The purpose of this bylaw is to protect the wetlands of the
Town of Rockland by controlling activities deemed to have a significant
effect upon wetland values, including but not limited to the following:
public or private water supply, groundwater, flood control, erosion
control, storm damage prevention, water pollution, fisheries, shellfish,
wildlife, recreation and aesthetics (collectively, the "interests
protected by this bylaw").
The following definitions shall apply in the interpretation
and implementation of this bylaw.
A. The term "person" shall include any individual, group of individuals,
association, partnership, corporation, company, business organizations,
trust, estate, the Commonwealth or political subdivision thereof to
the extent subject to town bylaws, administrative agencies, public
or quasi-public corporations of bodies, the Town of Rockland, and
any other legal entity, its legal representatives, agents or assigns.
B. The term "alter" shall include, without limitation, the following
actions when undertaken in areas subject to this bylaw:
(1) Removal, excavation or dredging of soil, sand, gravel, or aggregate
materials of any kind;
(2) Changing drainage characteristics, flushing characteristics, salinity
distributions, sedimentation patterns, flow patterns and flood retention
characteristics;
(3) Drainage or other disturbances of water level or water table;
(4) Dumping, discharging or filing with any material which may degrade
water quality;
(5) Driving of piles, erection of buildings or structures of any kind;
(6) Placing of obstructions whether or not they interfere with the flow
of water;
(7) Destruction of plant life, including cutting of trees;
(8) Changing of water temperature, biochemical oxygen demand or other
physical or chemical characteristics of the water;
(9) Placement of a Title V subsurface disposal system for new construction
within 100 feet of any area subject to protection under the bylaw.
C. The term "banks" shall mean that part of land adjoining any body
of water which confines the water.
D. The term "vernal pool" shall include, 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 continuous months during the
spring and/or summer, contains at least 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 100 feet outward from the mean annual high-water line
defining the depression, but shall not include existing lawns, gardens,
landscaped or developed areas.
E. The Commission may adopt additional definitions not inconsistent with this §
407-2 in its regulations promulgated pursuant to §
407-12 of this bylaw.
The Commission shall hold a public hearing on the application
within 21 days of its receipt. Notice of the time and place of the
hearing shall be given by the Commission at the expense of the applicant,
not less than five days prior to the hearing, by publication in a
newspaper of general circulation in Rockland and by mailing a notice
to the applicant, the Board of Health, Board of Selectmen, Planning
Board and to such other persons as the Commission may by regulation
determine. The applicant at his expense shall mail notice of the time
and place of hearing to all abutters of the land on which the proposed
work is to be done by certified mail, at least seven days prior to
the hearing and shall present to the Commission proof in the form
of receipts of such mailing at the time of the hearing. The Commission,
its agents, officers, and employees, may enter upon privately owned
land for the purpose of performing their duties under this bylaw.
The Commission is authorized to establish a schedule of fees and costs
as may be reasonably required to process applications.
This bylaw shall not apply to any emergency project as defined
in M.G.L. c. 131, § 40.
Any person who purchases, inherits or otherwise acquires real
estate upon which work has been done in violation of the provisions
of this bylaw or in violation of any permit issued pursuant to this
byaw shall forthwith comply with any such order or restore such land
to its condition prior to any such violation; provided, however, that
no action, civil or criminal, shall be brought against such person
unless commenced within three years following date of acquisition
of the real estate by such person.
The Commission may require, as a permit condition, that the
performance and observance of other conditions be secured by one or
both of the following methods:
A. By a bond or deposit of money or negotiable securities in an amount
determined by the Commission to be sufficient and payable to the Town
of Rockland;
B. By a conservation restriction, easement or other covenant running
with the land, executed and properly recorded (or registered, in the
case of registered land).
The applicant shall have the burden of proving by a preponderance
of the credible evidence that the work proposed in the application
will not harm the interests protected by this bylaw. Failure to provide
adequate evidence to the Commission supporting a determination that
the proposed work will not harm the interest protected by this bylaw
shall be sufficient cause for the Commission to deny a permit or grant
a permit with conditions, or in the Commission's discretion,
to continue the hearing to another date to enable the applicant or
others to present additional evidence.
The Commission shall not impose additional or more stringent
conditions pursuant to M.G.L. c. 131, than it imposes pursuant to
this bylaw, nor shall it require a Notice of Intention pursuant to
§ 40, to provide materials or data in addition to those
required pursuant to this bylaw.
After due notice and public hearing, the Commission may promulgate
rules and regulations to effectuate the purposes of this bylaw. 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 bylaw.