Bellingham City Zoning Code
ARTICLE IX
Environmental Controls
§ 240-47 Permitted activity.
No activity shall be permitted in any district unless the following requirements are met. Applicants may be required to provide evidence of probable compliance, whether by example of similar facilities or by engineering analysis. Issuance of a permit on the basis of that evidence shall certify the Town's acceptance of the conformity of the basic structure and equipment, but future equipment changes and operating procedures must be such as to also comply with these requirements.
§ 240-48 Noise.
B.
Applicability. No development shall be allowed unless it is demonstrated that the following standards will not be exceeded at any location outside the property line of the premises, which location includes any contiguous land committed to be conveyed to the Town as open space. The numerical standards of Subsection D of this section shall not be exceeded by more than 20 dB(A) at any time, or by more than 10 dB(A) for more than 10 minutes in an hour, or at all for more than 30 minutes in an hour. Nothing in this section shall be construed to permit noise in excess of that allowed by any state or federal regulation.
C.
Exceptions. This regulation shall not apply to the following:
(1)
Any noise produced by equipment used exclusively in the maintenance or repair of buildings or grounds, provided such equipment is rated at not more than 15 horsepower.
(2)
Human or animal noises unless mechanically or electronically amplified.
(3)
Farm equipment.
(4)
Construction equipment between the hours of 7:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m., or at other hours upon determination of reasonable necessity by the Building Inspector. Such determination and authorization shall be valid for not more than any one 24 hours period per determination.
(5)
Snow plowing; emergency repair due to flood, fire or other catastrophe if such work is necessary for the general welfare or to avoid further catastrophe.
(6)
Parades, fairs or outdoor entertainment, provided that a permit for such activity has been granted by the Board of Selectmen and that said permit is for not more than 10 days in any calendar year.
D.
Standards. The following standards must be met, with the applicable standard being based upon the Receiving Zone where noise is potentially heard, not the zone where noise is generated. "Daytime" shall be from 7:00 a.m. until 9:00 p.m. on all days except Sundays and legal holidays, when it shall be from 12:00 noon until 9:00 p.m. All sound measurements made pursuant to this section shall be made with a Type 1 A-weighted sound level meter as specified under American National Standards Institute (ANSI) S1.4-1983.
Maximum Allowable Exterior Noise Level | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Receiving Zone | Daytime | Nighttime | |
A | 65 dB(A) | 60 dB(A) | |
B | 55 dB(A) | 50 dB(A) | |
C | 50 dB(A) | 45 dB(A) | |
§ 240-49 Light and glare.
A.
Lighting fixture types are defined as follows:
(1)
Type 1. No light cutoff.
(2)
Type 2. Luminaire shielded such that peak candlepower is at an angle of 75° or less from vertical, and essentially no light is emitted above the horizontal.
(3)
Type 3. Luminaire shielded such that total cutoff is at less than 90° from vertical, and no light source is in direct view of an observer five feet above the ground at any point off the premises.
B.
Lighting limitations. The following limitations shall be observed by all uses, unless granted a special permit under § 240-55, upon determination by the special permit granting authority that it is inherently infeasible for that use (e.g., public outdoor recreation) to meet these standards, and that all reasonable efforts have been made to avoid glare or light over spill onto residential premises.
Districts | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
B-1, B-2, I | Other | |||
Maximum luminaire mounting height (feet) | ||||
Fixture Type 1 | 20 | 10 | ||
Fixture Type 2 | 30 | 15 | ||
Fixture Type 3 | 40 | 20 | ||
Maximum off-site over spill (footcandles) | ||||
Fixture Type 1 | 0.3 | 0.2 | ||
Fixture Type 2 | 1.0 | 0.3 | ||
Fixture Type 3 | 3.0 | 0.5 | ||
 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Type 1: No Cutoff Luminaire | Type 2: 90° Cutoff Luminaire | Type 3: Luminaire with less than 90° cutoff | |
C.
No flickering or flashing lights shall be permitted. Processes, such as arc welding, which create light flashes shall be confined within buildings or shielded to prevent either direct glare or flashing reflected from the sky.
D.
An exterior lighting plan may be required where compliance with these requirements is not apparent, to include indication of location, mounting height, and orientation of luminaires, and sufficient technical information on the fixtures to determine their type and resulting illumination levels.
§ 240-50 Air quality.
A.
Any use whose emissions are such as to cause it to be classified as a major new stationary source of air pollution, as defined by the EPA under the Clean Air Act, and any use required to apply to DEQE under 310 CMR 7.00 or to EPA under Section 112 of the Clean Air Act for permission to emit asbestos, benzene, beryllium, mercury, vinyl chloride or radio nuclides shall be permitted only if granted a special permit under § 240-55.
B.
No emission of odorous gases or odoriferous matter in such quantities as to be offensive shall be permitted. Any process which involves the creation and/or emission of any odors shall be provided with a secondary safeguard system.
§ 240-51 Hazardous materials.
Use of premises involving one or more of the following may be permitted only if granted a special permit under § 240-55.
B.
Keeping of flammable fluids, solids or gasses in quantities exceeding four times that requiring licensure under 527 CMR 14.00, except for storage of fuel for consumption on the premises or by vehicles operated incidental to the principal use of the premises.
C.
Any use for which licensure is required under 310 CMR 30.800 to transport, use, treat, store or dispose of hazardous waste (but not those excluded under 310 CMR 30.801).
D.
No building, facility or premises or parts thereof shall be constructed or used for the purpose of processing, storing or staging hazardous wastes or infectious wastes as defined by the Department of Environmental Protection of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts as defined in 105 CMR 480.00, Department of Public Health, State Sanitary Code, and includes: blood and blood products; pathological waste; cultures and stocks of infections agents and associated biologicals; contaminated animal carcasses, body parts and bedding; sharps; and biotechnological bi-product effluents.
§ 240-52 Vibration.
No use shall be allowed which produces vibration which is discernible to the human sense of feeling (except as sound) at or beyond the boundaries of the premises for three minutes or more in any hour between 7:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m. or for 30 seconds or more in any one hour between 9:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. Vibrations exceeding two-thirds the frequency/amplitude limitations established by the Board of Fire Prevention Regulations at 527 CMR 13.11(18) shall, except for activities exclusively within the jurisdiction of that Board, be deemed to be discernible without instruments.
§ 240-53 Electrical disturbances.
No electrical disturbance shall be permitted which adversely affects the operation of any equipment other than that of the creator of such disturbance.
§ 240-54 Stormwater management.
A.
Foundation grade.
(1)
Finished grade shall slope continuously downward for at least 10 feet in all directions from the foundation of any dwelling having a basement or cellar, at a slope of 1% or more on paved surfaces and 2% or more on other surfaces.
(2)
Drainage facilities, including detention basins, shall be designed consistent with the standards of the Rules and Regulations Governing the Subdivision of Land of the Bellingham Planning Board, as most recently amended.[1] Basin fencing materials shall be subject to approval by the Planning Board in conducting development plan review, and shall be selected to prevent accidental entry into the detention area, but still allowing visibility into it.
B.
Stormwater management.
(1)
All development requiring in excess of 10 parking spaces or undertake a construction activity, including clearing, grading and excavation that results in a land disturbance that will disturb an area equal to or greater than one acre of land, or will disturb less than one acre of land but is part of a larger common plan of development or redevelopment that will ultimately disturb an area equal to or greater than one acre of land, shall conform to the drainage requirements specified in the Rules and Regulations Governing the Subdivision of Land[2] and obtain a stormwater management permit per Section 7.0 with related Stormwater Management Plan and Operation and Maintenance Plan of the Planning Board Procedural Rules. Drainage design (hydrology) shall address, at a minimum, two-, ten-, and one-hundred-year twenty-four-hour rainfall storms, using TR-55 methods. Additionally, the drainage piping system (hydraulics) shall be designed for the twenty-five-year design storm, except that detention facilities shall be based on a one-hundred-year storm. Increases to peak rates of runoff shall not be allowed. Any increase in runoff volume shall be analyzed to ensure no increased flooding impacts off site. Pretreatment is required with any recharge facilities unless receiving flows are from rooftop areas only. Drainage calculations by a registered professional engineer shall be submitted to the reviewing body.
(2)
Drainage facilities, including detention basins, shall be designed consistent with the standards of the Rules and Regulations Governing the Subdivision of Land of the Bellingham Planning Board, as most recently amended.[3] Basin fencing materials shall be subject to approval by the Planning Board in conducting development plan review, and shall be selected to prevent accidental entry into the detention area, but still allowing visibility into it.
§ 240-55 Special permits.
A.
Special permit granting authority. The special permit granting authority (SPGA) for applications authorized under Article IX of this chapter shall be the Board of Appeals, except that if another agency is designated under other provisions of this bylaw as SPGA for the use being applied for, that agency shall also act as SPGA under this article.
B.
Submittals. Applicants shall submit such material, including technical analyses, as is reasonably necessary for the SPGA to make the determinations under Subsection C below. That may include, as germane, an acoustic analysis, a lighting plan, documentation of air quality modeling, identification of any toxic or hazardous materials involved and substances to be emitted, a description of precautions, handling practices, monitoring, and recovery systems proposed, and, if appropriate, a hazard prevention and contingency response plan.
C.
Decision criteria. Special permits shall be granted if the SPGA finds that the proposed use will not cause harm or adverse disturbance to the environment or to other premises, will not jeopardize health or safety either on- or off-premises, and that either any control or safety systems being relied upon are fail-safe or redundant, or it has been demonstrated that there would be no adverse health or safety consequences beyond the boundaries of the premises in the event of system failure, in light of on-site decay, dilution or dispersion.