For the purposes of this Bylaw, the following terms and words
are hereby defined, explained, or limited, except where the context
clearly indicates a different meaning. The word "shall" is mandatory;
the word "may" is permissive. The singular includes the plural and
the plural includes the singular, and the present tense includes the
future tense. Unless these definitions or the context clearly shows
a different meaning, the meaning assigned to them in Section 201 of
the State Building Code, and in the Zoning Act (G.L. c. 40A) and the
Subdivision Control Law (G.L. c. 41, ss. 81L to 81GG, shall also be
used.
A separate dwelling unit located in a building originally
constructed as a single-family dwelling or in a detached building
located on the same lot as the single-family dwelling provided that
such separate unit has been established pursuant to the provisions
of this Bylaw.
Either a subordinate use of a building, or other structure
or tract of land, or a subordinate building or other structure:
Whose use is customary in connection with the principal building
or other structure or use of land, and
Whose use is clearly incidental to the use of the principal
building, other structure or use of land, and
Which is located on the same lot with the principal building,
other structure or use of land, or on a lot adjacent to such lot if
in the same ownership or part of the same establishment, and
Which does not constitute, in effect, conversion of the principal
use of the premises to one not permitted.
Any wireless communication link located on the same lot with
and customary and incidental to a use permitted as of right, by special
permit, by variance, or as a preexisting nonconforming use including
without limitation, any home-mounted wireless transmission/reception
box and any fixtures and equipment customary and incidental to a private
business exchange also known as a PBX Wireless Campus.
A social day care or adult day health facility as those terms
are defined by the Commonwealth's Department of Elder Affairs as an
accessory use.
A place where animals or pets are given medical or surgical
treatment, or the boarding of animals is limited to short-term care
incidental to the clinic or hospital use.
Any residential development owned and operated by an entity,
where conducted for profit or not for profit, which meets all of the
following criteria:
Provides room and board.
Provides directly by employees of the entity or through arrangements
with another organization, which the entity may or may not control
or own, assistance with activities of daily living for three or more
adult residents who are not related by consanguinity or affinity to
the care provider.
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 same.
Is eligible for certification as an Assisted Living Residence
by the Executive Office of Elder Affairs pursuant to G.L. c. 19D and
all of 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).
A business located in a building where the primary use is
for the production and distribution of malt, spirituous, or vinous
beverages which includes warehousing, bottling, and distribution of
the product. A tasting room is permitted as an accessory use. The
facility may host marketing events, special events, and/or factory
tours and serve food for the events and tours. The facility may only
sell beverages produced by, and commercial goods branded by, the brewery,
distillery, or winery. The facility may sell permitted beverages to
consumers for consumption off the brewery premises.
Areas of land maintained in a landscaped fashion or in a
natural state that are open, unpaved, unbuilt upon, and not used for
buildings, parking areas, or storage of any kind.
A structure having a roof and designed, intended, or used
as a shelter for occupancy, by persons, animals, or things, provided
that any other building, structure, or part thereof sharing a wall
with, touching, or having a permanent above-ground structural connection
to a building shall be considered part of such building.
Any out-of-doors Wireless Communications Link mounted on,
erected on, or supported in whole or in part by an existing building
or structure (including without limitation, buildings, water towers,
smoke stacks, and the like) occupied and/or used primarily for other
purposes.
Office use primarily for the following activities: accounting,
architecture, data processing, editing, engineering, law, landscape
architecture, research and science, administrative offices, or like
enterprise.
A day care center or school age child care program, as those
terms are defined in G.L. c.28A, s.9.[1]
Storage in a building of contractor's equipment and building
supplies, hardware, metal, pipe, furniture, shop supplies, wood, paper,
tools, tobacco, or any product of manufacturing activities permitted
in the district, whether or not produced on the premises, but no retail
sales or services in the premises.
Premises used by a building contractor or subcontractor for
storage of equipment and supplies, fabrication of subassemblies, and
parking of wheeled equipment.
Business establishments that are designed to allow customers
to access sales or services without leaving their motor vehicles in
so-called drive-through or drive- up facilities, including but not
limited to banking, dry cleaning, pharmacies, photo processing or
similar customer services.
One or more rooms constituting independent living quarters
for a single family, including cooking, sleeping, and bathroom facilities,
and physically separated from any use not accessory to such dwelling,
and from any other dwelling unit by open space, party wall, or hallway.
An electric component assembly or cluster of component assemblies
designed specifically to charge batteries within electric vehicles
by permitting the transfer of electric energy to a battery or other
storage device in an electric vehicle. There are three levels of electric
vehicle charging stations:
|
• Level 1 charges through a 120-volt (V), alternating-current
(AC) code
|
|
• Level 2 charges through a 240V, AC plug
|
|
• Level 3 charges through a 480 V, direct-current (DC)
plug
|
|
No additional parking spaces shall be required for electric
vehicle charging stations and parking spaces associated with electric
vehicle charging stations shall be counted as parking spaces for purposes
of determining compliance with the minimum parking requirements under
the Zoning Bylaw.
[Added by 5-15-2023 ATM by Art. 12] |
Services provided by a public service corporation or by governmental
agencies through erection, construction, alteration, or maintenance
of gas, electrical, steam, or water transmission or distribution systems
and collection, communication, supply, or disposal systems whether
underground or overhand, but not including wireless communications
facilities. Facilities necessary for the provision of essential services
include poles, wires, drains, sewers, pipes, conduits, cables, fire
alarm boxes, police call boxes, traffic signals, hydrants and other
similar equipment in connection therewith.
The boundary of street right-of-way or layout, or, where
the boundaries are not a matter of record, a line parallel to and
25 feet distant from the center line of pavement or vehicular traveled
way.
One person or several individuals living together as a single
and separate housekeeping unit and related by blood, marriage, or
adoption, and not more than three individuals not so related (including
domestic employees), provided that for the purposes of this Bylaw,
a single and separate housekeeping unit comprising one of the following
shall be deemed a family:
A congregate housing unit consisting of persons with disabilities
or persons 60 years of age or older, sharing cooking and living facilities,
and not more than one other person performing housekeeping, nursing,
or other care and assistance functions.
A family day care home or a family and not more than six foster
children.
Large or small family day care as defined in G.L. c. 28A,
s. 9.[2]
An enclosure or barrier, such as wooden posts, wire, iron,
etc. used as a boundary, means of protection, privacy screening or
confinement, but not including hedges, shrubs, trees or other natural
growth. Any fence installation proposed to be in excess of six feet
six inches in height shall require a Special Permit from the Zoning
Board of Appeals.
The ratio of the net floor area to the gross area of the
lot on which such building is located, exclusive of land in Flood
Plain districts or wetlands subject to General Laws Chapter 131, Section
40.
Any out-of-doors Wireless Communications Link mounted on,
erected on, or supported by any free-standing monopole, lattice tower,
or any other similar free-standing structure.
A continuous segment of the exterior street line between
intersections with lot side lines or other lot boundaries, including
an intersection of street lines, or street lines extended with an
interior angle of 135° or less. If a lot is bounded by more than
one street, as defined herein, the lot owner may designate any of
them as the frontage street, if it provides legal and physical access
to the lot for the requisite distance and if the building on the lot
is numbered on that street.
Nonexempt business or trade school, blueprinting or copying
establishment, catering service, clothing rental establishment, dancing
or music school, meeting hall for hire, funeral home, repair shops
for bicycles, typewriters, televisions, electronic and household appliances,
or like enterprise.
The use of a room or rooms in a dwelling or building accessory
thereto as an office, studio, or workroom for a lawful home occupation
by a person resident on the premises, provided that:
Such use is clearly incidental and secondary to the use of the
premises as a dwelling, and
Not more than one person other than residents of the premises
regularly provided paid services in connection with such use, and
No commodity or service is sold or provided to another person
who is on the premises, and
The public is not invited onto the premises in the usual course
of business, and
No offensive noise, traffic, vibration, smoke, dust, odor, heat,
or glare is produced as a result of the home occupation, and
There is no exterior display or exterior sign except as permitted
under the Sign Code, and
There is no exterior storage of materials or equipment (including
the exterior parking of more than one commercial vehicle), and no
other exterior indication of such use or variation from the residential
character of the premises, and
All parking for such home occupation, other than for residents
of the premises, shall be provided off street. Adequate off-street
parking shall be provided in accordance with the provisions of the
Zoning Bylaws, and
Such use has been approved in writing by the Building Commissioner.
Such portions of a building used by people for sleeping,
cooking, bathing, sanitary facilities, and similar dwelling purposes
or for carrying out a trade, profession, industry, or business, provided,
however, the portion of the building with more than one-half its height
measured from finished floor to finished ceiling below the grade used
exclusively for storage, mechanical equipment and utilities associated
with allowable use of said building, or where there is no common human
presence, shall not be considered areas of human occupancy and shall
not be counted as a story of a building.
[Added 5-15-2023 ATM by Art. 13]
An indoor Wireless Communications Link mounted inside, erected
inside, or supported within an existing building or structure (including,
without limitation, buildings, cupolas, church spires, inactive smoke
stacks, and the like) occupied and/or used primarily for other purposes.
A commercial establishment in which more than three dogs
or domesticated animals are housed, groomed, bred, boarded, trained,
or sold located on at least five acres of land.
Technical facility consisting of laboratory space, office
space, storage space, and space for assembly of materials for study,
research and development, experimentation, and prototype development
in one or more scientific fields including, but not limited to, life
sciences, biotechnology, biomedical research, robotics, renewable
technology, sustainable technology, computer science, electronic technology,
or medicine.
Manufacturing activity shall be considered an allowed accessory
use to a technical facility provided that such manufacturing activity
is related to the research and development being conducted in such
a facility and occurs inside of buildings.
[Added 11-14-2022 ATM
by Art. 7]
A life science or biotechnology laboratory engaged in the
manufacturing of life science technologies and medicines for commercial
production to the market.
[Added 11-14-2022 ATM
by Art. 7]
Fabrication, processing, or assembly employing only electric
or other substantially noiseless and inoffensive motor power, utilizing
hand labor or quiet machinery and processes, and free from agents
disruptive to neighborhoods. Such agents include, but are not limited
to air or water pollution, odors, gas fumes, smoke, cinders, flashing
or excessively bright lights, discharge or accumulation of refuse,
electromagnetic radiation, heat, or vibration.
A building, including any DWELLING UNIT within such building,
where lodgings are let to four or more persons unrelated, which shall
include fraternity houses, but shall not include a hotel or motel,
dormitories of charitable or philanthropic institutions or convalescent
homes licensed under Section 71 of Chapter 111, or rest homes so licensed,
or group residences licensed or regulated by agencies of the Commonwealth.
An area of land in single ownership with definite boundaries,
established by a recorded plan or deed, including a lot created by
combining several previously recorded lots, and used or available
for use as the site of one or more buildings or for any other purpose.
The horizontal area of a lot exclusive of any area in a street
or recorded way open to public use. At least 80% of the lot area required
for zoning compliance shall be contiguous land other than that under
any water body, or wetland as defined in G.L. c. 131, s. 40.
Route 1A, Providence Highway, or any other street designated
as a numbered highway by the Commonwealth if having at least two travel
lanes in each travel direction.
Any new structure, or group of structures under the same ownership
on the same lot or contiguous lots, with at least 25,000 square feet
of gross floor area or requiring the provision of 100 or more additional
parking spaces under this Bylaw.
Any improvement, alteration, or change in use, which either
results in an increase of at least 25,000 square feet of gross floor
area or requires an addition of 100 or more parking spaces to the
amount required by this Bylaw prior to such improvement, alteration
or change in use.
Where a use is developed as a MNP, and such use requires a special
permit as set forth in the Use Regulation Table,[3] the Special Permit Granting Authority shall be the Planning
Board.
A use engaged in the basic processing and manufacturing of
materials, or the manufacture from previously prepared materials,
of finished products or parts, including processing, fabrication,
assembly, treatment, packaging, incidental storage, sales and distribution
of such products.
All types of nonmedical "marijuana establishments" as defined in G.L. c. 94G, § 1, including marijuana cultivators, independent testing laboratories, marijuana product manufacturers, marijuana retailers, or any other types of licensed marijuana-related businesses, which establishments shall, consistent with G.L. c. 94G, § 3(a)(2), be prohibited in all districts in the Town as shown in § 280-3.1C, Use Regulations Table, Principal Use E. Commercial Uses, under number 16.[4]
Office of a doctor or dentist not conducted in the home of
the resident professional.
A development that includes both residential uses and nonresidential uses. The development may be vertically mixed within a single structure, with nonresidential uses on the ground floor facing the street and residential use on the upper floors above; or horizontally mixed, with residential and nonresidential uses located in separate buildings on a lot or lots of the same ownership. The total gross floor area of the nonresidential uses in a mixed-use development must be at least 10% of the sum of the gross floor area of all buildings on the lot or lots of the same ownership. All Mixed-Use Developments are authorized by a Special Permit issued pursuant to § 280-7.4 of this Bylaw.
[Amended 11-30-2020 STM by Art. 24]
A building or buildings intended and designed for transient,
overnight or extended occupancy, divided into separate units within
the same building with or without a public dining facility. If such
hotel or motel has independent cooking facilities, such unit shall
not be occupied by any guest for more than four continuous months,
nor may the guest reoccupy any unit within 30 days of a continuous
four-month stay, nor may the guest stay more than six months in any
calendar year. No occupant of such hotel or motel may claim residency
at such location.
Buildings and structures or a group of buildings and structures containing three or more dwelling units and the lots upon which the same are located authorized by a Special Permit issued by the Zoning Board of Appeals under § 280-7.3.
Facilities owned or operated by the Town of Dedham.
The sum, in square feet of the occupiable or habitable area
in a building which shall be determined by excluding the following
from calculation of gross floor area:
Areas used for parking or loading.
Areas devoted exclusively to the operation and maintenance of
a building, irrespective of its occupants, such as heating, ventilating,
or cooling equipment, electrical and telephone facilities, fuel storage,
elevator machinery, or mechanical equipment.
The thickness of load-bearing walls, at each floor.
Elevator shafts and common stairways, and common hallways at
each floor.
Porches, balconies, which are unroofed.
Fire escape.
An existing legally established or erected building, structure,
lot, or use which predates and does not conform to the current requirements
of the district in which it is situated as regards the size, dimensions,
location, or use of building or land.
Any building with sleeping rooms where persons are housed
or lodged and furnished with meals and nursing care for hire.
An area dedicated and exclusively used, in whole or in part,
for parking of motor vehicles on a lot, in a garage, or on a parking
deck, including aisles, accessory structures, and landscaping, Provided
that the horizontal area on the lot available for parking, whether
paved or not, and the parking layout meet the provisions of this Bylaw
applicable at the time of approval, and further provided that any
increase in the required parking due to a change in use or to an increase
in building floor area or outdoor area served by such parking shall
require approval or a revised parking or site plan.
Barber or beauty shop, self-service laundry and/or a collection
station for laundry and dry cleaning not done on the premises, photographic
studio, shoe or hat repair shop, shop for custom work by a dressmaker,
furrier, milliner, or tailor, frozen food locker, news dealer, tanning
salon, or like enterprise.
A lot boundary separating it from other lots and located
most nearly parallel to and opposite lot frontage, provided that a
triangular or wedge-shaped lot may have no rear line.
Facilities used primarily for research, development, and/or
testing of innovative information, concepts, methods, processes, materials,
or products. This can include the design, development, and testing
of biological, chemical, electrical, magnetic, mechanical, and/or
optical components in advance of product manufacturing. The accessory
development, fabrication, and light manufacturing of prototypes, specialized
machinery, and devices integral to research or testing may be associated
with these uses.
A building or portion thereof containing tables and/or booths
for at least 2/3 of its legal capacity, which is designed, intended,
and used for the indoor sales and consumption of food prepared on
the premises, except that food may be consumed outdoors in landscaped
terraces designed for dining purposes, which adjuncts to the main
indoor restaurant facility.[5]
Any retail operation with a gross floor area in excess of
10,000 square feet.
A dwelling unit in a multi-unit building containing three
to eight such units side-by-side, separated by party walls, with each
unit not more than two rooms deep front to back and, unlike apartments,
with separate entrances and stairways serving each unit exclusively.
Any residential development with supportive services available
to the occupants including, without limitation, assistance with the
activities of daily living (at a minimum including support for bathing,
dressing and ambulation), assistance with instrumental activities
of daily living, food, transportation, nursing care, personal care
or home health care. Such supportive housing may consist of a single
building or group of buildings for residential dwelling purposes.
Each dwelling or unit must be occupied by at least one person who
is 62 years of age or older, and all occupants must be 55 years of
age or older. Such supportive housing may or may not be licensed as
an Assisted Living Residence under applicable state law.
An owner-occupied, tenant-occupied or non-owner occupied
property for residential use including, but not limited to, an apartment,
house, cottage, condominium or a furnished accommodation that is not
a hotel, motel, lodging house or bed and breakfast establishment,
where: (a) use of a private swimming pool located thereon is rented
to a non-occupant: and (b) rentals are reserved in advance.
[Added 11-15-2021 ATM by Art. 13]
A lot boundary separating it from other lots that is not
a frontage or a rear lot line.
Bookstore, delicatessen, dry goods store, drugstore, florist,
gift shop, grocery or fruit store, hardware store, jewelry store,
tobacconist, variety store, wearing apparel store, or like enterprise,
not exceeding a gross floor area of 10,000 square feet.
A town way, a way laid out by county or state, a way shown
on a definitive subdivision plan approved in accordance with the Subdivision
Control Law and constructed or with construction secured as provided
in said Law, or a way in existence when the Subdivision Control Law
became effective in Dedham which has in the opinion of the Planning
Board sufficient width, suitable grades, and adequate construction
for the needs of vehicular traffic in relation to the proposed use
of land and for the installation of municipal services to serve such
land and the buildings erected or to be erected thereon. The naming
of a private right-of-way, easement or driveway serving one or more
lots for the purpose of facilitating emergency access or for any other
purpose shall not confer upon it the legal status of a street or way
for frontage and zoning purposes. No more than two lots meeting street
frontage requirements may share an access driveway.
A combination of materials constructed or erected so as to
be permanently attached to and have a fixed location on the ground
and including buildings, mobile homes, in-ground pools, bill-boards,
and the like, but excluding for the purposes of this Bylaw boundary
walls and fences less than six feet in height, mail boxes, and similar
minor structures.
A facility primarily dedicated to providing substance abuse
treatment services including, but not limited to, counseling services,
therapy sessions, and/or the dispensing of medication to treat substance
abuse. The facility does not include staying overnight by any persons
receiving services at the facility, and is not considered an outpatient
facility.
Any outdoor pool, having a depth of at least 24" and a water
surface area of at least one hundred fifty (150) square feet, which
is used, or intended to be used, as a swimming or bathing pool in
connection with a residence and available only to the family and private
guests of the householder.
[Added 11-15-2021 ATM by Art. 13]
Shop of a cabinet maker, carpenter, electrician, painter,
plumber paperhanger, sign painter or upholsterer, or like enterprise.
Building or plant for storage and distribution of all items,
excluding paint and alcoholic beverages, which are sold and/or used
in retail stores, including supermarkets, department and drug stores,
toy, hardware, ice cream, tobacco, and gift stores.
A showroom for building supplies, plumbing, heating, and
ventilating equipment, with storage limited to floor samples only,
or like enterprise.
The distance between lot lines, measured along a straight
line connecting the front corners of the lot for the depth equal to
the required minimum frontage.
A Wireless Communications Link consisting exclusively of fixtures
and equipment used by a public utility or FCC licensed commercial
entity for the wireless transmission and reception of radio signals
including:
Reception and transmission equipment and fixtures such as antennae,
communication dishes, and similar devices.
Structures that are erected and used primarily to support such
reception and transmission equipment including, without limitation,
monopoles and lattice towers.
Any accessory mechanical, electronic, or telephonic equipment,
fixtures, wiring, and protective covering customary and necessary
to operate such wireless communications equipment.
A Wireless Communications Link is a transmission and reception
substation, not a principal facility for conducting a communications
business. Wireless Communications Link shall not include television
and radio transmission antennae.
A strip of uniform depth specified by this Bylaw along and
contiguous to frontage, side, and rear lines, measured at right angles
or radially to said lines. Within the required minimum yards there
shall be no buildings or structures, except for building projections
and minor structure allowed by the Bylaw, including buildings accessory
to residences in side and rear yards and subject to yard requirements
for such accessory buildings.
[1]
Editor's Note: MGL c. 28A, § 9, was repealed by
St. 2008, c. 215, § 43. See now MGL c. 15D, § 1A.
[2]
Editor's Note: MGL c. 28A, § 9, was repealed by
St. 2008, c. 215, § 43. See now MGL c. 15D, § 1A.
[3]
Editor's Note: See Table 1, included as an attachment to this chapter.
[4]
Editor's Note: The Use Regulations Table is included as an attachment to this chapter.
[5]
Editor's Note: The former definition of "research and development
facilities," which immediately preceded this definition, was repealed 11-14-2022 ATM by Art.
7. See now the definitions of "laboratory, research
and development" and "laboratory, research and development (manufacturing)."
