Exciting enhancements are coming soon to eCode360! Learn more ๐Ÿกช
City of Fall River, MA
Bristol County
By using eCode360 you agree to be legally bound by the Terms of Use. If you do not agree to the Terms of Use, please do not use eCode360.
For the purpose of this chapter, certain words and terms are hereby defined. The definitions set forth in the State Building Code are also applicable, where appropriate, with respect to words and terms not defined herein. Words used in the present tense include the future; the singular number includes the plural and the plural and singular; the word "lot" includes "plot"; the word "building" includes "structure"; the word "occupied" includes the words "designed, arranged or intended to be occupied." Where the verb "use" is employed, it shall be construed as if followed by the words "or is intended, arranged, designed, built, altered, converted, rented or leased to be used"; the word "shall" is mandatory and is not directory. However, all definitions must be in conformity with MGL c. 40A, as amended.
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
ACCESSORY BUILDING
A building devoted exclusively to a use subordinate to the principal use and, customarily, incidental to the principal use of the lot.
ACRE
An acre shall be 43,560 square feet.
AGRICULTURE or FARMING
Includes all farming in all of its branches and the cultivation and tillage of the soil, dairying, the production, cultivation, growing and harvesting of any agricultural, aquacultural, floricultural or horticultural commodities, the growing and harvesting of forest products upon forest land, the raising of livestock, including horses, the keeping of horses as a commercial enterprise, the keeping and raising of poultry, swine, cattle and other domesticated animals used for food purposes, bees, fur-bearing animals, and any forestry or lumbering operations, performed by a farmer, who is hereby defined as one engaged in agriculture or farming as herein defined, or on a farm as an incident to or in conjunction with such farming operations, including preparations for market, delivery to storage or to market or to carriers for transportation to market.
ANTENNA
Any exterior apparatus designed for telephonic, radio, television, personal communications services (PCS), pager network or any electromagnetic waves of any bandwidth. An antenna can either be attached to a tower or attached to a building.
ARTIST
A person regularly engaged in and who derives at least 20% of his/her annual income from art or creative work either written, composed, created or executed for a "one of a kind, limited" production, exclusive of any piece or performance created or executed for industry-oriented distribution or related production.
ARTIST LOFT
Artist loft space used, or designed to be used, by artists primarily for art use may also be used by artists as a residence. Such residency shall be limited to one family per residential unit. Each unit shall have a minimum of 800 square feet (s.f.) of floor area for one occupant and a minimum of 1,200 square feet of floor area for two or more family members.
ART USE
The production of art or creative work either written, composed or executed for a "one of a kind, limited" production, exclusive of any piece or performance created or executed for industry-oriented distribution or related production. Such use may include fine and applied arts, including painting or other like picture, traditional and fine artisanry, sculpture, writing, creating film, creating animation, music and theater, including lessons, choreography and the performing arts, but shall not include adult entertainment, or adult use.
AUTOMOBILE REFUELING STATION
A structure, building or premises or any portion thereof where gasoline, oil, alternative fuels or other similar products are stored and sold by an attendant and/or on a self-service basis to the public, without repair service or garage, but may also include retail sales.
AUTOMOTIVE REPAIR GARAGE
A repair facility not including auto body or paint shops, provided all servicing and repairs are carried out inside the building.
AUTOMOTIVE SERVICE STATION
A full-service gasoline station or service station for minor repairs, with or without self-service gasoline pumps, where no major repairs are made, provided that all lubrication and minor repairs are carried out inside the building.
BANNER
A temporary or permanent sign made of fabric or fabric-like material which may be free-hanging or attached at all corners.
BOARDINGHOUSE or LODGING HOUSE
A dwelling or that part of a dwelling where sleeping accommodations are let, with or without kitchen facilities, to four or more persons not within the second degree of kindred to the person conducting it, and shall include rooming houses, boardinghouses and tourist homes, but shall not include hotels, motels, inns, sorority, fraternity and cooperative residences, convalescent homes, nursing homes, rest homes, dormitories of charitable or philanthropic institutions or convalescent or nursing homes licensed under MGL c. 111, ยงย 71 or rest homes so licensed, or group residences licensed or regulated by agencies of the commonwealth.
BODY ART ESTABLISHMENT
Any building or structure where the practices of body piercing and/or tattooing, whether or not for profit, are performed. For the purpose of this chapter, body art establishments shall not be classified as an establishment that provides services to the general public.
BUILD
Includes the words "erect," "construct," "alter," "enlarge," "modify," "excavate," "fill," and any others of like significance.
BUILDING
Includes the word "structure" unless the context unequivocally indicates otherwise. "Building" shall also mean any three-dimensional enclosure by any building materials of any space for use or occupancy, temporary or permanent, and shall include foundations in the ground, also all parts of any kind of structure above ground except fences and field or garden walls or embankment retaining walls.
BUILDING COMMISSIONER/INSPECTOR OF BUILDINGS
The Building Commissioner/Inspector of Buildings shall be that individual as defined under the Massachusetts State Building Code, as amended from time to time.
BUILDING HEIGHT
The vertical distance to the highest point of the roof as measured from the mean ground level at all elevations of a building.[1]
BUILDING-INTEGRATED WIND ENERGY FACILITY
A wind energy facility shall be considered to be building-integrated if it is designed to be permanently mounted on a building or other inhabitable structure. This definition applies to wind turbines of any capacity that are designed to be operated in direct contact with a building. This definition also covers, for the purposes of this zoning provision, other wind energy facilities primarily used for land-based applications which may be permanently mounted and operated on a building.
BUILDING PERMIT
A required approval of a project by a licensed Inspector of Buildings/Building Commissioner which is consistent with the local, state and federal building codes. In addition, the permit must meet the criteria set forth under the local zoning ordinances.
COMMUNICATION TOWER
A tower, antennas, cables, radio, electronic and associated equipment used by FCC-licensed carriers for the purposes of transmitting and receiving voice and data via radio waves.
CORNICE
The exterior trim of a structure at the meeting of a roof and a wall.
DECK
A horizontal platform supported by any combination of posts, beams, foundations, and/or joists with or without handrails, steps or terraces and not covered by a permanent roof.
DOOR, FRONT
An entry that serves as the principal entrance for residents or visitors to one or more offices, dwelling units or retail establishments on a lot, and includes obvious design elements that identify it as a primary entrance.
DORMITORY
A building used as group living quarters for a student body or religious order as an accessory use for a university, college, boarding school, convent, or similar institutional use.
DRIVE-THROUGH
An establishment where goods or services are rendered directly to the occupants of motor vehicles.
DRIVEWAY
A vehicular passageway providing access between a street or way and a parking space, parking area, garage, or loading area, or between two such areas on a lot or lots.
DWELLING
A building designed for or occupied as a residence.
DWELLING, DETACHED
A building designed for or occupied as a residence separated from any other building, except accessory buildings, by side yards.
DWELLING UNIT
A room or rooms connected together, constituting a separate, independent housekeeping establishment and physically separated from any other rooms or dwelling units which may be in the same structure, and containing independent cooking and sleeping facilities.
FACADE
The exterior face of a building, which is treated in an architectural fashion.
FAMILY
One or more persons occupying a single dwelling unit, provided that, unless all members are related by blood, marriage or adoption, no such family shall contain more than five persons, but further provided that domestic servants employed on the premises may be housed on the premises without being counted as a family.
FLOOR AREA, GROSS
A.ย 
The sum, in square feet, of the gross horizontal areas of all the floors of a building, as measured from the exterior faces of the exterior walls or center lines of walls separating two buildings, including:
(1)ย 
Roofed porches and balconies, whether enclosed and unroofed porches and balconies above the second floor.
(2)ย 
Elevator shafts and stairwells on each floor.
(3)ย 
Accessible attic space with clear headroom of at least five feet, whether finished or unfinished, except as hereafter excluded: accessible attic spaces that are only accessible via pull-down stair or ceiling hatch.
(4)ย 
Interior balconies, mezzanines and penthouses.
(5)ย 
Basement and cellar areas, except as hereafter excluded.
B.ย 
The following areas are excluded from the gross floor area:
(1)ย 
Areas used for parking garages, accessory parking or off-street loading purposes.
(2)ย 
Basement and cellar areas devoted exclusively to uses accessory to the operation of a commercial or industrial building.
(3)ย 
Open or lattice-enclosed exterior fire escapes, and unroofed porches and balconies no higher than the second floor.
(4)ย 
Attic space and other areas for elevator machinery in any building or mechanical equipment accessory to the operation of a commercial or industrial building.
(5)ย 
Attic space that is not accessible and attic space with less than five feet of clear headroom.
FLOOR AREA RATIO
The gross floor area of a building divided by the area of the lot. Areas devoted to parking, to building mechanical systems and certain other areas are not counted when calculating gross floor area.
FRONTAGE
An unbroken distance along the street right-of-way at the front of the lot, as measured from one side lot line to the other, and shall provide rights of access and safe, year-round, practical vehicular access for fire, police and emergency vehicles to existing or proposed structures or buildings. In the case of a lot that fronts on a curve or angle in the street, the unbroken distance shall be measured from one side lot line to the other along the line that marks the minimum required front yard setback of the building on the lot.
FUEL STORAGE FACILITY
A structure, building or premises or any portion thereof where gasoline, oil, alternative fuels or other similar products are stored but not sold at retail (other than for on-site use).
FUNERAL AND/OR UNDERTAKING ESTABLISHMENT
All or part of a building used for funeral services. Such building may contain space and facilities for:
A.ย 
Embalming and the performance of other services necessary for the preparation of the dead for burial;
B.ย 
The storage of caskets, funeral urns, and other related funeral supplies;
C.ย 
The storage of funeral vehicles;
D.ย 
Facilities for cremation; and
E.ย 
The living quarters of an individual whose bona fide occupation is in the funeral establishment.
GARAGE
A building, separate or attached to a dwelling, in which one or more motor vehicles but no greater than three, one of which is owned by the owner or a tenant of the premises, are kept solely for the private or professional use of their owners, and in which no space is rented or used for any commercial vehicle, with the exception of pickup trucks of less than one-ton capacity. Note: References to other types of garages, such as public or residential/nonresidential parking garages, parking spaces or parking areas, as defined herein, are treated separately from garages under this code.
HEIGHT
With respect to wind turbines, the height of a wind turbine measured from natural grade to the tip of the rotor blade at its highest point, or blade-tip height.
HOME OCCUPATION
An occupation, business, trade, service or profession, which is incidental to and conducted in a dwelling unit, by permanent residents thereof. No more than one home occupation can be conducted on any premises.
HOSPITAL
An institution, however named, licensed by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, whether conducted for charity or profit, which is advertised, announced or maintained for the express purpose of diagnosis, medical or surgical treatment which is rendered within said institution.
HOTEL or MOTEL
A building or buildings intended and designed for transient, overnight or extended occupancy, divided into separate units within the same building, with or without a public dining facility. If such hotel or motel has independent cooking facilities, such unit shall not be occupied by any guest for more than four continuous months, nor may the guest reoccupy any unit within 30 days of a continuous four-month stay, nor may the guest stay more than six months in any calendar year.
KENNEL
One pack of collection of dogs on a single premises, whether maintained for breeding, boarding, sale, training, hunting or other purposes, and including any shop where dogs are on sale, and also including every pack or collection of more than four dogs, three months old or over, owned or kept by a person on a single premises irrespective of the purpose for which they are maintained.
[Amended 7-15-2019 by Ord. No. 2019-23]
LANDING
An intermediate platform on a flight of stairs.
LARGE WIND FACILITY
Equipment, machinery and structures utilized in connection with the conversion of wind (kinetic energy) into electrical power with a rated output of electrical power production equipment of greater than 100kW/0.1MW.
LIBRARY
A building, modular unit, or other structure used as a free public library in a city or town.
LOADING SPACE
That portion of a vehicle accommodation area used to load and/or unload goods to/from motor vehicles.
LOT
A parcel of land held in ownership that may be occupied by a building, including such open spaces as may be required by this chapter, which is at least of sufficient size to meet the minimum requirements of the district in which it is located. Such lot shall have frontage on any improved public way constructed (or adequately bonded to be constructed) to the City's specifications, or on an improved private way constructed to the City's specifications. (See also "unbuildable lot.") The word "lot" includes the words "plot" and "parcel."
LOT AREA
The horizontal area of the lot, exclusive of any area in a public or private way and, for lots newly created after April 1, 2013, exclusive of any land below the high water line of any water body contained therein. At least 50% of lot area for all lots required for zoning compliance shall be land other than wetland for all lots newly created after April 1, 2013.
LOT DEVELOPMENT COVERAGE
The area of a lot, including the footprints of all structures, pools, parking areas, driveways, outside storage and assembly areas. The maximum lot coverage shall be determined as a percentage of the size of the lot.
LOT LINE, FRONT
A line dividing a lot from a street.
LOT LINE, REAR
Except for triangular lots, corner lots, and other such lots, the lot line opposite the front lot line.
MANUFACTURING
A use engaged in the basic processing and manufacturing of materials, or the manufacture from previously prepared materials, of finished products or parts, including processing, fabrication, assembly, treatment, packaging, incidental storage, sales and distribution of such products, including, but not limited to, the following types of industries: food and kindred products, apparel, textiles and related products, electronic and electrical products, furniture and fixtures, printing and publishing, paper and allied products, plastic and allied products, primary and fabricated metal products, machinery, transportation and related equipment products, instruments and related products, including the storage of raw materials and containers used in or incidental to any of the foregoing, provided that any open lot storage shall not exceed 12 feet in height and that the area so used shall be enclosed by a tight wall or fence of at least the same height of the material so stored. Manufacturing shall not include recycling, as defined herein.
MEDICAL OR DENTAL CENTER OR CLINIC
A building designed and used for the diagnosis and treatment of human patients that does not include overnight care facilities.
MUNICIPAL FACILITY
Government office, service, or facility, including but not limited to police and fire stations, libraries, and administrative offices, owned or operated by the City of Fall River, the Fall River School Department, or any of their departments.
MUNICIPAL USE
Use of land or structures by the City of Fall River and others for maintenance operations, public utilities, public works and similar governmental functions.
MUSEUM
A public building, place, or institution devoted to the acquisition, conservation, study, exhibition, and educational interpretation of objects having scientific, historical, or artistic value.
NONCONFORMING STRUCTURE
Any structure which does not conform to the dimensional requirements in this chapter or to the parking and loading requirements of this chapter for the district in which it is located; provided that such structure was in existence and lawful at the time the applicable provisions of this or prior zoning ordinances became effective.
NONCONFORMING USE
A use of a building, structure or lot that does not conform to the use regulations of this chapter for the district in which it is located; provided that such use was in existence and lawful at the time the applicable provisions of this or prior zoning ordinances became effective.
ON-SITE WIND FACILITY
A wind project which is located at a commercial, industrial, agricultural, institutional or public facility that will generate electricity on-site.
OPEN SPACE, LANDSCAPED
The parts of a lot designed and developed for pleasant appearance in trees, shrubs, ground cover and grass, including other landscaped elements, such as natural features of the site, walks and terraces. Such space shall not include rooftops or areas of the lot used for parking, access drives or other hard-surfaced areas except walks and terraces as noted above, designed and intended for nonvehicular use. Such hard-surfaced walks and terraces shall not exceed 25% of the total required landscaped open space.
OPEN SPACE, USABLE
The parts of a lot designed and developed for outdoor use by the occupants of the lot for recreation, including swimming pools, tennis courts or similar facilities, for gardens or for household service activities such as clothes drying, which space is at least 75% open to the sky, free of automotive traffic and parking and readily accessible to all those for whom it is required. Open space shall be deemed usable only if at least 75% of the area has a grade of less than 8%.
PARKING GARAGE OR PARKING AREA
A.ย 
PARKING GARAGE OR PARKING AREA, NONRESIDENTIALA building, structure, lot or part of a lot designed or used for the shelter or storage of commercial or noncommercial motor vehicles used by the occupants or users of a lot or lots devoted to use or uses not permitted in a residence district, in which space is available either to long-term, transient or casual parkers.
B.ย 
PARKING GARAGE OR PARKING AREA, RESIDENTIALA building, structure, part of a building or structure, lot or part of a lot designed or used for the shelter or storage of noncommercial motor vehicles used by the occupants or users of a lot or lots devoted to a use or uses permitted in a residential district and in which no space is rented for casual or transient parkers.
C.ย 
For all parking areas, the following definitions shall apply:
(1)ย 
ACCESS DRIVEThe portion of a private parking area or commercial parking lot or structure used to provide access from the street to the parking spaces, but which does not abut a parking space on any side.
(2)ย 
ANGLE PARKINGParking spaces placed at an angle less than 90ยฐ from a drive lane.
(3)ย 
DRIVE LANEThe portion of a private parking area or commercial parking lot or structure which abuts a parking space on one or more sides, which is not used for vehicular parking, and which provides access from the parking space to a street with or without the use of an access drive.
(4)ย 
PERPENDICULAR PARKINGParking spaces placed at an angle of 90ยฐ from a drive lane.
PARKING SPACE
A parking space shall be a rectangle at least nine feet by 18 feet, exclusive of any required drive or aisle.
PARKING SPACE, OFF-STREET
An area of land adequate for parking an automobile with room for opening doors on both sides together with maneuvering room and proper access to a public or private way. Required off-street parking for three or more automobiles shall have individual spaces and shall be so designed, maintained and regulated that no maneuvering incidental to parking shall be on any public or private street or walk and so that any automobile may be parked or unparked without moving another.
PERMANENT SIGN
A sign intended to be used for a period greater than 30 days.
PIGEON LOFT
A structure(s) for the keeping or housing of pigeons. There shall be at least one square foot of floor space in any loft for each mature pigeon kept therein.
PORCH
A horizontal platform supported by any combination of posts, beams, foundations, and/or joists, with or without handrails, steps or terraces covered by a permanent roof, but not enclosed with walls, windows or screens any higher than four feet from the platform.
PROFESSIONAL OFFICE
Architecture, engineering, law, medicine, insurance, real estate, dentistry or other activity in which specialized services to clients are performed by persons possessing a degree from a recognized institution of higher learning demonstrating successful completion of a prolonged course of specialized intellectual instruction and study, and possessing evidence of professional capability such as membership in a professional society requiring standards of qualification for admission or licensing by the commonwealth. A professional office shall not include professionals working in a nail, hair care, cosmetology or tattoo establishment.
PROJECTION
An architectural feature, often containing window and/or door assemblies, including bay windows, stairways, open landings, bulkheads, door porticos, eaves, and balconies that protrude beyond the primary wall plane of a building.
RATED NAMEPLATE CAPACITY
The maximum rated output of electric power production equipment. The manufacturer typically specifies this output with a "nameplate" on the equipment.
RECYCLING CENTER
A parcel of land, with buildings, within which materials are stored, separated and processed for shipment and eventual reuse in new products. All storage, separation and processing for shipment shall be contained within enclosed buildings. No use that has outdoor storage, separation or processing for shipment shall be considered a recycling center. Recycling centers shall not include facilities where recyclables are processed and/or treated so as to be placed in a condition in which they may be used again in new products or establishments that store, process or treat hazardous wastes. This definition of "recycling center" shall not apply to a municipal facility for the collection of recyclable materials.
RESTAURANT
A building, or portion thereof, including but not limited to a lunch room, cafeteria, or ice cream parlor, which is designed, intended and used for the indoor sales and consumption of food prepared on the premises, and the incidental sale of food to "take out," except that food may be consumed outdoors in landscaped terraces, designed for dining purposes, which are adjuncts to the main indoor restaurant facility. Alcoholic and nonalcoholic beverages may be served, subject to local licensing. Drive-up or drive-through windows may be allowed subject to site plan review.
RESTAURANT, TAKE-OUT
Any establishment which has as its principal business the preparation of food, frozen dessert, or beverages for sale to be consumed away from the premises of the establishment. This does not apply to restaurants that occasionally sell such items for consumption away from the premises, and does not apply to drugstores or grocery stores. Restaurants of a size greater than 1,500 square feet cannot be considered take-out restaurants. If drive-through windows are an allowed use in the district in which the restaurant is located, take-out restaurants may have drive-through windows by special permit.
RETAIL
A facility selling goods, more specifically listed in the Table of Uses.[2]
SANITARY LANDFILL
A refuse transfer station, a refuse incinerator, a refuse compost plant, a plant, a residual waste storage or treatment plant, or any other works for treating or disposing of garbage, refuse, offal and rubbish.
SENIOR CONGREGATE HOUSING
A form of elderly oriented housing in which each individual or two-person family is provided with separate quarters which contain living and sleeping space and which may contain kitchen and bath facilities. Each such living space shall be considered the equivalent of one dwelling unit. Such housing shall also contain common dining, kitchen and social facilities. Limited supportive services may also be provided.
SERVICE BUSINESS
An enterprise that is established and maintained for the purpose of providing services (rather than or in addition to products) to private and/or commercial customers.
SIDEWALK
A paved, surfaced, or leveled area, paralleling and usually separated from the street, used as a pedestrian walkway.
SIGN
A structure which consists of a device, light, letter, word, model, banner, pennant, trade flag, logo, insignia, or representation which advertises, directs, or announces a use conducted, goods, products, services, or facilities available which influence persons, or conveys information, including electric signs, but excluding window displays or merchandise and signs which are incidental to the displayed merchandise. Refer to ยงย 86-450 et seq. for additional sign provisions.
SMALL WIND ENERGY SYSTEM
All equipment, machinery and structures utilized in connection with the conversion of wind (kinetic energy) into electrical power. This includes, but is not limited to, storage, electrical collection and supply equipment, transformers, service and access roads, and one or more wind turbines, which have a total rated nameplate capacity of not more than 100kW/0.1MW.
SPECIAL PERMIT
A permit issued by the special permit granting authority for uses and/or structures which are in harmony with the general purpose and intent of the relevant zoning ordinance. Special permits may authorize (with conditions) those uses and/or structures, including those uses and/or structures, activities and other matters set forth in MGL c. 40A, ยงย 9, as from time to time amended, so long as the underlying thresholds are met.
SPECIAL PERMIT GRANTING AUTHORITY
Unless specifically designated otherwise herein, the Zoning Board of Appeals of the City of Fall River.
STATE BUILDING CODE (SBC)
The latest edition of the Massachusetts State Building Code.
STORY
That part of a building or structure between any floor and the floor or roof above. A cellar, basement or parking area will count as a story only if 1) more than half of the clear height is above the average elevation of the finished lot grade, or 2) more than five feet of the front elevation is above the grade at the front of the structure. Steeples and projections used or intended to be used exclusively for utility service or access to the roof shall not be deemed a story. Attic areas used for storage or structural support where no portion of the attic can be converted to a living area under the Massachusetts Building Code shall not be considered a story.
STORY, HALF
A partial story under a roof which has the line of intersection of the roof and the wall face not more than three feet above the floor level, and in which space the floor area with headroom of five feet or more occupies no more than 80% of the area of the story directly beneath. Where such floor area occupies more than 80% it shall be considered a story. Dormers are included in determining the story status. Attic areas used for storage or structural support, where no portion of the attic can be converted to a living area under the Massachusetts Building Code, shall not be considered a story.
STREET
An accepted City way, or a way established by or maintained under county, state, or federal authority, or a way built to the specifications of a subdivision plan approved in accordance with the Subdivision Control Law,[3] or a way determined by the Planning Board to have sufficient width, suitable grades, and adequate construction to provide for the needs of vehicular traffic in relation to the proposed use of the land, and for the installation of municipal services to serve such land and the buildings erected or to be erected thereon.
STREET LINE
The right-of-way line of a street.
STRUCTURE
Anything constructed or erected with a fixed location on the ground or attached to something having a fixed location on the ground. Among other things, structures include buildings, walls, fences, billboards, signs and poster panels.
SUBSTANTIAL EVIDENCE
Such evidence as a reasonable mind might accept as adequate to support a conclusion.
TATTOOING
Any method of placing ink or other pigment into or under the skin or mucosa by the aid of needles or any other instrument used to puncture the skin, resulting in permanent coloration of the skin or mucosa. This includes all forms of cosmetic tattooing.
TEMPORARY TRAILER
A vehicular, portable structure built on a chassis and designed to be used for temporary occupancy but not as a residence; with the manufacturer's permanent identification "Temporary Trailer" thereon; and when factory-equipped for the road, being of any length, provided its gross weight does not exceed 4,500 pounds (~ย 2042 kg), or being of any weight, provided its overall length does not exceed 28 feet (~ย 8.534 m).
TERRACE
A paved surface on grade intended for private or shared use between residences; not included are porches, decks or balconies.
TOWNHOUSE
A dwelling unit in a row of at least three such units, in which each unit has its own front and rear exposure to the outside, no unit is located over another unit, and each unit is separated from any other unit by one or more common vertical fire-resistant walls.
TRAILER
A highway vehicle designed, constructed and equipped for use as a dwelling and which is capable of being hauled or towed, or is self-propelled, including any such vehicle so converted as would make it immobile.
TRANSIENT
A person or stay that is brief or temporary as a guest.
UNBUILDABLE LOT
A parcel of land that does not conform to the definition of a "lot"; land which is insufficient to meet the minimum requirements of the zoning district in which it is located. (See also "lot.")
USE
The purpose for which land or a building is arranged, designed or intended, or for which either land or a building is or may be occupied or maintained.
UTILITY-SCALE WIND FACILITY
A commercial wind facility, where the primary use of the facility is electrical generation to be sold to the wholesale electricity markets.
VARIANCE
A relaxation of the terms of this chapter where such relaxation will not be contrary to the public interest and where, owing to conditions peculiar to the property and not the result of the actions of the applicant, a literal enforcement of this chapter would result in unnecessary and undue hardship.
VETERINARY CLINIC
An establishment to provide medical care to animals of all types housed in a facility separate and apart from all other uses on that site. There shall be no outdoor facilities to house or exercise animals.
WETLAND
That area of land which may not be excavated or filled as of right and is subject to state regulations governing lakes, ponds, rivers, streams, freshwater swamps and other wetland features as identified by the Massachusetts Wetland Protection Act, as determined by the Conservation Commission or the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection.
WHOLESALE
The sale of goods in large quantity for the purpose of resale and completely enclosed in a building. Such uses shall not include the sale or transfer of flammable liquids, gas, explosives or other potentially hazardous materials.
WIDTH
The dimension of a lot measured parallel to the street on which the lot faces and at the required setback line of the structure.
WIND ENERGY FACILITY
All equipment, machinery and structures utilized in connection with the conversion of wind to electricity. This includes, but is not limited to, transmission, storage, collection and supply equipment, substations, transformers, service and access roads, and one or more wind turbines.
WIND MONITORING OR METEOROLOGICAL TOWER
A temporary tower equipped with devices to measure wind speeds and direction, used to determine how much wind power a site can be expected to generate.
WIND TURBINE
A device that converts kinetic wind energy into rotational energy that drives an electrical generator. A wind turbine typically consists of a tower, nacelle body, and a rotor with two or more blades.
YARD
A required open space unoccupied and unobstructed by any structure or portion of a structure, covered or uncovered, with the exception of any entrance stairs, ramps or stoops, fences, walls, poles, posts and other customary yard accessories, ornaments and furniture. The required yard shall also exclude building eaves, jets, bay windows or similar projections up to two feet in width.
YARD SETBACK, FRONT
A yard extending along any lot line, which is also the right-of-way line of a public or private way. Depth of a required front yard shall be the minimum distance required by the district regulations for the full distance of the front lot line. For corner lots, the front yard shall be the side of the lot with the required frontage. The other right-of-way line of a public or private way shall be considered the side yard.
YARD SETBACK, REAR
A yard of at least the minimum width required by the district regulations with its inner edge parallel with the rear lot line.
YARD SETBACK, SIDE
A yard of at least the minimum width required by the district regulations with its inner edge parallel with the side lot line.
[1]
Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions).
[2]
Editor's Note: The Table of Uses is included as an attachment to this chapter.
[3]
Editor's Note: See MGL c. 41, ยงยงย 81K through 81GG.