[Amended 3-16-1987 STM by Art. 19; 1-17-1989 STM by Art. 16; 5-7-2002 STM by Art. 18]
The Town of Townsend is hereby divided into zoning districts designated as follows:
Residential Districts
Residential Aquifer Overlay District (RA)
Residential B District (RB)
Commercial District - C
Neighborhood Commercial District (NCD)
Downtown Commercial District (DCD)
Outlying Commercial District (OCD)
Industrial District (ID)
Floodplain District (F)
Aquifer Protection Overlay District (APD)
Wetlands District (W)
Groundwater Protection District
[Amended 1-17-1989 STM by Art. 16; 5-4-2010 ATM by Art. 26; 10-19-2010 STM by Art. 19; 5-6-2025 ATM by Art. 5]
Except for Wetlands and Floodplain Districts, the location and boundaries of these districts are hereby established as shown on maps entitled “Townsend Zoning Bylaw Maps #1 – 12,” dated January 1989, and as subsequently amended with the approval of Town Meeting. The Floodplain District is shown on the Middlesex County Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) dated July 8, 2025, and, further, on the Townsend, MA: Zoning Map with the note "Floodplain overlay district area is effective as of 7/8/25."[1] All maps are on file in the office of the Town Clerk. These maps with all explanatory matter thereon are declared to be a part of the Zoning Bylaw of the Town of Townsend, Mass.
A. 
All areas of Townsend not indicated on the maps as being in a commercial or industrial district are zoned residential.
B. 
Residential Aquifer Overlay District (RA) shall be delineated as the boundaries shown on a map entitled "Distribution of Aquifers, Townsend, Mass., December 15, 1984, Nashua River Watershed Association, Figure 2," and if a lot falls within both the RA and any other residential district, the lot shall be considered RA. This map shall also be used to define the "Aquifer Protection Overlay District" as regulated in § 145-40 of this Bylaw.
C. 
The commercial and industrial districts as shown on Maps #2 - 12 are based on the "Assessor Maps."
[1]
Editor's Note: The Townsend, MA: Zoning Map is included as an attachment to this chapter.
Any changes or amendments shall be indicated by the alteration of such map, and the map thus altered is declared to be a part of the Bylaws thus amended.
Where a district boundary is indicated as within or parallel to a street, highway, railroad right-of-way, watercourse or town municipal boundary, such district boundary shall be construed as the center line or being parallel to the center line of such street, highway, railroad right-of-way, watercourse or town municipal boundary.
[Amended 1-17-1989 STM by Art. 16]
Whenever any uncertainty exists as to the exact location of a zoning district boundary line, the location of such line shall be determined from the scale of the map. Full size Assessor Maps to determine the scale for the parcels of land indicated on Neighborhood Commercial District, Downtown Commercial District, Outlying Commercial District, and Industrial District Maps may be used. Additionally, full size Distribution of Aquifers, Townsend, Mass, December 15, 1984, Nashua River Watershed Association, "Figure 2" maps at a scale of 1:25,000 may be used.