[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town of Randolph 4-18-1995 ATM by Art. 8, approved 10-27-1995; amended 5-26-2009 ATM by Art. 29. Subsequent amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Zoning — See Ch. 200.
A.
The purpose of this ordinance is to protect the wetlands, water resources,
flood prone areas, and adjoining upland areas in the Town of Randolph
by controlling activities deemed by the Conservation Commission likely
to have a significant or cumulative effect on resource area values,
including but not limited to the following: public or private water
supply, groundwater supply, flood control, erosion and sedimentation
control, storm damage prevention including water quality, prevention
and control of pollution, fisheries, wildlife habitat, rare species
habitat including rare plant and animal species, agriculture, aquaculture,
and recreation values, deemed important to the community (collectively,
the "resource area values protected by this ordinance").
B.
This ordinance is intended to utilize the Home Rule authority of
this municipality so as to protect the resource areas under the Wetlands
Protection Act (MGL c. 131, § 40; the Act) to a greater
degree, to protect additional resource areas beyond the Act recognized
by the Town as significant, to protect all resource areas for their
additional values beyond those recognized in the Act, and to impose
in local regulations and permits additional standards and procedures
stricter than those of the Act and regulations thereunder (310 CMR
10.00), subject, however, to the rights and benefits accorded to agricultural
uses and structures of all kinds under the laws of the Commonwealth
and other relevant ordinances of the Town of Randolph.
A.
Except as permitted by the Conservation Commission no person shall
commence to remove, fill, dredge, build upon, degrade, discharge into,
or otherwise alter the following resource areas: any wetlands, marshes,
wet meadows, bogs, swamps, vernal pools, springs, banks, reservoirs,
lakes, ponds of any size, land under water bodies; intermittent streams,
brooks and creeks; lands adjoining these resource areas out to a distance
of one hundred (100) feet, known as the buffer zone; perennial rivers,
streams, brooks and creeks; lands adjoining these resource areas out
to a distance of two hundred (200) feet, known as the riverfront area;
lands subject to flooding or inundation by groundwater or surface
water; and lands subject to flooding (collectively the "resource areas
protected by this ordinance"). Said resource areas shall be protected
whether or not they border surface waters.
B.
The jurisdiction of this ordinance shall not extend to uses and structures
of agriculture that enjoy the rights and privileges of laws and regulations
of the Commonwealth governing agriculture, including work performed
for normal maintenance or improvement of land in agricultural or aquacultural
uses as defined by the Wetlands Protection Act regulations, found
at 310 CMR 10.04.
A.
The applications and permits required by this ordinance shall not
be required for work performed for normal maintenance or improvement
of land in agricultural and aquacultural use as defined by the Wetlands
Protection Act regulations at 310 CMR 10.04.
B.
The applications and permits required by this ordinance 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 written notice has been given to the Conservation Commission
prior to commencement of work, and provided that the work conforms
to any performance standards and design specifications in regulations
adopted by the Commission.
C.
The applications and permits required by this ordinance shall not
be required for emergency projects necessary for the protection of
the health and 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 twenty-four (24) hours after
commencement; provided that the 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 Commission for the limited
purposes necessary to abate the emergency; and provided that within
twenty-one (21) days of commencement of an emergency project a permit
application shall be filed with the Commission for review as provided
by this ordinance. 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.
D.
Other than stated in this ordinance, the exceptions provided in the
Wetlands Protection Act (MGL c. 131, § 40) and regulations
(310 CMR 10.00) shall not apply under this ordinance.
A.
Written application shall be filed with the Conservation Commission
to perform activities affecting resource areas protected by this ordinance.
The permit application shall include such information and plans as
are deemed necessary by the Commission to describe proposed activities
and their effects on the resource areas protected by this ordinance.
No activities shall commence without receiving and complying with
a permit issued pursuant to this ordinance.
B.
The Commission in an appropriate case may accept as the application
and plans under this ordinance any application and plans filed under
the Wetlands Protection Act (MGL c. 131, § 40) and regulations
(310 CMR 10.00), but the Commission is not obliged to do so.
C.
Any person desiring to know whether or not a proposed activity or
an area is subject to this ordinance may in writing request a determination
from the Commission. Such a Request for Determination of Applicability
(RDA) or Abbreviated Notice of Resource Area Delineation (ANRAD) filed
under the Act shall include information and plans as are deemed necessary
by the Commission.
D.
At the time of an application, the applicant shall pay a filing fee
specified in regulations of the Commission. The fee is in addition
to that required by the Wetlands Protection Act and regulations.
E.
Pursuant to MGL c. 44, § 53G and regulations promulgated
by the Commission, the Commission may impose reasonable fees upon
applicants for the purpose of securing outside consultants including
engineers, wetlands scientists, wildlife biologists or other experts
in order to aid in the review of proposed projects. Such funds shall
be deposited with the Town treasurer, who shall create an account
specifically for this purpose. Additional consultant fees may be requested
where the requisite review is more expensive than originally calculated
or where new information requires additional consultant services.
F.
Only costs relating to consultant work done in connection with a
project for which a consultant fee has been collected shall be paid
from this account, and expenditures may be made at the sole discretion
of the Commission. Any consultant hired under this provision shall
be selected by, and report exclusively to, the Commission. The Commission
shall provide applicants with written notice of the selection of a
consultant, identifying the consultant, the amount of the fee to be
charged to the applicant, and a request for payment of that fee. Notice
shall be deemed to have been given on the date it is mailed or delivered.
G.
The applicant may withdraw the application or request within five
(5) business days of the date notice is given without incurring any
costs or expenses.
H.
The entire fee must be received before the initiation of consulting
services. Failure by the applicant to pay the requested consultant
fee within ten (10) business days of the request for payment shall
be cause for the Commission to declare the application administratively
incomplete and deny the permit without prejudice, except in the case
of an appeal. The Commission shall inform the applicant and Department
of Environmental Protection (DEP) of such a decision in writing.
I.
The applicant may appeal the selection of an outside consultant to
the Town Council, who may disqualify the consultant only on the grounds
that the consultant has a conflict of interest or is not properly
qualified. The minimum qualifications shall consist of either an educational
degree or three (3) or more years of practice in the field at issue,
or a related field. The applicant shall make such an appeal in writing,
and must be received within ten (10) business days of the date that
request for consultant fees was made by the Commission. Such appeal
shall extend the applicable time limits for action upon the application.
A.
Any person filing a permit or other application or RDA or ANRAD or
other request with the Conservation Commission at the same time shall
give written notice thereof, by certified mail (return receipt requested)
or hand delivered, to all abutters at their mailing addresses shown
on the most recent applicable tax list of the Assessors, including
owners of land directly opposite on any public or private street or
way, and abutters to the abutters within three hundred (300) feet
of the property line of the applicant, including any in another municipality
or across a body of water. The notice shall state a brief description
of the project or other proposal and the date of any Commission hearing
or meeting date if known. The notice to abutters also shall include
a copy of the application or request, with plans, or shall state where
copies may be examined and obtained by abutters. An affidavit of the
person providing such notice, with a copy of the notice mailed or
delivered, shall be filed with the Commission. 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.
B.
The Commission shall conduct a public hearing on any permit application, RDA, or ANRAD with written notice given at the expense of the applicant, at least five (5) business days prior to the hearing, in a newspaper of general circulation in the municipality. The Commission shall commence the public hearing within twenty-one (21) days from receipt of a completed permit application, RDA, or ANRAD unless an extension is authorized in writing by the applicant. The Commission shall have authority to continue the hearing to a specific date announced at the hearing, for reasons stated at the hearing, which may include the need for additional information from the applicant or others as deemed necessary by the Commission in its discretion, based on comments and recommendations of the Boards and officials listed in § 196-6.
C.
The Commission shall issue its permit, other order or determination
in writing within twenty-one (21) days of the close of the public
hearing thereon unless an extension is authorized in writing by the
applicant. The Commission in an appropriate case may combine its hearing
under this ordinance with the hearing conducted under the Wetlands
Protection Act (MGL c. 131, § 40) and regulations (310 CMR
10.00).
A.
Any person filing a permit application, RDA, or ANRAD with the Conservation
Commission shall provide a copy thereof at the same time, by certified
mail (return receipt requested) or hand delivery, to the Town Council,
Planning Board, Board of Appeals, Board of Health, Town Engineer,
and Building Inspector. A copy shall be provided in the same manner
to the Commission of the adjoining municipality, if the application
or RDA pertains to property within three hundred (300) feet of that
municipality. An affidavit of the person providing notice, with a
copy of the notice mailed or delivered, shall be filed with the Commission.
The Commission shall not take final action until the above boards
and officials have had fourteen (14) days from receipt of notice to
file written comments and recommendations with the Commission, which
the Commission shall take into account but which shall not be binding
on the Commission.
B.
The applicant shall have the right to receive any comments and recommendations,
and to respond to them at a hearing of the Commission, prior to final
action.
A.
If the Conservation Commission, after a public hearing, determines
that the activities which are subject to the permit application, or
the land and water uses which will result therefrom, are likely to
have a significant individual or cumulative effect on the resource
area values protected by this ordinance, the Commission, within twenty-one
(21) days of the close of the hearing, shall issue or deny a permit
for the activities requested. The Commission shall take into account
the extent to which the applicant has avoided, minimized and mitigated
any such effect. The Commission also shall take into account any loss,
degradation, isolation, and replacement or replication of such protected
resource areas elsewhere in the community and the watershed, resulting
from past activities, whether permitted, unpermitted or exempt, and
foreseeable future activities.
B.
If it issues a permit, the Commission shall impose conditions which
the Commission deems necessary or desirable to protect said resource
area values, and all activities shall be conducted in accordance with
those conditions. Where no conditions are adequate to protect said
resource area values, the Commission is empowered to deny a permit
for failure to meet the requirements of this ordinance. It may also
deny a permit: for failure to submit necessary information and plans
requested by the Commission; for failure to comply with the procedures,
design specifications, performance standards, and other requirements
in regulations of the Commission; or for failure to avoid, minimize
or mitigate unacceptable significant or cumulative effects upon the
resource area values protected by this ordinance. Due consideration
shall be given to any demonstrated hardship on the applicant by reason
of denial, as presented at the public hearing. The Commission may
waive specifically identified and requested procedures, design specifications,
performance standards, or other requirements set forth in its regulations,
provided that: the Commission finds in writing after said public hearing
that there are no reasonable conditions or alternatives that would
allow the proposed activity to proceed in compliance with said regulations;
that avoidance, minimization and mitigation have been employed to
the maximum extent feasible; and that the waiver is necessary to accommodate
an overriding public interest or to avoid a decision that so restricts
the use of the property as to constitute an unconstitutional taking
without compensation.
C.
In reviewing activities within the buffer zone, the Commission shall
presume the buffer zone is important to the protection of other resource
areas because activities undertaken in close proximity have a high
likelihood of adverse impact, either immediately, as a consequence
of construction, or over time, as a consequence of daily operation
or existence of the activities. These adverse impacts from construction
and use can include, without limitation, erosion, siltation, loss
of groundwater recharge, poor water quality, and loss of wildlife
habitat. The Commission may establish, in its regulations, design
specifications, performance standards, and other measures and safeguards,
including setbacks, no-disturb areas, no-build areas, and other work
limits for protection of such lands, including without limitation
strips of continuous, undisturbed vegetative cover, unless the applicant
convinces the Commission that the area or part of it may be disturbed
without harm to the values protected by the ordinance.
D.
In reviewing activities within the riverfront area, the Commission
shall presume the riverfront area is important to all the resource
area values unless demonstrated otherwise, and no permit issued hereunder
shall permit any activities unless the applicant, in addition to meeting
the otherwise applicable requirements of this ordinance, has proved
by a preponderance of the evidence that (1) there is no practicable
alternative to the proposed project with less adverse effects, and
that (2) such activities, including proposed mitigation measures,
will have no significant adverse impact on the areas or values protected
by this ordinance. The Commission shall regard as practicable an alternative
which is reasonably available and capable of being done after taking
into consideration the proposed property use, overall project purpose
(e.g., residential, institutional, commercial, or industrial), logistics,
existing technology, costs of the alternatives, and overall project
costs.
E.
To prevent resource area loss, the Commission shall require applicants
to avoid alteration wherever feasible; to minimize alteration; and,
where alteration is unavoidable and has been minimized, to provide
full mitigation. The Commission may authorize or require replication
of wetlands as a form of mitigation, but only with specific plans,
professional design, proper safeguards, adequate security, and professional
monitoring and reporting to assure success, because of the high likelihood
of failure of replication.
F.
The Commission may require a wildlife habitat study of the project
area, to be paid for by the applicant, whenever it deems appropriate,
regardless the type of resource area or the amount or type of alteration
proposed. The decision shall be based upon the Commission's estimation
of the importance of the habitat area considering (but not limited
to) such factors as proximity to other areas suitable for wildlife,
importance of wildlife "corridors" in the area, or actual or possible
presence of rare plant or animal species in the area. The work shall
be performed by an individual who at least meets the qualifications
set out in the wildlife habitat section of the Wetlands Protection
Act regulations (310 CMR 10.60).
G.
The Commission shall presume that all areas meeting the definition of "vernal pools" under § 196-9 of this be overcome only by the presentation of credible evidence which, in the judgment of the Commission, demonstrates that the basin or depression does not provide essential habitat functions. Any formal evaluation should be performed by an individual who at least meets the qualifications under the wildlife habitat section of the Wetlands Protection Act regulations.
H.
A permit, Determination of Applicability (DOA), or Order of Resource
Area Delineation (ORAD) shall expire three (3) years from the date
of issuance. Notwithstanding the above, the Commission in its discretion
may issue a permit expiring five (5) years from the date of issuance
for recurring or continuous maintenance work, provided that annual
notification of time and location of work is given to the Commission.
Any permit may be renewed once for an additional one-year period,
provided that a request for a renewal is received in writing by the
Commission prior to expiration. Notwithstanding the above, a permit
may identify requirements which shall be enforceable for a stated
number of years, indefinitely, or until permanent protection is in
place, and shall apply to all present and future owners of the land.
J.
Amendments to permits, DOAs, or ORADs shall be handled in the manner
set out in the Wetlands Protection Act regulations and policies thereunder.
K.
The Commission in an appropriate case may combine the decision issued
under this ordinance with the permit, DOA, ORAD, or Certificate of
Compliance (COC) issued under the Wetlands Protection Act and regulations.
L.
No work proposed in any application shall be undertaken until the
permit, or ORAD issued by the Commission with respect to such work
has been recorded in the registry of deeds or, if the land affected
is registered land, in the registry section of the land court for
the district wherein the land lies, and until the holder of the permit
certifies in writing to the Commission that the document has been
recorded. If the applicant fails to perform such recording, the Commission
may record the documents itself and require the Applicant to furnish
the recording fee therefor, either at the time of recording or as
a condition precedent to the issuance of a COC.
A.
After public notice and public hearing, the Conservation Commission
shall promulgate rules and regulations to effectuate the purposes
of this ordinance, effective when voted and filed with the Town Clerk.
B.
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 ordinance. At
a minimum these regulations shall reiterate the terms defined in this
ordinance, define additional terms not inconsistent with the ordinance,
and impose filing and consultant fees and penalties for noncompliance.
A.
AGRICULTURE
ALTER
(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)
(5)
(6)
(7)
(8)
(9)
(10)
(11)
BANK
PERSON
POND
RARE SPECIES
VERNAL POOL
The following definitions shall apply in the interpretation and implementation
of this ordinance.
Shall refer to the definition as provided by MGL c. 128,
§ 1A.
Includes, without limitation, the following activities when
undertaken to, upon, within or affecting resource areas protected
by this ordinance:
Removal, excavation, or dredging of soil, sand, gravel, or aggregate
materials of any kind.
Changing of preexisting drainage characteristics, flushing characteristics,
salinity distribution, sedimentation patterns, flow patterns, or flood
retention characteristics.
Drainage, or other disturbance of water level or water table.
Dumping, discharging, or filling with any material which may
degrade water quality.
Placing of fill, or removal of material, which would alter elevation.
Driving of piles, erection, expansion or repair of buildings,
or structures of any kind.
Placing of obstructions or objects in water.
Destruction of plant life including cutting or trimming of trees
and shrubs
Changing temperature, biochemical oxygen demand, or other physical,
biological, or chemical characteristics of any waters.
Any activities, changes, or work which may cause or tend to
contribute to pollution of any body of water or groundwater.
Incremental activities which have, or may have, a cumulative
adverse impact on the resource areas protected by this ordinance.
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.
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 Town ordinances, administrative agency, public or quasi-public
corporation or body, this municipality, and any other legal entity,
its legal representatives, agents, or assigns.
Shall follow the definition of 310 CMR 10.04 except that
the size threshold of ten thousand (10,000) square feet shall not
apply.
Includes, without limitation, all vertebrate and invertebrate
animals and all plant species listed as endangered, threatened, or
of special concern by the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and
Wildlife, regardless whether the site in which they occur has been
previously identified by the Division.
Includes, in addition to scientific definitions found in
the regulations under the Wetlands Protection Act, any confined basin
or depression not occurring in existing lawns, gardens, landscaped
areas or driveways which, at least in most years, holds water for
a minimum of two (2) continuous months during the spring and/or summer,
contains at least two hundred (200) cubic feet of water at some time
during most years, is free of adult predatory fish populations, and
provides essential breeding and rearing habitat functions for amphibian,
reptile or other vernal pool community species, regardless of whether
the site has been certified by the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries
and Wildlife. The boundary of the resource area for vernal pools shall
be the mean annual high-water line defining the depression.
B.
Except as otherwise provided in this ordinance or in associated regulations
of the Conservation Commission, the definitions of terms and the procedures
in this ordinance shall be as set forth in the Wetlands Protection
Act (MGL c. 131, § 40) and regulations (310 CMR 10.00).
As part of a permit issued under this ordinance, in addition
to any security required by any other municipal or state board, agency,
or official, the Conservation Commission may require that the performance
and observance of the conditions imposed thereunder (including conditions
requiring mitigation work) be secured wholly or in part by one (1)
or both of the methods described below:
A.
By a proper bond, deposit of money or negotiable securities under
a written third-party escrow arrangement, or other undertaking of
financial responsibility sufficient in the opinion of the Commission,
to be released in whole or in part upon issuance of a COC for work
performed pursuant to the permit.
B.
By accepting a conservation restriction, easement, or other covenant
enforceable in a court of law, executed and duly recorded by the owner
of record, running with the land to the benefit of this municipality
whereby the permit conditions shall be performed and observed before
any lot may be conveyed other than by mortgage deed. This method shall
be used only with the consent of the applicant.
A.
No person shall remove, fill, dredge, build upon, degrade, or otherwise
alter resource areas protected by this ordinance, or cause, suffer,
or allow such activity, or leave in place unauthorized fill, or otherwise
fail to restore illegally altered land to its original condition,
or fail to comply with a permit or an enforcement order issued pursuant
to this ordinance.
B.
The Conservation Commission, its agents, officers, and employees
shall have authority to enter upon privately owned land for the purpose
of performing their duties under this ordinance and may make or cause
to be made such examinations, surveys, or sampling as the Commission
deems necessary, subject to the constitutions and laws of the United
States and the Commonwealth.
C.
The Commission shall have authority to enforce this ordinance, its
regulations, and permits issued thereunder by letters, phone calls,
electronic communication and other informal methods, violation notices,
non-criminal citations under MGL c. 40, § 21D, and civil
and criminal court actions. Any person who violates provisions of
this deemed necessary to remedy such violations, or may be fined,
or both.
D.
Upon request of the Commission, the Town Council and Town Counsel
shall take legal action for enforcement under civil law. Upon request
of the Commission, the Chief of Police shall take legal action for
enforcement under criminal law.
E.
Municipal boards and officers, including any police officer or other
officer having police powers, shall have authority to assist the Commission
in enforcement.
F.
Any person who violates any provision of this ordinance, or regulations,
permits, or administrative orders issued thereunder, shall be punished
by a fine in accordance with the Fine Schedule.[1] Each day or portion thereof during which a violation continues,
or unauthorized fill or other alteration remains in place, shall constitute
a separate offense, and each provision of the ordinance, regulations,
permits, or administrative orders violated shall constitute a separate
offense.
The applicant for a permit shall have the burden of proving
by a preponderance of the credible evidence that the work proposed
in the permit application will not have unacceptable significant or
cumulative effect upon the resource area values protected by this
ordinance. Failure to provide adequate evidence to the Conservation
Commission supporting this burden shall be sufficient cause for the
Commission to deny a permit or grant a permit with conditions.
A decision of the Conservation Commission shall be reviewable
in the superior court in accordance with MGL c. 249, § 4.
This ordinance 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
(310 CMR 10.00) thereunder. It is the intention of this ordinance
that the purposes, jurisdiction, authority, exemptions, regulations,
specifications, standards, and other requirements shall be interpreted
and administered as stricter than those under the Wetlands Protection
Act and regulations.
