10.00.