Article V: Dimensional Regulations

§ 265-5.1 Dimensional regulations in all districts.

No land shall be used, and no structure or building shall be constructed, except in accordance with this section and the Table of Standard Dimensional Regulations unless otherwise specifically permitted by this bylaw.

Lot Area—Lot area shall be determined by calculating the area within a lot including any area within the lot over which easements have been granted, provided that no area within a public or private way shall be included in determining the minimum lot area.

Frontage—Frontage shall be an unbroken distance along the street right of way at the front of the lot, as measured from one side lot line to the other, and shall provide rights of access and safe, year-round, practical vehicular access for fire, police and emergency vehicles to existing or proposed structures or buildings. In the case of a lot that fronts on a curve or angle in the street, the unbroken distance shall be measured from one side lot line to the other along the line that marks the minimum required front yard set-back of the building on the lot.

Front Yards—Front yards shall be the distance measured in a straight line between the lot frontage and the nearest point of any building or structure.

Side and Rear Yards—Side and rear yards shall be the distance measured in a straight line from the nearest point of any building or structure to each side or rear lot line.

Building Coverage—Building Coverage shall be determined by dividing the total ground area of all buildings on a lot, including roof overhangs greater than 1.5 feet, including carports and canopies.

Height of structures and buildings

(1)

Height—Height is described as the vertical distance between the highest point of the roof and the average elevation of the naturally existing mean grade (the measurements taken at the outermost four corners of the proposed building) prior to any excavation, leveling, grading or filling at the building foundation, exclusive of chimneys, air shafts, ventilators, vents, lightning rods or similar items which may be of the height required for proper operation or use. Building height applies to all buildings and/or structures. The building shall remain in compliance with the height requirement after final grading.

(2)

Building Height—The vertical dimension from the lowest point of the building, structure or wall exposed above the ground surface to the highest point of the roof, parapet wall or uppermost part. Chimneys, vents, or utility service structures shall not be included in the measurement of vertical dimensions. The height of a residential building shall not exceed 38 feet.

Table of Standard Dimensional Regulations
Zoning District	Minimum Frontage (feet)	Minimum Area (square feet)	Front setback (feet)	Side setback (feet)	Rear setback (feet)	Maximum Coverage (percent of total lot area)	Width of building (feet)	Height of building (feet)
RR	150	30,000 60,000 Aquifer Protection Overlay District	35	15 30 if corner lot	30	NA	120	38
BA	150	NA	35	15 30 if corner lot	30	NA	NA	35
BB	100	20,000	40	20	30 50 if corner lot or abuts residential zone	35	NA	NA
M	100	20,000	40	20	30 50 if corner lot or abuts residential zone	35	NA	NA

§ 265-5.2 Special provisions and exceptions to dimensional regulations.

Location of Structures—Unless otherwise specified in this bylaw, no structure may be located within the required front yard area of any lot except as follows:

(1)

Walls or fences no more than six feet in height

(2)

Uncovered steps, walkways, ramps or terraces

(3)

Sign posts

(4)

Pedestrian lighting facilities no more than 10 feet in height

(5)

Flagpoles, or

(6)

Similar structures as approved by the Building Inspector and Zoning Enforcement Officer

Hammerhead lots

(1)

The purpose of this section is to allow the optional and limited development of existing lots with deep back land, to encourage efficient use of land, to discourage sprawl, to insure adequate access to lots and to insure that residential development is compatible with adjoining development.

(Refer to graphic below)

(2)

In the RR zoning district, hammerhead lots may be approved by Special Permit of the Planning Board, provided that the Planning Board finds that the following standards have been met:

(a)

Each hammerhead lot must have a minimum continuous frontage of 50 feet on a public way or a way shown on a plan approved and endorsed in accordance with the subdivision control law.[1]

[1]

Editor's Note: See MGL c. 41, §§ 81K through 81GG and Ch. 310, Subdivision of Land, of the Town Code.

(b)

At no point may the lot be less than 50 feet in width. A lot meets the minimum width requirement if a fifty-foot diameter circle can move on the lot plan from the street line to the buildable area without crossing any lot line.

(c)

Each hammerhead lot must be at least two acres in area.

(d)

A hammerhead lot may only abut one other hammerhead lot. No more than two hammerhead lots may be created from land that, within the past 10 years, was part of commonly held land. For the purposes of this provision, commonly held land shall include all contiguous land in which the same party has some type of ownership interest in each portion thereof, including, without limitation, as an individual, as a partner of a partnership, as a beneficiary of a trust, or as a controlling or minority owner of a corporate entity.

[Amended 6-14-2021 ATM by Art. 42]

(e)

Each hammerhead lot must contain sufficient area in which a circle with a diameter of 150 feet may be placed without crossing any property line.

(f)

The lot must have sufficient area suitable for building. The area suitable for building shall be considered sufficient if a circle of 150 feet in diameter or a rectangle with an area of 20,000 square feet and a minimum side of 80 feet can be drawn on the lot plan within the buildable area and not overlap any lot line.

(g)

The handle of the hammerhead lot must be at least 150 feet long and provide access to the body of the lot and the proposed location of the dwelling.

(h)

Access to the buildable portion of the hammerhead lot must be across the legal frontage of the lot, or, in the case of a common driveway—if approved by the Planning Board—across the legal frontage of one of the lots and provide access for all emergency and public safety vehicles.

[Amended 6-14-2021 ATM by Art. 43]

(i)

No Special Permit may be issued to create a hammerhead lot upon which there is already an existing dwelling. Only a single-family dwelling may be constructed upon a hammerhead lot. The proposed location of the dwelling must be shown on the plan submitted to the Planning Board and must, in the opinion of the Planning Board, provide a suitable dwelling site within the one-hundred-fifty-foot circle or the rectangle of 20,000 square feet shown according to Criterion 6 [Subsection (f)] above. The proposed building must be constructed within the area identified and approved as a suitable dwelling site. The proposed location of the dwelling shall not be in the handle of the hammerhead lot unless the Planning Board determines that such a location will result in less impact to adjoining properties and maintain the character of the existing neighborhood.

(j)

Any hammerhead lot created under this section may not be further divided to reduce its area or to create additional building lots.

(k)

The proposed location of the dwelling must be reviewed and approved by the Swansea Conservation Commission.

(l)

The accompanying diagram is provided to assist the applicant in designing a plan and provides graphic definitions of the terms "handle" and body."

(m)

Sufficient sight distance to permit safe access to the way is provided in both directions at the point of access from the lot across its frontage sight distance shall be deemed sufficient if, in feet, it is equal to a least six times the posted or allowable speed, in miles per hour, of the way onto which access is provided.

(n)

Access to the home shall not be longer than 600 feet, with grade and width to permit access by fire, police and other emergency vehicles.

(o)

Minimum setback to property lines shall be 40 feet for the home.

(p)

No hammerhead lot may be created from any land within a preexisting subdivision for which the definitive plan was approved by the Planning Board and recorded in accordance with the provisions of MGL c. 41, §§ 81K through 81GG; provided, that nothing shall preclude the application for, and issuance of, a special permit for hammerhead lots concurrent with, and as part of, the approval of any such definitive plan.

[Added 6-14-2021 ATM by Art. 42]

Substantial irregularity.

(1)

No lot shall be created which is substantially irregular in shape. A lot is substantially irregular if it has a Regularity Factor, as determined by the following formula, of less than four. Any application for a special permit for either an Open Space Residential Design subdivision pursuant to § 265-4.4, or a hammerhead lot(s) pursuant to § 265-5.2B, may include a request that the substantial irregularity provisions not apply to one or more lots in the proposed development, which request the Special Permit Granting Authority may allow in its discretion as part of the approval of the special permit, but only upon a determination that:

[Amended 6-14-2021 ATM by Art. 41]

(a)

Such allowance will not result in harm to the neighborhood;

(b)

Such allowance will further the stated purpose(s) of § 265-4.4A or § 265-5.2B(1), respectively, as applicable;

(c)

At least one of the following factors exists:

[1]

There are topographic features, such as wetlands, sloping or soils conditions, that render impracticable that creation of a lot or lots compliant with the Regularity Factor;

[2]

Allowing a lot or lots to be substantially irregular will result in the most efficient division of land;

[3]

For Open Space Residential Design subdivisions, allowing a lot or lots to be substantially irregular will maximize the size, connectivity, utility of, and access to, preserved open space; or

[4]

For hammerhead lots, allowing a lot or lots to be substantially irregular will minimize the impact upon abutters of the placement, orientation, width and length of the lot handles and buildable areas; and

(d)

The proposed Regularity Factor for the substantially irregular lot(s) is no lower than is necessary in order to ensure development of said lot(s) when considering the existing factor(s) as described in Subsection C(1)(c) above.

R (Regularity Factor) = 16A (16*area of the lot in square feet)/P² (Square of the perimeter of the lot in feet)

(2)

The provisions of this section shall not apply to lots shown on plans recorded in the Registry of Deeds before the date of its adoption at Town Meeting. Lots shown on such plans shall not be considered to be non-conforming for the purposes of this bylaw.

Accessory structures:

[Amended 6-14-2021 ATM by Art. 45]

(1)

Roadside stands shall have side and rear yard setbacks of 10 feet, but need not have any front yard setback.

(2)

All other accessory buildings and structures shall have side and rear yard setbacks of 10 feet, and shall be placed in the rear and side yards only; provided, that the Zoning Board of Appeals may grant a special permit to allow placement of the same up to four feet into the front yard so long as a 10 foot front yard setback is maintained.

Permitted exceptions from area requirements:

(1)

If an area has been subdivided into lots, each of which has a minimum frontage of 75 feet and a minimum area of 10,000 square feet, and if the plan of such subdivision has been approved as required by law and recorded in the registry of deeds in Fall River prior to the date of the first advertisement of hearing on this bylaw, a dwelling with customary accessory structures may be built or located on such a lot, provided that the minimum side yard requirement shall be equal to 10% of the lot frontage for each side yard.

(2)

A single dwelling may be erected or placed upon any lot having less area or less frontage or both than required by this bylaw, but not less than 50 feet frontage and 5,000 square feet area, provided that such lot has not been owned by a person also owning adjoining land, available for use in connection therewith, on or since the time of the first advertisement of the public hearing on this bylaw. Minimum side yard requirements in such instances shall be equal to 10% of the lot frontage for each side yard.[2]

[2]

Editor's Note: Former Subsection E(3), regarding houses built on lots smaller than those required by this bylaw, which immediately followed, was repealed 6-14-2021 ATM by Art. 44.

Rate of development. Areas of land subject to the jurisdiction of the planning board under subdivision control law shall not be developed by the construction of dwelling units at a rate other than permitted. Subdivisions containing sufficient area to provide more than eight building lots at the maximum intensity permitted under the zoning bylaw shall not be developed by the construction of dwelling units at rate greater than eight lots or 20% of the total lots per year shown on an approved definitive subdivision plan, whichever is the greater number.