The purpose of this chapter is to protect the wetlands, related
water resources, and adjoining land areas in the City of Quincy by
prior review and control of activities deemed by the Quincy Conservation
Commission likely to have a significant or cumulatively adverse effect
upon wetland values, including but not limited to the following: public
or private water supply, groundwater, flood control, erosion and sedimentation
control, storm damage prevention, water pollution, fisheries, shellfish,
wildlife habitat, recreation, aesthetics (the visual quality and appearance
of a project and/or quiet enjoyment of undisturbed resource areas),
and aquaculture values (collectively, the "wetland values protected
by this chapter").
[Amended 6-1-2020 by Order
No. 2020-012]
Except as permitted by the Conservation Commission or as provided
in this chapter, no person shall remove, fill, dredge, build upon,
or alter the following resources or land under said resources or land
within a buffer zone as defined by the Department of Environmental
Protection in 310 CMR: any freshwater wetland, including any marsh,
wet meadow, bog or swamp; any saltwater wetland; any lake, river,
pond, stream, drainageway, canal, estuary or the ocean; any bank,
beach, dune, or flat bordering on said water or wetlands; or any land
subject to flooding or inundation by groundwater, surface water, tidal
action or coastal storm flowage.
[Amended 6-1-2020 by Order
No. 2020-012]
A. Any person filing an application or a request for determination with
the Commission concurrently shall give written notice to all abutters
in accordance with CMR 310. The notice to the abutters shall include
a copy of the application or information where a copy of the application
may be obtained and examined by abutters free of charge.
B. When a person requesting a determination is other than the owner,
the request, the notice of the hearing and the determination itself
shall be sent by the Commission to the owner as well as to the person
making the request.
C. The Commission shall conduct a public hearing on any application
or request for determination, with written notice given at the expense
of the applicant seven business days prior to the hearing in a newspaper
of general circulation in the municipality.
D. The Commission shall commence the public hearing within 21 days from
receipt of a completed application or request for determination.
E. The Commission shall issue its permit or determination in writing
within 21 days of the close of the public hearing thereon.
F. The Commission in an appropriate case may combine its hearing under
this chapter with the hearing conducted under the Wetlands Protection
Act, MGL c. 131, § 40.
Any person filing a permit application or a request for determination
with the Commission shall provide a copy thereof at the same time,
by certified mail or hand delivery, to the City Council, Planning
Board, Zoning Board of Appeals, Health Commissioner and Director of
Inspectional Services.
After public notice and public hearing, the Commission may promulgate
rules and regulations to effectuate the purposes of this chapter.
Failure by the Commission to promulgate such rules and regulations
or a legal declaration of their invalidity by a court of law shall
not act to suspend or invalidate the effect of this chapter.
[Amended 6-1-2020 by Order
No. 2020-012]
A. The permit and application required by this chapter shall not be
required for maintaining, repairing, or replacing, but not substantially
changing or enlarging, an existing and lawfully located structure
or facility used in the service of the public to provide electric,
gas, water, telephone, telegraph, or other telecommunication services,
provided that the structure or facility is not substantially changed
or enlarged, provided that written notice has been given to the Commission
prior to commencement of work, and provided that the work conforms
to performance standards in any regulations adopted by the Commission.
B. The permit and application required by this chapter shall not apply
to emergency projects necessary for the protection of the health or
safety of the public, provided that the work is to be performed by
or has been ordered to be performed by an agency of the commonwealth
or a political subdivision thereof, provided that advance notice,
oral or written, has been given to the Commission prior to commencement
of work or within 24 hours after commencement, provided that the Conservation
Commission or its agent certifies the work as an emergency project,
provided that the work is performed only for the time and place certified
by the Conservation Commission for the limited purposes necessary
to abate the emergency, and provided that within 21 days of commencement
of an emergency project a permit application shall be filed with the
Commission for review as provided in this chapter. Upon failure to
meet these and other requirements of the Commission, the Commission
may, after notice and a public hearing, revoke or modify an emergency
project approval and order restoration and mitigation measures.
As part of a permit issued under this chapter, in addition to
any security required by any other municipal or state board, agency
or official, the Commission may require that the performance and observance
of the conditions imposed hereunder be secured wholly or in part by
one or more of the methods described below:
A. By a proper
bond or deposit of money or negotiable securities or other undertaking
of financial responsibility sufficient in the opinion of the Commission.
B. The Commission
may also accept as security a conservation restriction, easement,
or other covenant enforceable in a court of law, whether temporary
or permanent, executed and duly recorded by the owner of record.
The applicant for a permit shall have the burden of proving
by a preponderance of the credible evidence that the work proposed
in the application will not have unacceptable significant or cumulatively
adverse effect upon the wetland values protected by this chapter.
Failure to provide adequate evidence to the Commission supporting
this burden shall be sufficient cause for the Commission to deny a
permit or grant a permit with conditions.
This chapter is adopted under the Home Rule Amendment of the
Massachusetts Constitution and the home rule statutes, independent
of the Wetlands Protection Act, MGL c. 131, § 40, and regulations
thereunder.