A.
The removal of earth from all zoning districts of the Town of Medfield
shall be permitted only after special permission of the Board of Selectmen
and under these rules and regulations. The Board of Selectmen shall
grant no such permit except in conjunction with the construction of
subdivision streets approved by the Planning Board; public works or
other municipal projects approved by a public authority; or private
land development where the Selectmen find that no reasonable alternative
contour plan is practicable, and, in that event, that minimal disruption
of the natural contours of the site may be permitted. Furthermore,
the Board of Selectmen shall grant no such permit as would, in their
opinion, adversely affect the scheme of growth laid down in the Zoning
Bylaw or elsewhere, or the economic status of the Town, or tend to
impair the beauty of the Town, or of the district most immediately
affected, or result in health or other hazards.
B.
If any earth shall be removed without obtaining a special permit
or otherwise in violation of this Article, the Selectmen may order
the restoration of the property involved in accordance with the provisions
of this Article. Such an order of restoration will not constitute
a waiver of any other fines or penalties for such violations.
A.
All applications for approval or endorsement for the removal of earth
in the Town of Medfield shall be made in accordance with the rules
and regulations hereinafter set forth.
B.
Before an applicant can obtain a permit for the purpose of removing
earth in the Town of Medfield, he shall present to the Board of Selectmen
an original and five copies of a plan made by a registered engineer
or registered land surveyor, which shall show in detail the following
information:
(1)
All property where earth is to be removed, with the boundaries
shown in detail.
(2)
All buildings on said property and buildings within 100 feet
of said property lines.
(3)
All adjacent roads, their elevations, and established grades.
(4)
All adjacent waterways, brooks, swamps and their elevations.
(5)
Contour lines for the entire property at two-foot intervals
and showing existing and proposed elevations.
(6)
Any and all easements existing and proposed, public or private.
(7)
Any and all benchmarks.
(8)
All land shall be divided into five-acre grids.
The plan shall be drawn to a scale of one inch equals 40 feet.
All profiles shall be drawn to a scale of one inch equals eight feet.
The Board of Selectmen, after study, may make such corrections and
revisions as it deems advisable in the public interest.
In approving the plan, the Board of Selectmen will require that
the land shall be suitable for the removal of earth without danger
to health and life and that proper steps are taken so as not to hinder
or endanger traffic on public ways. The Board of Selectmen may require,
at its discretion, that police control of the traffic be provided
by the applicant at his or her expense. Only when the Selectmen find
affirmatively that no public hazard or nuisance will result will they
approve a plan for the removal of earth where intentions are shown
for excavation below the level of an adjacent already-existing public
way.
A.
The Board of Selectmen will act upon application for approval of
earth removal only when proper plans have been submitted with all
information that is required clearly shown.
B.
Before approval is granted, a public hearing shall be held by the
Board of Selectmen, notices of which shall be sent by certified or
registered mail with return receipt to mortgagees, if any, of the
applicant's property and to all owners of property as appearing on
the most recent tax list, any part of which lies within 100 feet of
the property of the applicant.
A.
The applicant shall arrange and pay for such publications and notices
and shall deliver a list of said mortgagees, property owners, return
receipts, and a copy of the paper containing the notice of the hearing
to the Clerk of the Board of Selectmen at least 24 hours prior to
the hearing.
B.
The notice shall appear in a paper of general circulation within
the Town, once in each of two successive weeks, the first publication
at least 14 days before the day of the hearing.
C.
The word "applicant" as used in these rules and regulations shall
mean the owner of the property or his or her legal representative
or persons authorized by the owner.
D.
Corporations shall file with the Board of Selectmen a list of their
officers and designate their authority to sign legal documents.
A.
Before approval of any plan, and in order to insure the fulfillment
of the following requirements, the Board of Selectmen will require
a proper bond, or deposits of money, or negotiable securities on a
scale of not less than $10,000 per acre, for which restoration could
be required, the exact amount to be set by the Board of Selectmen.
B.
Said bond or security shall be held by the Town of Medfield until
all requirements of the specifications have been complied with. The
Board of Selectmen shall be the agent to enforce compliance with these
rules and regulations, and upon satisfactory completion will release
the security.
C.
No applicant will be allowed to work more than one five-acre grid
at any one time.
All work shall be done in accordance with the following specifications:
A.
Trees are to be cut (not bulldozed).
B.
All trees and brush are to be chipped on the site, unless removed
for commercial purposes. Stumps are to be either chipped on the site
or removed in accordance with DEP regulations.
C.
All loam and subsoil must be bulldozed into piles for future respreading, except that loam and subsoil lying below proposed impervious surfaces on a site may be removed in accordance with the provisions of this Article 12.
D.
Earth may be removed only to contours as specified by the Board of
Selectmen. In earth removal areas, ledge shall not be left exposed
above the approved grade, and boulders, when encountered, shall be
buried at least such that their tops are four feet below the approved
grade, and in the event that ledge is encountered prior to reaching
the approved grade, a revision of the approved grade plan must be
immediately obtained.
E.
After the earth has been removed from the first five-acre grid, and
before proceeding to the next five-acre grid, excavation shall be
graded to the approved grade and all loam and subsoil shall then be
respread over the excavation, except in such areas as are required
in subsequent operations.
F.
Rye grass shall be seeded on this reloamed area at the rate of 200
pounds per acre.
G.
Fingerling fir, white pine or other approved trees shall be planted
over the entire area, five to six feet on centers.
H.
Upon completion and approval by the Board of Selectmen of the five-acre
grid, the security may be released in part or in whole or it may be
advanced to the next grid.
A.
Noncommercial removal of earth for the improvement of a person's
property in an area not exceeding one acre will be allowed on a weekly
permit upon such conditions and terms as specified by the Board of
Selectmen. This type of permit must be renewed every seven days at
a time and place set by the Board of Selectmen.
B.
If a violation of the terms of an earth removal permit occurs, the
Selectmen shall forthwith revoke the permit and not renew it until
the violation has been corrected to the satisfaction of the Board
of Selectmen.
C.
These rules and regulations governing earth removal uses in the Town
of Medfield shall not apply to operations that were in progress and
operated on land owned by the applicant prior to April 9, 1938, except
that the final grade of the land shall be approved by the Board of
Selectmen immediately upon the approval of this Bylaw.
D.
The Board of Selectmen may delegate authority to inspect the earth
removal operations under these rules and regulations.
E.
The Board of Selectmen shall reserve the right to limit the days
and hours of operation and may require antidust treatment in those
areas that, in the Board of Selectmen's opinion, require such treatment.
F.
The Board of Selectmen may also require additional surety to cover
the cost of damage to existing Town roadways or cleanup requirements
caused by the earth removal operation.
"Earth," as used in this Article, shall include all material,
fragmental or otherwise, normally composing part of the surface of
the globe, excluding water.
A.
Removal of earth without a valid earth removal permit or in excess
of the amount specified in a permit or otherwise in violation of any
stated condition of a permit shall be punishable by fine as follows:
$100 per cubic yard, each cubic yard constituting a separate violation.
B.
The enforcement officer for this Earth Removal Bylaw shall be the
Chief of Police and any police officer, and the Building Inspector.
An applicant may appeal an enforcement officer's determination as
to the existence of a violation or the amount of a fine by requesting
a hearing before the Board of Selectmen.
[Amended 4-28-2014 ATM
by Art. 33]
