Chelmsford City Zoning Code
ARTICLE XIV
Aquifer Protection District
§ 195-69 Purpose.
Groundwater is the sole source of drinking water for the residents, businesses and industries of the Town of Chelmsford. The purpose of the Aquifer Protection District is to protect the health, safety and general welfare by protecting the town's limited present and future drinking water supply, to ensure a sufficient quantity of potable pure drinking water for the present and future residents, institutions and businesses of the Town of Chelmsford and to limit the adverse effects of use and development of land on the quality of the groundwater and surface water resources of the Town of Chelmsford.
§ 195-70 Definitions.
For the purposes of this article, the following words and phrases shall have the following meanings:
A geologic formation composed of rock, sand, gravel or other geologic material that contains significant amounts of potentially recoverable water.
Material or a structure on, above or below the ground that does not allow precipitation or surface water to penetrate directly into the soil.
Any substance or mixture of physical, chemical or infectious characteristics posing a significant, actual or potential hazard to water supplies or other hazard to human health if such substance or mixture were discharged to land or water of the Town of Chelmsford. Toxic or hazardous materials include, without limitation, synthetic organic chemicals, petroleum products, heavy metals, radioactive or infectious wastes, acids and alkalis and all substances defined as toxic or hazardous under MGL c. 21C and 21E and 310 CMR 30.00. For the purposes of this article, sanitary domestic wastes from residential sources shall not be considered toxic or hazardous waste.
§ 195-71 Establishment and delineation of district.
A.
There is hereby established within the Town of Chelmsford the Aquifer Protection District. This area is described on a map entitled "Aquifer Protection District, Town of Chelmsford," dated October 1997. Said map is incorporated herein by reference.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: The Aquifer Protection District Map is on file at the office of the Planning Board.
B.
If the location of the district boundary in relation to a particular parcel is in doubt, resolution of boundary disputes shall be through a special permit application to the Board of Appeals. Any application for a special permit for this purpose shall be accompanied by adequate documentation according to the normal application requirements of the Board of Appeals. If the applicant is able to demonstrate that groundwater flows will not be impacted by the activity on the site or that groundwater from the site does not contribute to the aquifer, the Board may grant a special permit relieving the applicant of the obligations of the Aquifer Protection District. The burden of proof shall be upon the owner(s) of the land in question to show where the bounds should properly be located. At the request of the owner(s), the Town may engage a registered professional engineer, hydrologist, geologist or soil scientist to determine more accurately the boundaries of the district with respect to individual parcels of land and may charge the owner(s) for all or part of the cost of the investigation.
§ 195-72 Overlay district.
The Aquifer Protection District is an overlay district superimposed on the zoning districts and whose regulations are in addition to any other regulations established by this chapter. This overlay district shall apply to all new construction, reconstruction or expansion of existing buildings and new or expanded uses. Applicable activities or uses in a portion of one of the underlying zoning districts which fall within the Aquifer Protection District must additionally comply with the requirements of this district. Uses that are prohibited in the underlying zoning district shall not be permitted in the Aquifer Protection District.
§ 195-73 Use regulations.
The uses permitted within the Aquifer Protection District shall be the uses permitted in the underlying zoning district, except as restricted below. In the following Table of Use Regulations, "N" indicates that the use is prohibited, "Y" indicates that the use is permitted and "PB" indicates that the use may only be permitted by a special permit from the Planning Board.
Table of Use Regulations Within the Aquifer Protection District [Amended 10-17-2011 ATM by Art. 17] | ||
|---|---|---|
Principal or Accessory Use | ||
1. | Sanitary landfill, solid waste disposal site, refuse treatment and disposal facility, landfilling of sludge and septage and storage of sludge and septage | N |
2. | Generation, treatment, disposal or storage of toxic or hazardous materials or waste, except for the following: municipal uses associated with the provision of public water, public works, and sanitary sewer services; very small quantity generators, as defined by 310 CMR 30.00; waste oil retention facilities required by MGL c. 21, § 52A; treatment works approved by the Department of Environmental Protection designed in accordance with 314 CMR 5.00 for the treatment of contaminated groundwater or surface water; and household hazardous waste collection centers or events operated pursuant to 310 CMR 30.390 | N |
3. | Motor vehicle repair facility | PB |
4. | Automobile graveyard and junkyard as defined in MGL c. 140B, § 1 | N |
5. | Car, truck and equipment washing facility where all wastewater discharges to the municipal sewer system or to a private sewer system which discharges to the municipal sewer system or to an approved disposal facility | PB |
6. | Commercial laundries not connected to the municipal sewer system or to a private sewer system which discharges to the municipal sewer system | PB |
7. | Dry cleaners with on-site cleaning facilities | PB |
8. | Furniture or wood stripping, painting and refinishing | PB |
9. | Disposal of snow contaminated with de-icing chemicals and originating from outside the district | N |
10. | Outdoor storage of fertilizer, animal manure, soil conditioner, pesticide, herbicide and de-icing chemicals | N |
11. | Chemical, bacteriological or radiological laboratory or production facility | N |
12. | Treatment disposal works for nonsanitary wastewater that is subject to 314 CMR 5.00, except replacement or repair of existing treatment works or treatment works approved by the Department of Environmental Protection designed for the treatment of contaminated groundwater or surface water or treatment works for pretreatment of industrial discharges to the municipal sewer system | N |
13. | Individual sewage disposal systems designed and/or maintained in accordance with the current requirements of Title 5, 310 CMR 15.00 | Y |
14. | Earth removal, consisting of the removal of soil, loam, sand, gravel or any other earth material (including mining activities) within four feet of historical high groundwater as determined from monitoring wells and historical water table fluctuation data compiled by the United States Geological Survey, except for excavations for building foundations, roads or utility works | N |
15. | The enclosed storage of road salt or other de-icing chemicals | PB |
16. | Modification of groundwater flow through use of underdrains or similar devices, except that a special permit shall not be required to maintain, modify or expand single-family residential structures lawfully in existence on the effective date of this article | PB |
17. | Enlargement or alteration of existing uses that are nonconforming in the Aquifer Protection District | PB |
18. | Storage of hazardous materials as defined in MGL c. 21E and/or liquid petroleum products, unless such storage is above ground level, on an impervious surface and either in a container(s) or aboveground tank(s) within a building or outdoors in a covered container(s) or aboveground tank(s) in an area that has a containment system designed and operated to hold either 10% of the total possible storage capacity of all containers or 110% of the largest container's storage capacity, whichever is greater; these storage requirements shall not apply to replacement of existing tanks or systems for the keeping, dispensing or storing of gasoline, provided that the replacement is performed in a manner consistent with state and local requirements | N |
19. | The construction of dams or other water-control devices, ponds or other changes in water bodies or courses created for swimming, fishing or other recreational uses, agricultural uses or drainage improvements | PB |
20. | Any use that will render impervious more than 15% or 2,500 square feet of any lot, whichever is greater (see § 195-74) | PB |
21. | Any discharge to the ground through an interior floor drain | N |
§ 195-74 Lot coverage.
Any use proposed to render impervious more than 15% or 2,500 square feet of any lot, whichever is greater, shall be subject to a special permit from the Planning Board. On any such lot a system for groundwater recharge must be provided which does not degrade groundwater quality. Any project drainage design that satisfies the stormwater policy issued by the Department of Environmental Protection dated November 18, 1996, as amended, shall be sufficient to satisfy the requirements of this section.
§ 195-75 Special permits; performance standards.
The special permit granting authority under this article shall be the Planning Board. The Planning Board may grant the special permit only upon a finding that the proposed use meets the following performance standards:
A.
The use shall not, during construction or thereafter, adversely affect the existing quality or quantity of water that is available in the Aquifer Protection District;
B.
The use shall be designed to avoid substantial disturbances of the soils, topography, drainage, vegetation and other water-related natural characteristics of the site to be developed which are likely to affect existing quality or quantity of water that is available in the Aquifer Protection District;
C.
The use shall be designed to meet state and federal drinking water standards at the property line; and
D.
The use shall utilize the best management practices which are available for the proposed use.