[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Meeting of the Town of Foxborough
as Art. V, § 13, of the General Bylaws. Amendments noted
where applicable.]
In order to help protect the water storage and quality within
the Town of Foxborough, and to protect the welfare of the inhabitants
of the Town, the following Earth Removal Bylaw is adopted pursuant
to the provisions of MGL c. 40, § 21, Paragraph 17.
For the purpose of the bylaw, the following definitions shall
apply:
The Select Board of the Town of Foxborough.
[Amended 1-30-2023 STM by Art. 1]
Includes soil, loam, sand, and gravel.
A.
No earth shall be moved from any parcel of land within the Town to
another parcel, either within or without the Town, except upon approval
of a special use permit by the Board.
B.
All applications for such special use permits shall be accompanied
by exhibits and documentation deemed necessary by the Board for the
proper issuance of a permit, which may include the following:
(1)
Name and address of the legal owner of the land in question.
(2)
Name and address of the petitioner, if different.
(3)
Names and addresses of all owners of property within 100 feet of
the land.
(4)
Plans of the land prepared by a registered engineer or land surveyor
and indicating: tract boundaries, adjacent streets and roads, the
limits of the proposed excavation, the location of all structures
within 200 feet of said limits, original topography by five-foot contours,
proposed final contours at five-foot intervals, and the location and
proposed use of all structures and buildings to be used in connection
with the removal operation. All such plans shall indicate a division
of the land into acres.
(5)
A plan of the site indicating the depth of loam before excavation
at intervals of 100 feet by means of a surveyed grid.
(6)
Statement of plans for the disposal of rock, tree stumps, and other
waste materials, and for the drainage of the site and excavation during
and after the removal operation.
(7)
A plan and specification, prepared by a registered engineer or land
surveyor, for the final grading and restoration of the site.
(8)
Such fees as may from time to time be established pursuant to MGL
c. 40, § 22F, shall be charged for making an application.
C.
Upon receipt
of an application for a permit for earth removal:
(1)
The Board shall appoint a time and place for a public hearing, notice
of which shall be given to the applicant, and shall be published at
least 14 days before such hearing in a newspaper having a circulation
in the Town.
(2)
The Board shall inspect the site covered by the application.
(3)
The Conservation Commission shall be given a copy of the plans and
application for review and comment at least 14 days before a public
hearing.
D.
A reasonable fee shall be charged for each permit issued, in accordance
with a schedule published by the Board, based on the volume of gravel
removal authorized by the permit. In addition, the Board has the authority
to retain a qualified professional engineer for the purpose of insuring
that the provisions of the bylaws and the permit are complied with.
Such engineers may be retained at any time either before or during
the term of the permit. As a condition of the issuance of an earth
removal permit, the petitioner shall agree to reimburse the Town of
Foxborough for all such engineering fees and expenses associated with
the permit.
A.
No excavation shall be permitted below the grade of a road bounding
the property in question at any point nearer than 300 feet to such
road.
B.
No excavation below the natural grade of any tract boundary shall
be permitted nearer than 50 feet to such boundary. Natural vegetation
shall be left and maintained on the undisturbed land for screening
and noise reduction.
C.
The area excavated during the duration of the permit shall be restored
to conform to the natural state of the area and surrounding areas
by grading, re-topsoiling, topsoiling, and planting, so that all scars
resulting from the removal operation are eliminated annually during
the period of the permit and any subsequent renewals.
(1)
No slope shall be left unattended or in its final stage with a slope
steeper than 3:1 (33%);
(2)
All debris, stumps, boulders, etc. shall be removed from the site
and disposed of in an approved location and manner;
(3)
At the Select Board's discretion, a monthly report shall be required
to be submitted to the Board stating the amount of earth removed by
a field survey and measured by a registered engineer or land surveyor.
[Amended 1-30-2023 STM by Art. 1]
E.
No permit for earth removal shall be issued if such removal will:
(1)
Endanger the general health or safety or constitute a nuisance, or
endanger the quality or quantity of any aquifer, groundwater or alter
bodies of water.
(2)
Result in detriment to the normal use of adjacent property by reason
of noise, dust, or vibration.
(3)
Result in traffic hazard in residential areas, or congestions, and
physical damage on public ways.
F.
Term of permit.
(1)
A special use permit for any earth removal shall not be issued for
more than one year's duration.
(2)
A special use permit may, following a site inspection and certification
by the Board that all conditions of the bylaws and permit have been
completed, be reissued twice, subject to the bylaws in force at the
time of renewal and subject to any conditions imposed by the Board,
without a new application and public hearing.
G.
In approving the issuance of a permit, the Board shall impose reasonable requirements, conditions, limitations, and safeguards to protect the health, welfare, convenience, and safety of the public, and to promote the best interests of the neighborhood and of the Town. These conditions, which shall constitute a part of the permit, may include, but are not limited to, method of removal, type and location of temporary structures, hours of operations, routes for transportation of material through the Town, area and depth of excavation, steepness of slopes excavated, establishment of finish grades and levels, provisions for permanent and temporary drainage, disposition of waste incident to the operation, grading, re-topsoiling, topsoiling, seeding, planting, fencing necessary for public safety, and inspection of the premises at any time by the Board or its representatives. Limitations in Subsection A and B above may be waived when, in the opinion of the Board, the best interest of the area would be served by a revised grading plan.
H.
No permit shall be issued until the owner of the site has granted
to the Town an easement over the land in question and conveys to the
Town the legal right to enter upon said land with equipment and personnel
for the purpose of making acceptable restoration in accordance with
the approved restorations plan in the event of default of such restoration
specified in the permit by the owner or his contractual representative.
I.
No trucking operation shall be allowed within a one-mile radius of
any elementary school during the first hour preceding the school's
opening and also during the first hour following the school's closing.
J.
No loam shall be removed from the Town of Foxborough.
L.
Special use permits for earth removal in excess of 200 yards per
acre may be issued only if the Select Board determines that, in their
opinion, such issuances are in the best interests of both the Town
as a whole and the neighborhood surrounding the proposed operation.
Any such permit shall be limited to cases where the earth removal
is incidental to a primary purpose which is the construction of a
facility that is in conformance with all relevant zoning regulations.
The amount of earth removal in any operation approved under the provisions
of this subsection shall be limited to the minimum amount required
to achieve that primary purpose. Furthermore, permits issued under
the provisions of this subsection shall be limited to not more than
12 months. One renewal of up to six months may be granted at the discretion
of the Select Board. The term "facility" as used in this bylaw shall
be defined as those structures necessary to install the foundation
and basement of a building and/or other structures together with such
driveways, parking areas and septic systems as may be authorized by
said permit or required by the Board of Health.
[Amended 1-30-2023 STM by Art. 1]
No special use permit shall be required for the following:
A.
Moving of earth within the limits of an individual parcel or series
of contiguous parcels of land in single ownership.
B.
Removal of earth from an operating farm, nursery, or cemetery to
the extent that such removal is necessary to the operation of same.
The term "operating farm" as used in this section shall be defined
as a parcel of land five acres or more in area, the primary and principal
use of which is agriculture and which is being actively operated for
agriculture as the primary and principal use of the land and not as
an accessory use.
C.
The moving and removal of earth for any municipal purpose by, or
on behalf of, any department of the Town of Foxborough.
D.
A noncommercial operation of moving and removal of earth within the
Town of Foxborough by one load not in excess of two cubic yards.
E.
Removal of not more than 200 cubic yards of earth from a site where
a building is under construction pursuant to a building permit to
the extent as may be necessary to install the foundation and basement
of the building.
F.
Removal of earth from a site by governmental authority to the extent
as may be necessary to complete the project as planned.
A.
Any person, firm, or corporation willfully violating, disobeying,
or refusing to comply with any of the provisions of this bylaw shall
be prosecuted under the terms of MGL c. 40, § 21, and shall
be subject to a fine of, for the first offense, $50; for the second
offense, $100; and for each subsequent offense, $200.
B.
The Town Manager, Building Commissioner, Police Chief or any person
designated by the Board is hereby empowered to enforce this chapter
and is hereinafter referred to as the "enforcing person." The enforcing
person, as an alternative to such prosecution under the terms of MGL
c. 40, § 21, may seek enforcement through a noncriminal
proceeding pursuant to the provisions of MGL c. 40, § 21D,
in which case the penalty for violation of this bylaw shall be $200.
C.
Each day of noncompliance with this bylaw shall constitute a separate
offense. The Board may revoke or suspend the permit of any person,
firm, corporation or limited-liability company holding a permit under
this bylaw if such person, etc. violates, disobeys, or fails to comply
with any of the provisions of such permit or of this bylaw.
Within the Zone II of a public water supply the following is
prohibited: the removal of soil, loam, sand, gravel or any other mineral
substances within six feet of the historical high groundwater table
(as determined from monitoring wells and historical water table fluctuation
data compiled by the United States Geological Survey), unless the
substances removed are redeposited within 45 days of removal on the
site to achieve a final grading greater than six feet above the historical
high water mark, and except for excavations for roads, building foundations,
or utility works.
