In this bylaw, the following terms shall have the meanings respectively
assigned to them:
ACCESSORY BUILDING
A building devoted exclusively to an accessory use as herein
defined, and not attached to a principal building by any roofed structure.
ACCESSORY USE
A use incidental to, and on the same lot as, a principal
use, and occupying less than 25% of the habitable floor area on the
premises and less than 50% of the lot area.
APARTMENT
An apartment (or flat) is a self-contained dwelling unit
that occupies only part of a larger building that may contain one
or more additional apartments, nonresidential uses, or both. Apartments
may be owned (by an owner-occupier) or rented (by tenants).
ART GALLERY
A place devoted to the display and sale of objects of art.
ARTIST'S STUDIO
Working place of an artist or a place for the study of art.
ASSISTED-LIVING RESIDENCE
Any entity, however organized, whether conducted for-profit
or not-for-profit, which meets all of the following criteria: (a)
provides room and board; (b) provides, directly by its employees or
through arrangements with another organization which the entity may
or may not control or own, personal care services for three or more
adults who are not related by consanguinity or affinity to their care
provider; and (c) collects payments or third-party reimbursements
from or on behalf of residents to pay for the provision of assistance
with the activities of daily living, or arranges for the same, and
provided that said entity is certified or licensed by the Executive
Office of Elder Affairs of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts or any
successor office or agency pursuant to MGL c. 19D and all other applicable
requirements. This definition shall not include any other forms of
group living quarters such as group foster care group homes, single-room-occupancy
residences, rooming or lodging houses, and other facilities as listed
in Commonwealth of Massachusetts regulations (651 CMR 12.01).
BASEMENT
A story with at least 40% of its height below finished grade.
However, for purposes of determining compliance with the height limit
requirements of this bylaw, a basement shall not be considered a story
unless its ceiling is five feet or more above the average finished
grade abutting the building.
BEDROOM
Any area in a dwelling unit which is or could be used for
the provision of private sleeping accommodations for residents of
the premises, whether such area is designated as a bedroom, guestroom,
maid's room, dressing room, den, study, library, or by another name.
Any room intended for regular use by all occupants of the dwelling
unit, such as a living room, dining area or kitchen, shall not be
considered a bedroom, nor shall bathrooms, halls or closets having
no horizontal dimension over six feet.
BUSINESS DISTRICT D DEVELOPMENT (BDDD)
A project comprised of one or more contiguous lots of land
within the Business District D with provisions as may be required
for permanent easements running with the land, a master deed and condominium,
or other mechanism acceptable to the Zoning Board of Appeals sufficient
to ensure vital access and utility service to each lot.
[Added 11-6-2017 STM
by Art. 2]
DAY CARE
Private, nonprofit, or public organization providing supervision
and facilities for children and/or adults during the day.
DISCHARGE
The accidental or intentional spilling, leaking, pumping,
pouring, emitting, emptying or dumping of toxic or hazardous materials
upon or into any land or water in the Town of Sharon. Discharge includes,
without limitation, leakage of such materials from failed or discarded
containers or storage system and disposal of such materials into any
on-site sewage disposal system, dry well, catch basin or unapproved
landfill. The term "discharge" shall not include the following:
a.
Proper disposal of any material in a sanitary or industrial
landfill that has received and maintained all necessary legal approvals
for that purpose;
b.
Application of fertilizers and pesticides in accordance with
label recommendations and with regulations of the Massachusetts Pesticide
Control Board;
c.
Application of road salts in conformance with snow control programs
of the Massachusetts Department of Transportation; and
d.
Disposal of sanitary sewage to subsurface sewage disposals systems
as defined and permitted by Title V of the Massachusetts Environmental
Code and the Town of Sharon Board of Health regulations.
DWELLING
A building designed exclusively for residential occupancy,
including one-family, two-family and multiple residences, but not
including hotels or boardinghouses.
DWELLING UNIT
An area within a dwelling consisting of one or more rooms,
providing complete living facilities for one family, including equipment
for cooking or provisions for the same, and including rooms for living,
sleeping and eating.
FLOOR AREA, HABITABLE
That area of a structure satisfying the requirements for a habitable room in the Minimum Standards of Fitness for Human Habitation of the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (Article
II of the State Sanitary Code).
FLOOR AREA RATIO
The gross floor area (as defined below) of all buildings
on a lot divided by the lot area (as defined below).
GARAGE, GROUP
A building, a part of a building, or a group of buildings,
other than a private garage, made up of units containing provisions
for not more than two motor vehicles in each unit, in which motor
vehicles are kept and taken care of by their respective owners, who
are either tenants or owners of each unit in which their motor vehicles
are kept, all said motor vehicles being solely for private or professional
use, and not for sale, rent, hire, exhibition or demonstration purposes.
GARAGE, PRIVATE
A building or part of a building in which one or more vehicles
are kept for private or professional use, and in which no motor vehicles
are kept for sale, rent, hire, exhibition or demonstration purposes.
GARAGE, PUBLIC
Any building or part of a building in which motor vehicles
are kept other than a private garage or group garage. A salesroom
or showroom for motor vehicles shall be regarded as a public garage
if any motor vehicle is kept in such room with gasoline in its tank.
GASOLINE SERVICE STATION
A tank, pump or other appliance for supplying motor vehicles
with gasoline, compressed air, oil, water, and similar supplies, but
not for the purpose of making repairs; together with the building,
part of a building or other structure used in connection with such
appliance.
GROSS FLOOR AREA
The sum of the areas of the several floors of a building,
including areas used for human occupancy in basements, attics and
penthouses, as measured from the exterior faces of the walls. It does
not include cellars, unenclosed porches or attics not used for human
occupancy, or any floor space in accessory buildings or in the main
building intended and designed for the parking of motor vehicles in
order to meet but not exceed the parking requirements of this bylaw,
or any such floor space intended and designed for accessory heating
and ventilating equipment.
GROSS LEASABLE FLOOR AREA
The total floor area reserved for tenant occupancy and exclusive
use of a business, measured from centerlines of joint partitions and
from the exterior faces of external walls. As in "gross floor area,"
it does not include cellars, etc.
HALF STORY
A story directly under a sloping roof where, in the case
of a roof having one uniform degree of pitch (such as in gable or
shed roof types), the points of intersection of the bottom of the
rafters and the interior faces of the exterior walls are less than
two feet above the floor level on at least two opposite exterior walls
or, in the case of a roof having two or more pitches on each of two
or more sides (such as gambrel or mansard roof types), the average
finished floor to finished ceiling height is less than six feet. Dormers
may be constructed on the roof and exterior walls, provided they are
structurally supported on the roof rafters and the length of the dormer(s)
as measured between the lowest bearing points of the dormer(s) on
the rafters of the sloping roof does not exceed 50% of the length
of the sloping roof to which it is attached.
HEIGHT, BUILDING
The vertical distance of the highest point of the roof beams
above the mean grade of the curb or of the street surface at the centerline
of the highest adjoining street, or the mean grade of the ground adjoining
the building if such building does not lie nearer than 12 feet to
a street line. The limitations as to building height in feet shall
not apply to such nonresidential accessories as chimneys, ventilators,
skylights, tanks, bulkheads, penthouses and other accessory features
which are required or are customarily carried above roofs, nor to
towers, spires, domes, cupolas and ornamental features of churches
and other buildings, if such features are not used for living purposes.
LOT AREA
The horizontal area of the lot, exclusive of any area in
a street or recorded way open or proposed to be open to public use.
For lots created subsequent to the adoption of this provision, at
least 90% of the lot area required for zoning compliance shall be
land other than that under any body of water, including watercourses,
or any bog, swamp, wet meadow or marsh, as defined in MGL c. 131,
§ 40, to be determined by the Inspector of Buildings, following
consultation with the Conservation Commission.
LOT, CORNER
A lot fronting on the street lines of two intersecting streets,
which street lines form an interior angle of 120° or less; or
a lot located on a bend in a street where the street line bends so
as to form an interior angle of 120° or less; or a lot on a curve
in a street, or on a curve at the intersection of two streets, where
two lines tangent to the street line at the intersection of each sideline
of the lot with the street lines, if prolonged towards the curve,
form an interior angle of 120° or less.
LOT COVERAGE
The percent of lot area covered by roofed structures.
MIXED-USE BUILDING
A building intended and designed to be used for at least
two different permitted uses as allowed for under Section 2300.
MOTEL OR HOTEL
A building designed for occupancy as the temporary residence
of transient tourists who are lodged with or without meals, and in
which no provision shall be made for cooking in any individual room
or suite.
MOTOR VEHICLE REPAIR SHOP
A building or part of a building in which structural repairs
are made to motor vehicles, or a repair shop in a garage or other
building in which machinery is used. An automobile school or a motor
vehicle paint shop shall be regarded as a motor vehicle repair shop.
MULTIPLE RESIDENCE
A building containing three or more dwelling units. Also
known as a "multifamily dwelling," "garden apartment," "townhouse"
or "condominium."
NATURAL VEGETATION AREA
Land having a well-established cover of thatch, mulch or
leaves, characterized by a prevalence of native plants requiring minimal
use of fertilizers, herbicides or pesticides and no underground piped
irrigation systems allowed.
NONCONFORMING BUILDING
A building the use of which, in whole or in part, does not
conform to the regulations of the district in which the building is
located.
NONCONFORMING USE
A use which does not conform to the use regulations of the
district in which such use exists.
OPEN LAND
The land in a cluster subdivision which is preserved under
the provisions of Section 4300.
ORGANIZED BUSINESS, INDUSTRY, TRADE, MANUFACTURING OR COMMERCIAL
ENTERPRISE
Within the meaning of this phrase as used in Section 2300
is an activity in which the owner, manager or agent employs other
persons in such number or conducts the enterprise in such manner as
to give to the premises used therefor the appearance of a place of
business, industry, trade or manufacturing as distinguished from or
in addition to a place of residence.
RELATED PERSONS
Two or more persons who are within the second degree of kinship
to each other, as defined by civil law, and their respective spouses
and offspring.
SALES AND SERVICE FACILITY
The land and buildings thereon primarily used for the particular
purpose of selling and servicing manufactured or processed products.
SINGLE-FAMILY DWELLING
A detached residential building intended and designed to
be occupied by a single family.
SPECIAL PERMIT GRANTING AUTHORITY
A public board of the Town of Sharon authorized under enabling
provisions of MGL c. 40A and specific provisions of this bylaw to
hold hearings, make determinations and findings, and subsequently
issue or deny special permits, variances, or other special approvals
specified in this bylaw. The special permit granting authority shall
be the Board of Appeals unless specifically designated otherwise in
this bylaw to be another authorized board or agency as allowed under
the Massachusetts General Laws.
STABLE, PRIVATE
A building or part of a building in which one or more horses
are kept for the private use of the owners or residents of the premises.
STABLE, PUBLIC
Any building or part of building in which horses are kept,
other than a private stable.
STORY
The portion of a building included between the surface of
a floor and the surface of the floor or roof next above, unless described
as a "half story," and not including a below-grade parking structure
or basement.
STREET OR WAY
Includes all public ways and all private ways commonly used
as streets, or for the purpose of passing and repassing. It also includes
Select Board layouts.
STUDIO APARTMENT
A dwelling unit containing less than 400 square feet and
without a separate bedroom.
TOXIC OR HAZARDOUS MATERIALS
All liquid hydrocarbon products, including, but not limited
to, gasoline, fuel and diesel oil; and also any other toxic, caustic
or corrosive chemicals, radioactive materials, or other substance
controlled as being toxic or hazardous by the Division of Hazardous
Waste under the provisions of MGL c. 21C.
TWO-FAMILY DWELLING
A residential building intended and designed to be occupied
by two families.