[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Meeting of the Town of Wrentham
as Art. 7.11 of the 2013 Bylaws. Amendments noted where applicable.]
This bylaw is to ensure that permanent changes in the surface
contours of land from earth removal activities will leave the land
in a safe and convenient condition for appropriate reuse without requiring
excessive and unreasonable maintenance or creating danger of damage
to public or private property, and is to provide that earth removal
activities shall be conducted in a safe manner, with minimal detrimental
effect upon neighboring properties and the district in which the activities
occur.
This bylaw is adopted pursuant to the authority granted under
General Laws Chapter 40, § 21, clause 17, and Article II,
§ 6 of the Amendments to the Constitution of the Commonwealth
of Massachusetts.
A use is incidental to a primary use when it is subordinate
to the primary use, is consistent with the character of the existing
and intended use, involves no income or profit for purposes other
than the primary use, and bears a reasonable relation to it. Earth
removal activities may be an incidental use only when they are a minor
use, not a major undertaking.
All material normally and naturally composing part of the
earth's surface and immediate subsurface, excluding water, including
but not limited to, soil, clay, gravel, hard pan, loam, rock, peat
and sand.
A single parcel of land separated from contiguous land by
property lines described in a recorded plan or deed.
The severance of any earth from its natural location, whether
or not such earth is moved from the lot to another location on the
same lot or off the lot, by any means, including but not limited to,
stripping, excavating, mining or blasting.
No person, firm or corporation shall remove any earth from any
lot in the Town of Wrentham, unless such activity is a permitted or
lawfully nonconforming use in the district under the Town of Wrentham
Zoning Bylaw, and is authorized by a permit issued by the Planning
Board under this bylaw.
The following activities shall not be considered earth removal,
and no permit shall be required under this bylaw, provided the activities
do not constitute a nuisance or danger to the public, and conform
to accepted engineering or agricultural practices:
A.
The Superintendent of Public Works and his/her agents and employees
may perform earth removal activities in the performance of their public
duties on any public way and on Town property.
B.
Earth removal incidental to the construction of the foundation of
buildings, walks, driveways, septic systems or swimming pools, and
incidental to the installation of utilities, provided that the quantity
of earth subject to removal does not exceed that displaced by the
portions of construction and installation below finished grade.
C.
Earth removal incidental to the normal operation of a cemetery.
D.
Earth removal incidental to landscaping in which the amount of earth
subject to removal does not exceed 200 cubic yards in one calendar
year, if the earth is transported off the lot; and does not exceed
500 cubic yards in one calendar year, if the earth is transported
within the lot.
A.
Application. An application for an earth removal permit shall be
submitted to the Planning Board on such forms or in such manner as
the Planning Board shall specify. The application shall include:
(1)
The location of the property upon which earth removal is proposed,
identified by both Assessors lot number and street address, if an
address has been assigned to the property, and identified by the Registry
of Deeds book and page;
(2)
The name and address of the petitioner;
(3)
The name and address of the property owner;
(4)
The name and address of any mortgagees;
(5)
A certified list of the names and addresses of all abutters; and
(6)
An estimated number of cubic yards of earth proposed for removal
and an estimate, based on field data, of the number of cubic yards
of loam that will be stripped and stockpiled.
B.
Fees.
(1)
Administrative fee. The Planning Board is authorized to establish
a fee schedule imposing fees for permit applications and permit renewal
applications. Such application fees must be based on a reasonable
estimate of the actual costs incurred by the Planning Board in carrying
out its duties under this bylaw.
(2)
Consultant's fees. The Planning Board is authorized to require the applicant to pay the reasonable costs and expenses borne by the Planning Board for specific expert engineering and consultant services deemed necessary by the Planning Board to review any permit application, or permit renewal application, up to a maximum amount specified in § 283-3B. In cases where the earth removal project will exceed 5,000 cubic yards, the maximum consultant fee shall be in the amount specified in § 283-3B. Such services may include, without limitation, the delineation and survey of wetland resource areas, the delineation and survey of surface contours, analysis of resource area values, hydrogeological and drainage analyses, and legal services. The Planning Board is authorized to charge the applicant for said fee based upon its reasonable finding that the additional information it may acquire through outside consultants will be helpful for the making of an objective decision and the formulation of appropriate conditions. Said fee may be requested of the applicant within 30 days of the filing of the application, or from the last amendment thereto. In its request, the Planning Board shall identify the consultant it has selected, include an estimate of the charges for the proposed services, and state the amount due as an initial deposit. The applicant may appeal from the selection of the consultant to the Select Board within 10 days of receiving notice from the Planning Board of the same. The Select Board may set aside the selection of the consultant only if the consultant lacks sufficient qualifications to perform the work or has a conflict of interest. Subject to this right of appeal, all deposits requested by the Planning Board shall be delivered to the Town Treasurer within 10 days of the Planning Board's request.
[Amended 6-8-2015 ATM
by Art. 34; 11-21-2022 STM by Art. 2]
(3)
Town exempt. No application or consultant fees shall be due from
the Town of Wrentham in connection with any project performed by the
Town or on its behalf.
C.
Site plan.
(1)
A site plan shall be submitted as part of an earth removal permit
application. The site plan shall be submitted in the quantities and
in the form required by the Planning Board. The site plan shall be
prepared by a registered civil engineer licensed to practice in the
Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The site plan shall include, without
limitation:
(a)
All the property where the earth is to be removed showing boundary
lines, easements and rights-of-way in detail, and the names of abutters;
(b)
The elevations of abutting land at the lot lines;
(c)
All adjacent roads and structures, public or private, their
elevations and established grades;
(d)
All waterways and wetlands resource areas (as defined in 310
CMR 10.00), and any land within the Watershed Protection, Aquifer
Protection and Flood Plain Districts (as defined by the Wrentham Zoning
Bylaw) on the locus and their respective elevations;
(e)
Existing and proposed contours at two-foot intervals with all
profiles drawn to a scale of one inch equals eight feet;
(f)
A minimum of two vertical control benchmarks (one to be permanent)
must be established and maintained on-site on the National Geodetic
Vertical Datum, U.S. Geological Survey base to the closest hundredth
of a foot (0.01 foot) with an additional benchmark similarly provided
per each additional four acres or portion thereof on the site;
(g)
Drainage calculations in support of the specification found in § 275-7B(13); and
(h)
Surface water flows, groundwater elevations before and after
removal.
(2)
The Planning Board may in any particular case, where such action
is in the public interest and not inconsistent with the intent and
purpose of this bylaw, waive or modify any of these site plan requirements
upon the written request of the applicant. The Planning Board may
require additional information in the site plan if such information
will assist it in making the required findings under this bylaw.
D.
Public hearing.
(1)
The Planning Board shall, within 65 days after the filing of a complete
application, hold a public hearing on said application. Notification
of the public hearing shall be advertised for two consecutive weeks
in a newspaper generally circulated in Town beginning at least 14
days before the hearing date. The applicant shall notify all abutters
and other parties in interest by certified mail, return receipt requested,
mailed at least 14 days before the hearing date, and shall present
copies of the returned receipts to the Planning Board on or before
the hearing date. The applicant shall pay the cost of the publishing
notice.
(2)
The applicant must introduce evidence establishing, and the Planning
Board must make specific findings of fact, that each of the following
general requirements will be met:
(a)
That the earth removal may be accomplished without unreasonable
danger to the health, safety and general welfare of the inhabitants
of the Town in general nor to that of those in the immediate vicinity;
(b)
That the earth removal will not produce unreasonable noise,
dust, or other effects observable as detrimental to the normal use
of adjacent land;
(c)
That the earth removal and change in topography may be accomplished
without adverse effect to abutting land by reason of surface water
drainage nor to the recharge of the water table nor to the pumping
rate of any nearby Town well site; and
(d)
That the earth removal will not have a material adverse effect
on the health or safety of persons living in the neighborhood or on
the use or amenities of adjacent land.
A.
The Planning Board may grant, grant with conditions, deny, or grant
in part and deny in part, any earth removal permit application or
application for permit renewal. The Planning Board shall file a copy
of its permit decision in the office of the Town Clerk, and mail a
copy of its decision to the applicant, within 30 days after the close
of the last public hearing of the application. In the event that the
Planning Board shall fail to file its decision in the office of the
Town Clerk within 100 days of the filing of the application, or by
such a later date to which the applicant may agree in writing, the
application shall be deemed to be constructively granted subject to
the general conditions set forth herein.
B.
All work performed under a permit granted under this bylaw shall
be done in accordance with the required conditions set forth below,
which shall be deemed to be incorporated therein by reference, unless
specifically waived or modified by the Planning Board. The Planning
Board may waive or modify any of the required conditions if such action
is consistent with the purposes and intent of this bylaw and will
not substantially compromise the protection of the public and the
environment.
(1)
All trees are to be cut, not bulldozed. All trees and brush are to
be chipped on site unless removed for commercial purposes. Stumps
may not be buried on the site except in accordance with a site assignment
issued under MGL c. 111, § 150A.
(2)
All loam and topsoil must be scraped and stockpiled on the site for
use in later landscaping. No loam or topsoil may be removed from the
site.
(3)
Excavation to the property line is not permitted. The site plan shall
designate a minimum fifty-foot buffer strip along the property lines
where the earth and vegetation shall remain undisturbed.
(4)
Earth must be removed to contours set forth in the approved site
plan. Boulders must be buried at a depth which will provide a six-foot
cover at finished grade. Ledge shall not be left exposed under normal
circumstances. If ledge is encountered, the permittee must either
remove it, or submit a revised site plan for approval which must be
approved before work is continued.
(5)
Slopes shall not exceed a 3:1 ratio and a 4:1 ratio is preferred
where practical. A 4:1 slope may be required in areas determined to
be sensitive by the Planning Board.
(6)
Earth removal shall be carried out in four-acre grids and not over
the entire site at one time. After each such grid has been excavated,
the land shall be brought to rough finish grade and loam spread to
a depth of not less than six inches to bring the land to finished
grade before proceeding to the next excavation area. This regrading
area must then be seeded with an acceptable perennial grass at the
rate of not less than 200 pounds per acre and the area maintained
until the grass heights have reached the two-inch minimum. In appropriate
cases, the Planning Board may modify this requirement in the light
of special requirements of site work to allow regrading at the end
of the removal operation upon making specific findings of fact as
to why such modification is required.
(7)
The regrading and seeding of each grid or disturbed area shall be
completed, according to specification, within 30 days of the completion
of excavation of the grid, expiration of the special permit or upon
cessation of operations, whichever occurs first.
(8)
Finished grades shall be as indicated on the approved site plan.
In general, finished grades may not be designed to be below the level
of any abutting public way unless the Planning Board determines, based
upon satisfactory engineering data, that a finished grade below the
elevation of an abutting way is advantageous to the plan for future
use of the property.
(9)
Topsoil must be spread to a depth of not less than six inches over
disturbed areas and seeded and maintained as stated previously.
(10)
Fingerling fir, white pine or other approved tree cover shall
be planted over the entire disturbed area at five to six feet on center.
(11)
No excavation shall be made at less than 10 feet above annual
high water table as established from test pits and soil borings. A
minimum of three observation wells shall be monitored for one year
to establish the high water table ground plane elevation. Additional
wells may be necessary on sites exceeding 10 acres. This data shall
be shown on the site plan submitted to the Planning Board for approval
and on a permanent monument placed on the property and shown on the
site plan.
(12)
All access roads leading to public ways shall be treated to
minimize dust and mud for a distance of not less than 200 feet back
from the public way. Any spillage on public ways shall be cleaned
by the applicant on a twice-daily basis, including once following
the close of normal working hours.
(13)
Unless the site conditions expressly require alteration of drainage
patterns, the land shall be left so that natural storm drainage shall
leave the property at the original natural drainage points; and so
that the total discharge at peak flow, and the area of drainage to
any one point, is not increased; and so that the hydrography of any
post-development stream is the same as that of the predevelopment
stream.
(14)
Any earth removal in the vicinity or within wetland areas governed
by MGL c. 131 or other wetlands related laws, shall also be subject
to orders of conditions from the Conservation Commission. Whether
such proposed earth removal projects fall within the jurisdiction
of the Conservation Commission shall be determined by the Conservation
Commission and the applicable Town, state and federal laws.
(15)
The applicant shall be responsible for monitoring the amount
of earth removed from the site. A bi-weekly report, prepared and certified
by a registered civil engineer, licensed to practice in the Commonwealth
of Massachusetts, shall be forwarded to the Planning Board for the
duration of the earth removal project. The report shall include a
daily account of the number of truckloads of earth removed from the
site, the number of cubic yards of earth contained in each truckload,
daily and weekly totals of the number of cubic yards of earth removed
from the site and a cumulative total, from project inception to date,
of the number of cubic yards of earth removed from the site.
A.
The Planning Board shall set forth particular hours of operation
for each individual operation as a special condition.
B.
The Planning Board may impose additional special conditions deemed
necessary in the light of circumstances. Special conditions may include,
without limitation, requirements or limitations relating to the proximity
of residential or commercial uses that might be affected by dust,
noise and traffic, blasting with respect to ledge removal, drainage
matters, lateral support of abutting property and the like.
Prior to the start of any work under a permit granted hereunder,
a surety company bond or deposit of money (which may take the form
of an assignment of a bank account assented to by the depository bank)
shall be delivered to the Planning Board to ensure compliance with
this bylaw and of the conditions of the permit. The bond shall have
a term of not less than two years beyond the estimated completion
date of the earth removal project. Such bond or other security shall
be held by the Town Treasurer until the permit holder submits an as-built
plan, prepared and certified by a registered civil engineer licensed
to practice in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, showing that all
excavation has been to grades approved on the site plan, and that
all restoration work has been completed.
A.
No permit shall be issued for a period in excess of 12 months.
C.
A permit renewal application shall include a letter prepared by a
registered civil engineer licensed to practice in the Commonwealth
of Massachusetts, certifying that all work performed under the prior
permit was undertaken in substantial compliance with the approved
plans and permit requirements and conditions, and setting forth what
deviation, if any, exists from those plans and permit requirements.
The Planning Board may require submission of further materials, including,
without limitation, reports of engineers or consultants.
D.
A renewal request must be received by the Planning Board at least 65 days before the expiration of the prior permit. Within 14 days of its receipt, the Planning Board shall post notice of the request for permit renewal for at least 10 days. A permit may be renewed without public hearing, unless an abutter or other party in interest requests a public hearing in writing within the first 10 days the notice is posted. If a public hearing is requested, the notice and burden of proof provisions of § 275-6D shall apply.
E.
The Planning Board shall hold its meeting, or commence the public
hearing on the request within 65 days of its receipt. Toe Planning
Board shall notify the applicant of its decision within 21 days after
the close of the meeting or the public hearing. If a prior permit
has lapsed before a determination on a permit renewal has been made
final, no earth removal may be performed.
F.
The Planning Board may renew a permit only upon a showing that the
activities carried out under the prior permit were performed in accordance
with the plans, specifications and conditions of the prior permit,
and that the activities proposed under the renewed permit will not
entail earth removal of a larger quantity or from a larger portion
of a lot than allowed on the prior permit.
In appropriate circumstances, the Planning Board may combine
any hearing required under this bylaw with the hearing on an application
for definitive plan approval under MGL c. 41, § 81U, or
an application for a special permit or site plan approval under the
Wrentham Zoning Bylaw, and may accept plans or information submitted
in support of such applications in satisfaction of the requirements
of this bylaw. In such cases, the Board shall ensure that the separate
requirements of this bylaw are met, and shall issue a separate permit
under this bylaw.
[Amended 4-30-2001 ATM]
The Building Inspector shall be responsible for enforcing provisions of this bylaw and the decisions rendered in accordance with §§ 275-6 and 275-9 herein. Once notified by the Building Inspector, an earth removal operator shall immediately cease such activities or begin to correct such conditions determined to be contrary to said provisions or decisions. Failure to do so shall constitute a non-criminal violation subject to a fine in accordance with MGL c. 40, § 21D, as follows: $50 for the first offense; $100 for the second offense; and $200 for each subsequent offense.
