No person, without a permit issued by the Department of Public Works and except in accordance with the terms and conditions of such permit, shall obstruct any street or sidewalk by placing therein any structure, house or other building, permanent or temporary, within the Town and allow it to remain there, or allow shrubbery to overhang sidewalks so as to impede free passage of pedestrians and snow removal equipment.
[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Meeting of the Town of Rockport 3-22-1997; amended 9-10-2001 STM; 4-7-2007 ATM; 9-11-2023 STM (Ch. 11 of the 1997 Code of By-laws). Subsequent amendments noted where applicable.]
[Amended 9-8-2025 FTM by Art. G]
No person, without a permit issued by the Department of Public Works and acting in accordance with the terms and conditions of such permit, shall break or dig up any public sidewalk, street, or highway in the Town. Any person having such a permit shall, before the expiration of same, restore such sidewalk, street or highway to its original condition or to a condition satisfactory to such officials. Any such permit issued under the provisions of this section shall be in force for such time as the officials may specify and shall be subject to such other conditions as they may prescribe. During the whole of every night from sunset to sunrise, lighted lanterns, or similar devices, shall be provided by the permit holder to protect persons from danger. No person having obtained such a permit shall fail to comply with the conditions thereof. The official granting such permit shall have the right to revoke the same at any time, and may require a bond either before or after the commencement of work or during its progress to secure its performance.
No person shall knowingly permit any water or other liquid substance to run or be discharged from property owned by that person or the structures and appurtenances under the person's ownership or control, or onto or across any sidewalk or street in the Town. Nothing in this section shall prohibit a person from washing windows or other parts of a building on private property so long as the activity does not endanger the public.
No person shall ride or drive a horse on any public sidewalk in the Town. Nothing in this section shall prohibit a person from riding or driving a horse across a public sidewalk where it is necessary to access private property.
A.
Prohibition. In order to reduce the probability of collisions between motor vehicle and/or pedestrian traffic due to lack of visibility, no person owning, possessing or having under that person's control any real estate abutting any intersection of streets in any section of the Town shall erect, place, plant or permit or suffer the erection, placing or planting or maintenance of any fence or structure, shrubbery, foliage, hedge, tree or the like in such a manner that it shall materially impede the vision of operators of motor vehicles between a height of 2 1/2 and 10 feet above the center-line grades of the intersecting streets in the area bounded by the street lines of said real estate and a line joining points 30 feet along said street lines from the point of intersection of said street lines.
B.
Enforcement. This section shall be enforced by fence viewers.
No person shall cause snow or ice to be deposited on a street, sidewalk or gutter other than in line with and contiguous to snow and ice plowed by the Town. Property owners shall remove snow and ice from sidewalks on and adjacent to their property to the extent practicable.
No person shall place in any street or sidewalk any object so as to obstruct a free passage for travelers and pedestrians, nor allow any object to remain more than one hour after being notified by a police officer to remove it. Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit a person from using streets and sidewalks for building purposes if they are the holder of a permit issued by the Department of Public Works.
No person shall use skateboards or similar devices or coast on sleds, inflatable tubes, toboggans or similar devices on any public way, street, sidewalk or private way to which the public has the right of access, except in those areas, if any, designated for such use by the Chief of Police and approved by the Select Board.
The Select Board may make rules and regulations regulating traffic and parking upon the streets and highways of the Town and parking on Town property for the health, safety and welfare of its citizens. The rules and regulations shall be known as the "Town of Rockport Traffic Rules and Regulations" and shall be adopted in accordance with the provisions of MGL c. 40, § 22.
No person shall form or conduct any parade in any public street, public sidewalk or public way within the Town or form or conduct, for the purpose of display or demonstration, any procession or assembly of people (except a military or funeral parade or procession within such public street, sidewalk or way), without first obtaining a written permit from the Select Board; and no person shall take part in any such parade, procession or assembly which is not authorized by such a permit.
No person shall set up on any property, public or private, at any time, without written permission of the owner of the land, a camp or tent.
No person having charge of a vehicle, whether motor- or horse-driven, in any public way shall neglect to stop the same or to place the same when stopped as directed by a police officer of the Town, nor shall neglect or refuse go upon that part of the said way to which such person is directed by a police officer of the Town.
[Amended 9-8-2025 FTM by Art. G]
A.
It shall be unlawful for any person to operate a motorcycle, motorbike, snowmobile, all-terrain vehicle, trail bike, motorized scooter, or any other similar motorized vehicle under the following circumstances, and the operator shall be subject to the traffic laws and regulations of the commonwealth:
(1)
On private property of another without the express permission to do so by the owner or occupant of the property;
(2)
On public school grounds, public property, park property, playgrounds, conservation areas, wetland areas, recreational areas, cemeteries and beaches without the express provision or permission to do so, in writing, by the proper public authority;
(3)
In a manner as to create loud, unnecessary or unusual noise so as to disturb or interfere with the peace and quiet of other persons;
(4)
In a careless, reckless or negligent manner so as to endanger the life and safety of any person or the property of any other person;
(5)
On sidewalks and public paths; or
(6)
While failing to yield right-of-way to pedestrians.
B.
Two-wheel motorized scooters. It is unlawful to:
(1)
Operate on any way without being equipped with a braking system to enable the operator to bring the scooter traveling at a speed of 15 miles per hour to a smooth, safe stop within 30 feet on a dry, clean, hard, level surface or to report any accident involving either personal injury;
(3)
Operate a motorized scooter during the period from 1/2 hour after sunset to 1/2 hour before sunrise without displaying to the front of the scooter a lamp emitting a white light visible from a distance of at least 500 feet, and to the rear of said scooter a lamp emitting a red light, or a red reflector visible for not less than 600 feet when directly in front of lawful lower beams of headlamps of a motor vehicle. A generator-powered lamp that emits light only when the scooter is moving shall meet the requirements of the clause;
(4)
Park a motorized scooter upon any way or sidewalk in such a manner as to obstruct vehicular or pedestrian traffic;
(5)
Fail to report any accident involving either personal injury or property damage in excess of $100 or both, to the Rockport Police Department.
C.
The Select Board shall adopt, and may from time to time amend, regulations governing the use of Town property by off-road vehicles, including, without limiting the foregoing, minibikes, motorbikes and off-road vehicles. This section shall not apply to vehicles registered with the Commonwealth of Massachusetts on public and private ways and public parking areas.
D.
Penalty for violation. Any person who violates any provision of this section shall be punished by any means in law or in equity and may be fined up to $300 per violation. This by-law may also be enforced by noncriminal disposition in accordance with Chapter 1, Article III, § 1-10, Penalties, of these by-laws.
A.
The Town may make temporary repairs and perform temporary maintenance on private ways. For the purposes of this section, a "private way" shall be defined as a privately owned way open to the public use. To qualify under this by-law, the private way must abut three or more year-round-occupied residences, be at least 300 feet in length and have been open to the public for a minimum of six years. The repairs may include both the subsurface and surface of a private way. This by-law shall not authorize the installation or repair of sewer piping, the installation, maintenance and repair of drainage, asphalt surfacing or resurfacing of the roadway, or the maintenance of any trees, shrubs or bushes.
B.
Upon petition of the Director of Public Works, the DPW Board of Commissioners by 50% of the abutters of a private way open to the public for a minimum of six years, the Select Board by majority vote may declare that the repairs to the said private way are required because of public necessity and convenience.
C.
Repairs to a private way proposed to be made pursuant to this by-law shall not be made unless 85% of the abutters adjacent to the affected area of said repairs have executed written agreements stipulating that the way in question is private and is open to public use, agreeing to said repairs, and further agreeing to release, defend, indemnify and hold harmless the Town, its officers, employees and agents from all claims arising out of the carrying out of said repairs, or out of the Town's failure to make repairs to any portion of the way at any time, including all claims brought pursuant to MGL c. 84, § 25. The Town shall incur no liability on account of damages caused by such repairs. Nothing in this by-law is intended to create any duty to maintain or repair such private ways on an annual basis. Betterments may be assessed for such repairs at the discretion of Town Meeting. The DPW Board of Commissioners shall require a cash deposit of 75% of the total project cost from the abutters prior to beginning the project, which shall be applied toward the cost of such repairs. The requirement for a cash deposit can be waived by Town Meeting action.