The following standards are hereby established:
A. Water quality. No discharge at any point into any
public sewer, private sewerage disposal system, stream or water body
or into the ground of any materials of such nature or temperature
as can contaminate such water body or water supply or cause emission
of dangerous or offensive elements in reaction thereto shall be permitted
except in accordance with applicable federal, state and local health
and water pollution control laws and regulations.
B. Air quality. No building or occupancy permit shall
be issued for any facility subject to regulation under the Massachusetts
Air Pollution Control Regulations, 310 CMR 7.00, until compliance
with those regulations has been demonstrated and, if applicable, the
appropriate permit(s) has been obtained from the Massachusetts Department
of Environmental Protection, Bureau of Waste Prevention. The provisions
of said regulations shall apply to dust, flash, gas, fume, mist, odor,
smoke, vapor, pollen, microorganism, radioactive material, radiation,
heat, sound, any combination thereof or any decay or reaction product
thereof in the ambient air space.
[Amended 4-25-2005 ATM by Art. 23]
C. Noise. No use shall be permitted within the Town of
Chelmsford which, by reason of excessive noise generated therefrom,
would cause nuisance or hazard to persons or property. Exempt from
the provisions of this subsection are vehicles not controlled by an
owner or occupant of a lot within the town, temporary construction
activities occurring during the hours of 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. on
weekdays, occasionally used safety signals, warning devices, emergency
pressure-relief valves or other such temporary activity and the use
of power tools and equipment such as lawn mowers, snowblowers, chain
saws, tractors and similar equipment for the maintenance of property.
For the purposes of this chapter, the standards in the Noise Table
shall apply for sounds generated continuously from any source not
otherwise exempted above.
|
Noise Table
|
---|
|
Location of Measurement
|
Maximum Permitted Sound Level
(dBA)*
|
---|
|
At the lot line of an adjacent or nearby residence
or institutional use, weekdays during the hours of 7:00 a.m. to 6:00
p.m.
|
60
|
|
At the lot line of an adjacent or nearby residence
or institutional use, Sundays or during the hours of 6:00 p.m. to
7:00 a.m. weekdays
|
50
|
|
At the lot line of an adjacent business use
|
65
|
|
At the lot line of an adjacent industrial use
|
70
|
|
NOTES:
*"dBA" shall mean the A-weighted sound-pressure
level in decibels, as measured by a general purpose sound-level meter
complying with the provisions of the American National Standards Institute.
The instrument shall be properly calibrated and set to the A-weighted
response scale and the meter set to the slow response. Reference pressure
shall be 0.0002 microbars.
|
(1) Exceptions for intermittent noise. The levels (dBA)
specified in the Noise Table may be exceeded by 10 dBA weekdays during
the hours of 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., but not at any other time, for
a period not to exceed 20 minutes during any one day.
(2) Impact noise. Impact noise such as from a punch press,
drop forge hammer or similar equipment shall be measured using the
fast response of the sound-level meter and shall not exceed the levels
specified in the Noise Table by more than 10 dBA.
D. Solid waste storage. Any accessory receptacle or structure with holding capacity of at least 100 cubic feet for temporary storage of solid or liquid waste materials, including garbage, rubbish, junk, discarded bulk items and similar waste items, shall be located not less than 10 feet from any structure and shall be screened from all adjacent premises and streets from which it would otherwise be visible in accordance with §
195-44B of this chapter. Screening materials will not be attached to any structure.
E. No vibration, odor, glare or flashing shall be detectable
without instruments at any lot line of a residential or institutional
use.
F. Cinders, dust, fumes, gases, odors, smoke, radiation,
refuse or other waste materials shall be effectively confined to the
premises and treated or disposed of in accordance with state, federal
and Town laws and regulations.
G. No process shall be used which creates visual or audible
interference in any radio or television receivers off the premises
or causes fluctuations in excess of 10% in line voltage off the premises.
H. All activities involving, and all storage of, inflammable
and explosive materials shall be provided with adequate safety devices
against hazards from fire and explosion and with adequate fire-fighting
and fire-suppression equipment standard in this industry. Burning
of waste materials in the open contrary to state law is prohibited.
I. All materials which may be edible by or attractive
to rodents or insects shall, when stored indoors or outdoors, be stored
in tightly closed containers.
Site design, materials and construction processes
shall be designed to avoid erosion damage, sedimentation or uncontrolled
surface water runoff by conformance with the following:
A. Grading or construction which will result in final
slopes of 15% or greater on 50% or more of the lot area or on 30,000
square feet or more on a single lot, even if less than half the lot
area, shall be allowed only under special permit from the Planning
Board, which shall be granted only upon demonstration that adequate
provisions have been made to protect against erosion, soil instability,
uncontrolled surface water runoff or other environmental degradation.
Applications and plans for such special permits shall be referred
to the Conservation Commission for its advisory review.
B. All such slopes exceeding 15% which result from site
grading or construction activities shall either be covered with topsoil
to a depth of four inches and planted with vegetative cover sufficient
to prevent erosion or be retained by a wall constructed of masonry,
reinforced concrete or treated pile or timber or other acceptable
means.
C. No area or areas totaling one acre or more on any
parcel or contiguous parcels in the same ownership, or part of a larger
development, shall have existing vegetation clear-stripped or be filled
six inches or more so as to destroy existing vegetation unless in
conjunction with agricultural activity; or unless necessarily incidental
to construction on the premises under a currently valid building permit;
or unless within streets which are either public or designated on
an approved subdivision plan; or unless a special permit is approved
by the Planning Board on condition that runoff will be controlled,
erosion avoided and either a constructed surface or cover vegetation
will be provided not later than the first full spring season immediately
following completion of the stripping operation. No stripped area
or areas which are allowed by special permit shall remain through
the winter without a temporary cover of winter rye or similar plant
material being provided for soil control, except in the case of agricultural
activity where such temporary cover would be infeasible.
[Amended 10-18-2021 ATM by Art. 25]
D. The Inspector of Buildings may require the submission
of all information from the building permit applicant or the landowner,
in addition to that otherwise specified herein, necessary to ensure
compliance with these requirements, including, if necessary, elevations
of the subject property, description of vegetative cover and the nature
of impoundment basins proposed, if any.
E. In granting a special permit hereunder, the Planning
Board may require a performance bond to ensure compliance with the
requirements of this section.
F. Hillside areas, except naturally occurring ledge or
bedrock outcroppings or ledge cuts, shall be retained with vegetative
cover or appropriate stabilization.