These regulations are promulgated under the authority of the Home Rule Amendment, Article LXXXIX (89) of the amendments of the Constitution of Massachusetts, 1966, as amended from time to time, and in accordance with the City of Beverly Wetlands Protection Ordinance, Chapter 287 of the Revised Ordinances of the City of Beverly, and shall be effective upon fulfillment of all legal requirements.
A. 
The purpose of the Beverly Wetlands Protection Ordinance (hereafter referred to as the "ordinance") is stated in Chapter 287, § 287-1. These regulations are promulgated to ensure fairness, to create uniformity of process, and to clarify and further define the provisions of the ordinance, administered by the Beverly Conservation Commission (hereafter called the "Commission").
B. 
Wetlands contribute to a wide array of public interests and are therefore protected by the ordinance. Interests protected by the Wetlands Protection Act (hereinafter called the "Act") include: public and private water supply, groundwater supply, flood control, storm damage prevention, prevention of pollution, fisheries, land containing shellfish, and protection of wildlife habitat, and are hereby incorporated by reference and made part hereof. The ordinance identifies five additional public interests not recognized by the Act and they include: the prevention and control of erosion and sedimentation, the protection of rare plant and animal species habitat, the protection of agriculture, the protection of aquaculture and the protection of recreation. Any permit issued under the ordinance must therefore not adversely affect these public interests, as well as those recognized by the Act.
A. 
The areas subject to protection under the ordinance differ from those protected by the Act in that the ordinance protects additional wetland resource areas, as well as additional interests as described above. Wetland resource areas protected by the ordinance include:
(1) 
Any isolated vegetated wetland.
(2) 
Any vernal pool (certified or uncertified).
(3) 
Any vegetated wetlands bordering on any creek, river, stream, pond or lake.
(4) 
Any bank, beach, freshwater or saltwater marsh, wet meadow, bog or swamp.
(5) 
Any land under any creek, river, stream, pond or lake.
(6) 
Any 100-foot buffer zone of wetland areas in Subsection A(1) through (5) listed above ("buffer zone").
(7) 
Any land subject to storm flowage or flooding by groundwater or surface water.
(8) 
The two-hundred-foot riverfront area.
(9) 
The ocean, including land under the ocean.
B. 
Water bodies located in Beverly, and their contiguous two-hundred-foot riverfront areas, have been identified by the Commission and include, but are not limited to, the following: Bass River, Danvers River, Lawrence Brook, Chubbs Brook, and Centerville Creek.
A. 
Request for determination of applicability (RDA).
(1) 
Standard filing fee. A fee of $50 shall be submitted with each RDA application.
B. 
Abbreviated notice of resource area delineation (ANRAD).
(1) 
Standard filing fee. ANRADs submitted under the Act and the ordinance shall be subject to the filing fees as outlined in MassDEP's Wetland Fee Transmittal Form, as well as an additional $100 plus $1/linear foot for each resource area.
C. 
Notice of intent (NOI) or abbreviated notice of intent (ANOI).
(1) 
Standard filing fee. NOIs and ANOIs submitted under the Act and the ordinance shall be subject to the filing fees mandated by state regulations [310 CMR 10.03(7)] as well as an additional fee for each activity under review by the Commission as follows:
(a) 
Category 1: $110 for each activity.
(b) 
Category 2: $500 for each activity.
(c) 
Category 3: $1,050 for each activity.
(d) 
Category 4: $1,450 for each activity.
(e) 
Category 5: $4/linear foot; not less than $100 or more than $2,000.
(f) 
Category 6: $100 plus $1/linear foot for each resource area. For each resource area delineation, the fee shall not exceed $200 for activities associated with a single-family house or $2,000 for all other activities.
(2) 
Additional fees for NOIs and ANOIs.
(a) 
An additional fee of $300 shall be paid if the project requires wetland replication as a result of direct wetland impacts or requires filling of land subject to flooding.
(b) 
Septic systems. An additional fee of $50 shall be paid for new septic systems or repairs to existing septic systems that do not meet Title V requirements for setbacks to wetlands.
(c) 
The following activities shall be subject to a filing fee of 1.5 times the otherwise applicable fee(s) as listed above:
[1] 
Activities proposed within the 25-foot no-disturbance zone or 100-foot no-disturbance zone for vernal pools that are subject to the applicable performance standards for those zones.
[2] 
Buildings or structures proposed within the 50-foot no-build zone that are subject to § 565-10D(3)(a).
D. 
Order of conditions (OOC).
(1) 
Minor modification or amendment. A fee of $100 shall be submitted with the first requested minor modification or amendment (requiring a public hearing), as well as an additional $50 for each additional minor modification or amendment (for example: first minor modification = $100, second = $150, third = $200, fourth = $250, etc.).
(2) 
Certificates of compliance (COC). A fee of $100 shall be submitted with each request for a COC if before the expiration date or $150 if after expiration. If the first request has been denied, there shall be a charge of $75 for each additional request.
(3) 
Extension permit. A fee of $100 shall be submitted with each request for an extension permit of an order of conditions.
E. 
Emergency certification.
(1) 
Standard filing fee. A fee of $50 shall be submitted with each request for an emergency certification.
F. 
Minor project permit and tree removal permit.
(1) 
Standard filing fee. A fee of $25 shall be submitted with each request for a minor project permit or for a tree removal permit.
G. 
After-the-fact filings. All permit applications filed after the work has begun shall pay a filing fee two times the otherwise applicable fee as provided above.
H. 
Waivers of filing fees. The City of Beverly and its departments shall be exempt from paying a filing fee. The Commission may also, in its sole discretion, waive or reduce the filing fee for any applicant that demonstrates an unjust disproportionality to the subject application or for a permit application filed by a city, town, state or federal entity or land trust.
A. 
Officers. There shall be a Chair and a Vice-Chair of the Conservation Commission, who shall be elected by a majority vote of the Commission members. Their terms of office shall be one year, commencing and ending with the second regular Commission meeting following the end of the calendar year. In the event of a vacancy in either position, a new Chair or Vice-Chair shall be elected by a majority vote of the eligible Commission members.
B. 
Members.
(1) 
New Commission members shall be appointed by the Mayor and approved by the City Council. The Commission may, through its Chair, offer its views to the Mayor on the qualifications and suitability of potential candidates.
(2) 
A quorum consists of a majority of the Commission members who are serving in office at the time a vote is taken by the Commission. A majority vote of a quorum of the Commission shall constitute the decision of the Commission.
(3) 
The Commission members shall have such powers as are vested in them by law, regulation, custom, and practice.
C. 
Committees. There shall be such committees as the Commission may decide are necessary for the efficient execution of its duties.
D. 
Outside consultants.
(1) 
The Commission may, by vote at any public meeting, appoint consultants to the Commission as allowed in Chapter 287, § 287-8, and in MGL c. 40, § 8C. Such consultants shall not have the right to vote, nor to represent themselves as official members of the Commission, but shall have the right to advise the Commission, as the Chair may designate upon the advice and consent of the Commission.
(2) 
As provided by MGL c. 44, § 53G, the Beverly Conservation Commission may impose reasonable fees for the employment of outside consultants, engaged by the Commission, for specific expert services deemed necessary by the Commission to come to a final decision on an application submitted to the Commission pursuant to the requirements of the Wetlands Protection Act (MGL c. 131, § 40), the Beverly Wetlands Protection Ordinance (Chapter 287 of the City Code), Commission Act (MGL c. 40, § 8C) or regulation, as they may be amended or enacted from time to time.
(a) 
Funds received by the Commission pursuant to these rules shall be deposited with the City Treasurer, who shall establish a special account for this purpose. Expenditures from this special account may be made at the direction of the Commission without further appropriation as provided in MGL c. 44, § 53G. Expenditures from this account shall be made only in connection with the review of a specific project or projects for which a consultant fee has been collected from the applicant.
(b) 
Specific consultant services may include but are not limited to resource area survey and delineation, analysis of resource area values, hydrogeologic and drainage analysis, impacts on municipal conservation lands, and environmental or land use law. The consultant shall be chosen by, and report only to, the Commission and/or its Administrator.
(c) 
The Commission shall give written notice to the applicant of the selection of an outside consultant, which notice shall state the identity of the consultant, the amount of the fee to be charged to the applicant, and a request for payment of said fee in its entirety. Such notice shall be deemed to have been given on the date it is mailed or delivered. No such costs or expenses shall be incurred by the applicant if the application request is withdrawn within five days of the date notice was given.
(d) 
The fee must be received in its entirety prior to the initiation of consulting services. The Commission may request additional consultant fees if necessary review requires a larger expenditure than originally anticipated or new information requires additional consultant services. Failure by the applicant to pay the consultant fee specified by the Commission within 10 business days of the request for payment shall be cause for the Commission to deny the permit.
(e) 
The applicant may appeal the selection of the outside consultant to the City Council, which may disqualify the outside consultant selected only on the grounds that the consultant has a conflict of interest or does not possess the minimum required qualifications. The minimum qualifications shall consist of either an educational degree or three or more years of practice in the field at issue or a related field. Such an appeal must be in writing and received by the City Council and a copy received by the Commission, so as to be received within 10 days of the date consultant fees were requested by the Commission. The required time limits for action upon the application shall be extended by the duration of the administrative appeal.
A. 
The applicant shall have the burden of proof by a preponderance of credible evidence as to any issue before the Commission, including, but not limited to, the following:
(1) 
To demonstrate that an activity proposed in a notice of intent will not cause adverse impacts, immediately or cumulatively, to any of the interests and values intended to be protected by the ordinance or the Act;
(2) 
To overcome any presumptions of significance;
(3) 
To demonstrate the presence or the absence of resource areas or to demonstrate the extent of the resource areas;
(4) 
To demonstrate compliance with applicable performance standards;
(5) 
To demonstrate the applicability of exemptions or to establish facts warranting a waiver.
B. 
Failure to provide the Commission adequate evidence to meet the applicant's burden of proof or for the Commission to make the necessary determination shall be sufficient cause for the Commission to deny the requested approval, or to impose conditions that the Commission deems reasonable, necessary, or desirable to carry out the purposes of the ordinance, or to postpone or continue the hearing to another date certain to enable the applicant and others to present additional evidence, upon such terms and conditions as deemed by the Commission to be reasonable.