[Amended 5-5-1994 ATM; 5-7-2012 ATM; 5-8-2017 ATM, Art. 30; 5-6-2019 ATM, Art. 30; 5-8-2021 ATM by Art. 39]
A.Â
Floodplain, Watershed and Wetlands Protection District (hereinafter
the "District") shall include all land designated as such and shown
and delineated on a set of maps of the Town of Norwell entitled "Town
of Norwell, Wetlands Maps," dated April 5, 1974, by Moore Survey &
Mapping Corporation, Shrewsbury, Massachusetts, with amendment adopted
March 9, 1981, as shown on a plan entitled "Plan of 1981 Amendment
to Town of Norwell Wetlands Maps," dated January 5, 1981, by Bradford
Saivetz & Associates, Inc., Braintree, Massachusetts. The District
includes all special flood hazard areas within the Town of Norwell
designated as Zone A and AE on the Plymouth County Flood Insurance
Rate Map (FIRM) issued by the Federal Emergency Management Agency
(FEMA) for the administration of the National Flood Insurance Program
(NFIP). The map panels of the Plymouth County FIRM that are wholly
or partially within the Town of Norwell are panel numbers 25023C0092K,
25023C00941K, 25023C0103K, 25023C0104K, 25023C0108L, 25023C0111K,
25023C0112K, 25023C0113K, 25023C0114K, 25023C0116K, 25023C0117L, 25023C0118K,
25023C0206K and 25023C0207K dated July 6, 2021, and panel number 25023C0119K
dated November 4, 2016. The exact boundaries of the district may be
defined by the one-hundred-year base flood elevations shown on the
FIRM and further defined by the Plymouth County Flood Insurance Study
(FIS) report dated July 6, 2021. The FIRM and FIS report are incorporated
herein by reference and are on file with the Town Clerk. In case of
a conflict, the more restrictive interpretation shall apply.
B.Â
The District shall be considered to be superimposed over any other
district established by this Zoning Bylaw. All land in the district
is subject to the regulations set forth in this article. In unnumbered
A Zones of the Flood Insurance Rate Maps, the Building Inspector/Zoning
Enforcement Officer shall require the applicant to provide the best
available one-hundred-year flood elevation data available from federal,
state, local or other source for requiring new structures and substantial
improvements to existing structures to meet the elevation and floodproofing
standards of the Massachusetts State Building Code.
C.Â
The floodplain management regulations found in this District shall
take precedence over any less restrictive conflicting local laws,
ordinances or codes.
A.Â
All development in the District including structural and nonstructural
activities whether permitted by right or by special permit must be
in compliance with the following:
(1)Â
Section of the Massachusetts State Building Code (780 CMR) which
addresses floodplain and coastal high-hazard areas.
(2)Â
310 CMR 10.00, Wetlands Protection, Department of Environmental Protection.
(3)Â
310 CMR 13.00, Inlands Wetlands Restriction, DEP.
(4)Â
Title 5, minimum requirements for the subsurface disposal of sanitary
sewage, Department of Environmental Protection.
B.Â
All
subdivision proposals and development proposals in the District shall
be designed and reviewed to assure that:
C.Â
All property within the floodplain as delineated on Norwell's Flood
Insurance Rate Maps (FIRM) is subject to the provisions of the National
Flood Insurance Program (NFIP).
The purposes of this article, in addition to the purposes enumerated in § 201-1.1 of the Zoning Bylaw, are:
A.Â
To ensure
public safety through reducing the threats to life and personal injury.
B.Â
To eliminate
new hazards to emergency response officials.
C.Â
To prevent
the occurrence of public emergencies resulting from water quality,
contamination, and pollution due to flooding.
D.Â
To avoid
the loss of utility services which if damaged by flooding would disrupt
or shut down the utility network and impact regions of the community
beyond the site of flooding.
E.Â
To eliminate
costs associated with the response and cleanup of flooding conditions.
F.Â
To reduce
damage to public and private property resulting from flooding waters.
G.Â
To provide the lands in the Town subject to seasonal and/or periodic
flooding shall not be used for residential or other purposes in such
a manner as to endanger the public health, safety and general welfare
of inhabitants thereof.
H.Â
To protect, preserve and maintain the water table and water recharge
areas within the Town, so as to preserve the present and potential
water supplies for the public health and safety of the inhabitants
of the Town of Norwell.
I.Â
To assure the continuation of the natural flow pattern of the watercourses
within the Town in order to provide adequate and safe floodwater storage
capacity to protect persons and provide against the hazards of floodwater
inundation.
A.Â
The
Town of Norwell hereby designates the position of Building Inspector/Zoning
Enforcement Officer to be the official floodplain administrator for
the Town.
B.Â
Whenever an application is made for a building which the Building
Inspector/Zoning Enforcement Officer believes may involve the use
of land in the District, he shall determine, by any means at his disposal,
whether the parcel identified in the application lies within the District.
C.Â
In order to expedite this determination, the Building Inspector/Zoning
Enforcement Officer shall at his request be provided by the applicant
a complete topographic plan of the area proposed for use prepared
by a registered professional engineer or registered land surveyor
showing elevations of the land, contours at one-foot intervals to
the same base and scale as that on the Floodplain, Watershed and Wetlands
Protection District maps of the Town, and showing all pertinent information
including existing brooks, streams, river and areas of ponding, the
extent and depth of proposed excavation and/or filling and limits
of other proposed construction and/or appurtenant work.
D.Â
In case of a building permit for an interior improvement to a building
or structure, the foregoing overall topographic plan shall not be
required.
E.Â
In A Zones, in the absence of FEMA BFE data and floodway data, the
Building Department will obtain, review and reasonably utilize base
flood elevation and floodway data available from a federal, state,
or other source as criteria for requiring new construction, substantial
improvements, or other development in Zone A as the basis for elevating
residential structures to or above base flood level, for floodproofing
or elevating nonresidential structures to or above base flood level,
and for prohibiting encroachments in floodways.
A.Â
The
Town requires a permit for all proposed construction or other development
in the District, including new construction or changes to existing
buildings, placement of manufactured homes, placement of agricultural
facilities, fences, sheds, storage facilities or drilling, mining,
paving and any other development that might increase flooding or adversely
impact flood risks to other properties.
B.Â
The
Town's permit review process includes the use of a checklist of all
local, state and federal permits that will be necessary in order to
carry out the proposed development in the District. The proponent
must acquire all necessary permits, and must submit the completed
checklist demonstrating that all necessary permits have been acquired.
The following uses are permitted as a matter of right in the
districts subject to the provisions of this Zoning Bylaw applicable
to the underlying zoning districts in which said district is located
and provided such uses do not permanently and significantly derogate
from the purpose of this article:
A.Â
Proper operation and maintenance of dams and other water control
devices for drainage or flood control.
B.Â
Temporary alteration of water level for emergency or maintenance.
C.Â
Appropriate governmental use, including water and sewerage works,
pumping stations and river and stream clearance.
D.Â
Conservation of soil and plants and wildlife management.
E.Â
Outdoor recreation including play areas, nature study, boating, foot,
bicycle and horse paths and bridges, fishing and hunting where otherwise
legally permitted but excluding buildings and structures therefor.
F.Â
Uses and interior improvements of buildings or structures lawfully
existing prior to adoption of this article or for which a building
permit has been issued prior to adoption of this article.
G.Â
Forestry, grazing, farming, nurseries and truck gardening.
H.Â
Accessory uses to any of the above permitted uses.
A.Â
Schedule of special permit uses. Where otherwise legally permitted by the provisions of this Zoning Bylaw applicable to the underlying districts in which the District is located, and subject to such special conditions and safeguards as the Board of Appeals deems necessary to fulfill the purpose of this article, the following uses are permitted by special permit granted by the Board of Appeals in accordance with the provisions of Subsection B:
(1)Â
Foot bridges, plank walks, duck walks and private boat landings.
(2)Â
Golf courses.
(3)Â
Temporary storage of materials or equipment.
(4)Â
Dams, excavation or changes in watercourses to create ponds
or pools for swimming, fishing or other recreational or agricultural
use, scenic features or for improvements consistent with the purposes
of this article.
(5)Â
Appropriate driveways and roads when alternative means of access
are impractical.
(6)Â
Repair, rebuilding, modification, enlargement or exterior alteration
of existing structures, which will be subject to the substantial improvement
provisions of the Massachusetts State Building Code.
B.Â
Considerations. In hearing an application for a special permit hereunder,
the Board of Appeals shall consider, in addition to any other factors
said Board deems pertinent, the following factors:
(1)Â
Geographic location of proposed structures and security of access
thereto during flooding.
(2)Â
Foundation elevations and security of foundations during flooding.
(3)Â
Disposal and containment of sewage during flooding.
(4)Â
In Zone AE, along watercourses within the Town of Norwell that
have a regulatory floodway designated on the Plymouth County FIRM,
encroachments are prohibited in the regulatory floodway which would
result in any increase in flood levels within the community during
the occurrence of the base flood discharge.
(5)Â
Base flood elevation data is required for subdivision proposals
or other developments greater than 50 lots or five acres, whichever
is the lesser, within unnumbered A Zones in order to assure that:
(6)Â
In Zones A and AE, along watercourses that have not had a regulatory
floodway designated, the best available federal, state, local or other
floodway data shall be used to prohibit encroachments in floodways
which would result in any increase in flood levels within the community
during the occurrence of the base flood discharge.
C.Â
Criteria for approval. Whenever the Board of Appeals is authorized
to issue a special permit for a use under this article, said Board
shall assure that such use shall be consistent with the purposes of
this article and will:
(1)Â
Not produce unsuitable development in marshes, bogs and ponds
or along watercourses or in areas subject to flooding;
(2)Â
Protect and preserve the inland marshes, bogs, ponds and watercourses
and their adjoining wetlands in order to safeguard the purity of inland
and tidal waters for the propagation and protection of marine life
and for recreational purposes;
(3)Â
Conserve the value of lands and existing buildings;
(4)Â
Facilitate the adequate protection of provision of a water supply
through preservation and maintenance of the groundwater table; and
(5)Â
Encourage the most appropriate use of the land.
A.Â
Except as provided in § 201-18.6, no building, wall, dam or other structure shall be created, constructed, altered, enlarged or otherwise created or moved in the District for any purpose.
B.Â
No dumping, filling, excavating or transferring of any material which
will reduce or impair natural water storage or recharge capacity of
any land within the District or interfere with the natural flow patterns
of any watercourse within the District shall be permitted.
A.Â
The
Town will request from the State Building Code Appeals Board a written
and/or audible copy of the portion of the hearing related to the variance,
and will maintain this record in the community's files.
B.Â
The
Town shall also issue a letter to the property owner regarding potential
impacts to the annual premiums for the flood insurance policy covering
that property, in writing, over the signature of a community official
that i) the issuance of a variance to construct a structure below
the base flood level will result in increased premium rates or flood
insurance up to amounts as high as $25 for $100 of insurance coverage
and ii) such construction below the base flood level increases risks
to life and property.
C.Â
Such
notification shall be maintained with the record of all variance actions
for the referenced development in the District.
A variance from these floodplain bylaws must meet the requirements
set out by state law, and may only be granted if 1) good and sufficient
cause and exceptional nonfinancial hardship exist; 2) the variance
will not result in additional threats to public safety, extraordinary
public expense, or fraud or victimization of the public; and 3) the
variance is the minimum action necessary to afford relief.
If the Town acquires data that changes the base flood elevation
in the FEMA mapped special flood hazard areas, the Town shall, within
six months, notify FEMA of these changes by submitting the technical
or scientific data that supports the change(s.) Notification shall
be submitted to:
The Building Inspector/Zoning Enforcement Officer shall notify,
in a riverine situation, the following of any alteration or relocation
of a watercourse:
A.Â
Adjacent communities, especially upstream and downstream.
B.Â
Bordering states (optional).
C.Â
NFIP State Coordinator
Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation
251 Causeway Street, Suite 600-700
Boston, MA 02114-2104
|
D.Â
NFIP Program Specialist
Federal Emergency Management Agency, Region I
99 High Street, 6th Floor
Boston, MA 02110
|
A.Â
In
Zones A, A1-30, and AE, along watercourses that have not had a regulatory
floodway designated, the best available federal, state, local, or
other floodway data shall be used to prohibit encroachments in floodways
which would result in any increase in flood levels within the community
during the occurrence of the base flood discharge.
B.Â
In
Zones A1-30 and AE, along watercourses that have a regulatory floodway
designated on the Town's FIRM, encroachments are prohibited in the
regulatory floodway which would result in any increase in flood levels
within the community during the occurrence of the base flood discharge.
Within Zones AO and AH on the FIRM, adequate drainage paths
must be provided around structures on slopes, to guide floodwaters
around and away from proposed structures.
In A1-30, AH, AE Zones, V1-30, VE, and V Zones, all recreational
vehicles to be placed on a site must be elevated and anchored in accordance
with the zone's regulations for foundation and elevation requirements
or be on the site for less than 180 consecutive days or be fully licensed
and highway ready.
Alteration of sand dunes is prohibited when the alteration would
increase potential flood damage.
The degree of flood protection required by this bylaw is considered
reasonable, but does not imply total flood protection.
If any section, provision or portion of this bylaw is deemed
to be unconstitutional or invalid by a court, the remainder of the
bylaw shall be effective.