[Adopted as Ch. 6, § 6-1, of the General Bylaws;
amended in its entirety 5-23-2022 ATM by Art. 8]
Pursuant to the statutory authorization granted under MGL c.
40, § 21 and MGL c. 148, § 59, the Town of Groveland
hereby enacts this bylaw requiring and regulating the numbering of
buildings within the municipal boundaries of the Town of Groveland.
The standards and regulations set forth within the provisions
of this bylaw shall have the purpose and effect of promoting the general
health, safety, welfare and convenience of the inhabitants of the
Town of Groveland by reducing the difficulty in responding to individual
residences and other occupied structures in cases of police, fire,
medical or other emergency situations requiring immediate location
and response; by facilitating delivery efforts through the creation
of a numbering system for all delivery locations; by decreasing the
potential for traffic accidents caused by motorists searching for
address locations; by improving local census data-gathering capabilities;
by improving the accuracy of important legal documents requiring address
location; and by assisting the planning efforts of the community.
This bylaw shall be administered by the Building Inspector acting as the designated Addressing Officer, who is authorized to oversee the administration of assigning and/or approving street names and numbers to all properties in accordance with the criteria this bylaw and Chapter 70, Subdivision of Land, § 70-4.1G, of the Town Code.
A.
All streets
that serve three or more buildings shall be named, regardless of whether
the ownership is public or private. A street name assigned by the
municipality shall not constitute or imply acceptance of the street
as a public way. The following criteria shall govern the naming system:
(1)
No
two streets shall be given the same name (e.g., Pine Street and Pine
Lane).
(2)
No
two streets shall have similar-sounding names (e.g., Beech Lane and
Peach Lane).
(3)
Each
street shall have the same name throughout its entire length located
within the boundaries of Groveland. Streets that continue through
into an adjacent town may change names at the Town border.
B.
The Board
of Selectmen shall have final authority to designate the name of the
subdivision and streets, which shall be determined at definitive plan
approval.
A.
Numbers
shall be assigned to buildings only. This includes, but is not limited
to: dwellings, apartment buildings, condominiums and business establishments.
This process shall be initiated when a building permit application
is issued, so that numbers are assigned to buildings being constructed,
and not at the end of the construction period.
(1)
Building
numbers shall be affixed on the front of buildings so as to be seen
from the street.
(2)
All
reasonably sized numeric figures for building numbers shall be at
least three inches in height, unobstructed by vegetation or other
materials, in contrasting color to the background and in a conspicuously
placed location along the street.
(3)
If
the building is more than 100 feet from the street, numbers shall
be placed on a freestanding post or mailbox that is at least four
feet above ground level. Said freestanding post or mailbox shall be
at the entrance to the driveway and no more than 10 feet from the
street. If the driveway has more than one building on it, numbers
shall be placed at each turnoff and at forks in the street indicating
which direction to take.
B.
Numbers
shall be assigned along both sides of the street regardless of zone
or location in Town, with even numbers appearing on the right side
of the street and odd numbers appearing on the left side of the street.
C.
All numerical
numbers shall begin from Main Street starting at the Groveland/West
Newbury line or that end of a street closest to the designated origin.
For dead-end streets, numbering shall originate at the intersection
of the adjacent street and terminate at the dead end.
D.
The number
assigned to each building shall be that of the numbered interval falling
closest to the driveway of said building.
E.
Every building
shall have a separate number, provided that some apartment buildings,
condominiums and business establishments will have one street number
with an apartment letter, such as "183 Main Street, Apt A."
F.
Parcels
with more than one building shall be assigned unique addresses that
make the most logical sense to each situation. Each building shall
be identified by a unique number. For example, "183 Main Street, Unit
A."
G.
In the
event a missing or incorrect building number is identified, it shall
be the owner's responsibility to request the Addressing Officer to
assign a new or correct number. Requests for a change of address shall
be requested by submitting a change of request form to the Addressing
Officer. If approved, the Addressing Officer will report the change(s)
as if they were new number(s).
All buildings shall be identified by their properly assigned street number in accordance with § 219-6 of this bylaw. It is the responsibility of each property owner to obtain the correct number from the Addressing Officer. It shall be the responsibility of the owner to maintain and display the assigned building number(s). Under no circumstances should a building number, other than that which is properly assigned, be displayed. Numbers shall be displayed within 60 days of the enactment of this bylaw or within 60 days of the assignment of a new street number. Buildings under construction shall have the assigned street number displayed at the entrance to the property until such time that compliance with § 219-6 can be met. New buildings must have their numbers properly displayed prior to occupancy.
B.
This bylaw
shall also be included within the scope of the provisions of MGL c.
40, § 21D, adopted at the fourth session of the 1995 Annual
Town Meeting held on May 15, 1995, as Section XXVIII, Enforcement
of Town Bylaws.[1] In addition to police officers, the Building Inspector
and officers of the Fire Department shall also be enforcing persons
for this bylaw.
