East Longmeadow City Zoning Code

Special permits are required for certain uses, structures or conditions as specified in Article III, Schedule of Use Regulations.[1]

Purpose. Special permits are intended to provide detailed review of certain uses and structures which may have substantial impact upon traffic, utility systems and the character of the Town, among other things. The special permit review process is intended to ensure a harmonious relationship between proposed development and its surroundings, and ensure the proposals are consistent with the purpose and intent of this bylaw.

Special permit granting authority (SPGA). The Planning Board shall be the special permit granting authority.

Special permits may be issued by special permit granting authorities in accordance with MGL c. 40A, § 9 and with the following regulations:

Expiration.

Application and review procedures.

Modification, amendment, renewal or revocation.

Transfer. Where a special permit involving the construction of buildings has not been implemented by substantial construction, said permit shall not pass to future owners of the property without a public hearing and approval of the SPGA.

Document distribution. When a special permit has been granted, one copy each of the decision, conditions and approved plans shall be filed with the Planning Board, the Zoning Board of Appeals, the Town Clerk and the Building Commissioner, and one copy shall be returned to the applicant. The set of documents on file with the Town Clerk shall bear the endorsement of the SPGA and certification that copies of the decision and related plans have been filed in accordance with this section.

Time schedule. A special permit shall only be issued following a public hearing held within 65 days after the SPGA receives the application from the Town Clerk. The SPGA shall act within 90 days following the public hearing. Failure of the SPGA to make final action upon an application for a special permit within said ninety-day period shall be deemed to be a granting of the special permit applied for.

The specific site must be an appropriate location for the use, structure or condition.

The use as developed will not adversely affect the neighborhood.

There will be no nuisances, such as noise etc., or safety hazards created.

Adequate and appropriate facilities will be provided for the proper operation of the proposed use.

Appropriate screening by walls, fences, planting or other devices shall be provided for parking areas.

Exterior features or appearance will not be detrimental to the surrounding neighborhood.

Number and design of access drives and traffic features shall be adequate for intended use.

Uses must be in harmony with the general purpose and intent of the Zoning Bylaws.

All required state and local licenses must be acquired and kept current. Failure to meet this criterion is grounds for revocation of the special permit by the special permit granting authority.

The removal, from any site, for profit or benefit or for any other purpose, of gravel, sand, loam or any other earth material, provided:

The following earth removal operations are exempt from the requirements of Subsection A:

The general standards and conditions enumerated in § 450-8.3 are met;

Conditioned upon the permanent compliance with the Acts and Resolves of the Commonwealth; and

A plan is submitted to the SPGA which provides a safe vehicle circulation and safe off-street vehicle loading and unloading areas.

In Residence Districts, the SPGA shall not grant or renew a special permit for the use, construction, extension or modification of a hospital, sanitarium, medical clinic, convalescent home, assisted-living facility, congregate elderly and handicapped housing or nursing home unless the standard conditions enumerated in § 450-8.3 are met and unless the following specific standards and conditions are also met:

A plan of development shall be submitted to the SPGA for review, and such plan must be approved by said SPGA before a building permit shall be issued. The SPGA, in reviewing such plan, shall obtain and consider the recommendations of the various Town boards and commissions. In review of such plan, the following standards shall be met:

This use will only be allowed in a Business District, as indicated on the Zoning Districts Map identified in § 450-2.1.

The lot shall have a minimum of 20,000 square feet with a minimum of 150 feet frontage on an accepted way.

Not more than 75% of the lot shall be occupied by buildings, parking area or other facilities. At least 25% of the lot area shall be left as green open space.

Buildings, structures or any of their appurtenances or accessory uses shall hereafter be erected not less than 100 feet from any Residence District. Such buildings shall have no entrances or exits for motor vehicles within a radius of 300 feet measured from the nearest point of such entrances or exits in any direction to the property of any school, library, church, playground, public building, park, recreation center, social or community center or any institution for the sick, handicapped or feeble. No building, structure or any of their appurtenances or accessory uses shall be placed so that their entrances or exits constitute a potential traffic hazard, and such entrances and exits to public ways of the Town of East Longmeadow shall be approved by the Department of Public Works as to locations and construction, and approved by the Planning Board as to their conformity with the intent and purpose of this bylaw. A plot plan for any such use as described herein shall be reviewed by the Town Manager and the Department of Public Works prior to the issuance of a building permit or the occupancy or use of land for the purpose described in this section.

No part of any building or structure shall be erected or altered so as to be less than 25 feet from the street line. Side yards and a rear yard shall not be required for a business building or structure, except as required in Subsection D above. The 15 feet of such rear or side yard nearest to the Residence District shall be left as a natural wooded buffer, or if none exists, shall be landscaped by providing trees, shrubs or fencing to provide a practical buffer between the two districts. The establishment of this buffer strip shall be an integral part of any required parking plan.

Building area shall not exceed 25% of the lot area. Plot plans must be submitted to the Planning Board for approval of parking provisions in all cases, and to the Department of Public Works in accordance with the General Bylaw of the Town of East Longmeadow, Chapter 416, Vehicles and Traffic, § 416-3, where applicable.

Off-street parking shall be provided and shall meet the requirements of § 450-5.6 of the Zoning Bylaw.

This use will only be allowed in Residence Districts AA, A, B and C.

Any person wishing to obtain a special permit for this limited use must present satisfactory documentation, as determined by the SPGA, which validates the applicant's ownership of and residence at the property and business existence and operation in the residential district as of the date of the first public notice for the public hearing for this section, which is January 28, 2008. Documentation may include, but is not limited to, paid excise tax bills on the business vehicles validating existence at the residential site.

These specific uses will terminate upon the termination of the existing operation as approved and permitted or upon the sale of the property to a non-family member. Said business is not transferable to anyone other than an immediate family member as defined in Article XI of this bylaw.

All eligible applications for special permit for this limited use must be filed with the Planning Board office on or before December 31, 2008.

The special permit application shall include a site plan designating lot size, existing structures, vehicle/parking footprint, storage area, vehicle access and egress from the rear property and placement of required screening. "Vehicle" references throughout this section refers to home-based trade vehicles, unless otherwise specified. All dimensional regulations (Table 3-2[1]) for residential districts remain in effect for residential parcels acquiring a home-based trade. All vehicles and trailers are to be listed as to type and size, as well as any outside storage of equipment and wheeled accessories (see Article XI, Definitions, "trailer" and "wheeled accessory"). All materials and chemicals as well as all hazardous materials are to be listed and in compliance with the East Longmeadow Zoning Bylaws and the East Longmeadow Fire Department regulations.

Outside storage of materials or equipment required by the home-based trade shall not exceed 6% of the lot size, excluding wetland resource areas as defined by the Wetland Protection Act (MGL c. 131, § 40). Said storage shall be garaged or properly screened from sight of abutting properties and ways (as determined by the SPGA) to the rear of the principal building. Storage containers and trailer beds and/or trailer bodies shall not be permitted.

Not more than 20% of the habitable floor area within the principal building shall be dedicated for the business use. Said area is to be designated on a site plan approved by the SPGA and made a part of said special permit.

The number of employees' vehicles allowed at the residential home-based trade business location shall be limited to the number of trade vehicles permitted on the site, as conditioned by the special permit.

No retail or wholesale activities shall be allowed on the premises.

No fabrication of subassemblies or manufacturing of any type shall be allowed on the lot.

No signage (other than logos on company vehicles) shall be allowed.

Presence of the business shall not be apparent from the street.

The hours of operation shall be permitted from 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., Monday through Saturday, to get crews and material off-site in the morning and return in the evening, with all work being performed off-site, with no operation on-site on Sunday. Emergencies and/or weather responses involving the health and welfare of the citizens are exempt from the conditions of this subsection. Said emergencies shall be determined by the SPGA.

Noise regulations enumerated in the East Longmeadow General Bylaws Chapter 363, Noise, shall be applicable to any special permit issued under this section. Vehicles with back-up signal alarms shall be placed so as not to activate during the early morning or late night hours in the case of emergency and/or weather responses.

Idling of vehicles shall not exceed the five-minute maximum limit as regulated by MGL c. 90, § 16A.

Vehicle and equipment repairs are limited to those that are related to the home-based trade and approved for the site as conditioned through the special permit. All repairs are to be done only within a garage or accessory structure, not to cause any disturbing noise or air pollution to the neighborhood. As required by Chapter 363, Noise, of the East Longmeadow General Bylaws, repairs shall take place between the hours of 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., Monday through Saturday, with no activity on Sunday.

The number of trade vehicles and/or trailers shall be limited as follows:

The size of trade vehicles shall be limited to six wheels/two axles maximum. The maximum wheel base length shall be 210 inches, and the maximum trailer bed and/or body length shall not exceed 22 feet in length, nor exceed 13 feet six inches in height, as regulated by the Department of Transportation. Ten-wheeled vehicles, dry van/box trucks or any tractor-trailer vehicles are not permitted.

The vehicle footprint for trade vehicles and/or trailers is as follows: All vehicles and/or trailers shall be located to the rear of the principal building and said location shall adhere to the established setbacks of the principal building, as required for the appropriate residential district in which the home-based trade is located. In the case of a corner lot, the side yard facing a public way shall adhere to the front yard setback. (See Article XI, Definitions, "corner lot.")

All vehicles must be garaged and/or screened to the rear of the principal building. No on-street parking, as it relates to the home-based trade, shall be allowed. The parking of employee vehicles is limited to the number of trade vehicles, exclusive of trailers, approved for the site. When trade vehicles are in use, the trade vehicle footprint may be occupied with employee vehicles. The footprint for employee parking shall not exceed the footprint for trade vehicles, as approved through the special permit and shown on the plan.

All vehicles, equipment and storage materials must be screened to prevent being seen from street view and that of the abutting properties. All storage, which includes vehicles and equipment, is to be properly screened to the rear of the principal building. Screening is subject to existing features of the parcel and may include plantings at four feet to five feet minimum, fence material, or some combination. Should fencing be required, it must be installed at the time of the special permit approval.

A preexisting, legal and nonconforming use in existence prior to the East Longmeadow Zoning Bylaw, 1962, is protected in that use and not subject to !450-8.8. Any change in this use is subject to the conditions of § 450-3.5 of the East Longmeadow Zoning Bylaw.

Any person or entity seeking to open a new or to maintain an existing RMD facility must:

Waiver. The special permit granting authority, when granting a special permit under this section, may waive setback requirements, provided the applicant submits its request in writing and can demonstrate the proposed site will not have an adverse effect upon the surrounding neighborhood. The special permit granting authority reserves the authority to require the applicant to produce necessary documentation to support its position. Further, a waiver of setback requirements shall require both the affirmative vote of 3/4 of all the members of the special permit granting authority and shall require a separate vote apart from the main vote on the proposed site.

Abandonment or discontinuance of use.

Retail sales as a primary use are prohibited in the Industrial Garden Park District.

Inside incidental sales shall be allowed, provided that they are related to the merchandise manufactured and that they are ancillary and secondary to the primary use and meet the following specifications:

Adult uses may not be located:

Signage must meet all requirements of § 450-5.8 of this bylaw, except that no advertisement, display or other promotional material is to be visible to the public from any public way, including but not limited to pedestrian walkways.

If the adult use allows for the showing of films or videos within the premises, the booths in which the films or videos are viewed shall not be closed off by curtains, doors or screens or any other materials. All shall be clearly seen from the center of the establishment.

The application for the special permit shall contain the following:

No special permit shall be issued under this section to any person convicted of violating MGL c. 119, § 63 or MGL c. 272, § 28.

For the purpose of this bylaw, the term "substantial or significant portion" (See Article XI, "adult use" definitions.) shall mean 10% or more of gross sales for an adult bookstore, adult video store and adult paraphernalia store; and any form or amount of nudity for an adult club.

No obscene matter, material or conduct, as defined in MGL c. 272, § 31, shall be permitted.

Should any provision of this section be declared illegal or unenforceable by the Attorney General or an appeals court, then it shall be deem stricken from the bylaw and the remaining provisions shall remain in full force and effect.

The business owner shall have a kenneling license issued by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and shall be in good standing.

The business owner shall follow all relevant local, state, and federal regulations.

In regards to this section (§ 450-8.16), the term “animal” shall refer to cats and dogs exclusively.

The appropriate facilities, enclosures, and safety features shall include (but are not limited to) the following:

If the commercial kennel includes the boarding of dogs, the following shall also apply:

The Planning Board may include the following as conditions: