Freetown City Zoning Code
ARTICLE I
General Provisions
§ 300-1.1 Purpose.
[Amended 5-2-1978 ATM; 5-7-2001 ATM; 10-27-2008 STM; 6-7-2010 ATM; 11-8-2010 STM]
A.
The purpose of this bylaw is to promote the health, safety, convenience, morals and welfare of the inhabitants of the Town of Freetown. For its use in conjunction with this bylaw, the current Town of Freetown Zoning Map, signed by the Planning Board and filed with the office of the Town Clerk, together with all explanatory matter thereon, is hereby incorporated in and made a part of this bylaw.
B.
The purpose of this bylaw shall be to promote the welfare of the inhabitants of the Town of Freetown, to conserve the value of land and buildings; to encourage the appropriate use of land throughout the Town, to preserve and increase its amenities, and to provide for the Town the protection authorized by MGL c. 40A, as amended.
§ 300-1.2 Scope.
This bylaw will not apply to buildings, structures and uses of land lawfully begun or in existence at the time this bylaw is adopted, but all new construction, relocation, expansion, alteration, or change of use shall conform to the provisions of this bylaw.
§ 300-1.3 Construal of provisions.
[Amended 10-28-2002 STM]
The provisions of this bylaw shall be deemed to be minimum requirements adopted for the purposes stated in § 300-1.1. Whenever any other bylaw of the Town of Freetown or any law or regulation of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts imposes greater restrictions than this bylaw, such other bylaw, law or regulation shall prevail to the extent of such greater restrictions.
§ 300-1.4 Definitions and word usage.
[Amended 3-6-1971 ATM; 5-1-1989 STM; 3-24-1997 STM; 3-27-1997 STM; 5-3-2004 ATM; 10-27-2008 STM; 6-7-2010 ATM; 6-6-2016 ATM; 10-18-2016 STM; 10-23-2017 STM; 10-28-2019 STM]
For the purpose of this bylaw, certain terms and words shall have the following meanings. Words used in the present tense include the future; the singular includes the plural, the plural includes the singular; the word "used" includes the words "designed," "arranged," "intended" or "offered" when in conjunction with occupancy or how something is to be used; the words "building," "structure," "lot," "land" or "premises" shall be construed as though followed by the words "or any portion thereof"; the word "shall" is always mandatory and not merely directory; the word "may" is intended to be permissive; the word "person" includes corporations, trusts, estates, partnerships, or other entities as well as an individual. Terms and words not defined herein but defined in the State Building Code or bylaws of the Town of Freetown shall have the meanings given therein unless a contrary intention clearly appears. Words not defined in either place shall have the meaning given in the Merriam Webster Dictionary, Home and Office Edition. Uses listed in the Table of Use Regulations under the classes Business and Industrial Uses shall be further defined by the current Standard Industrial Classification Manual published by the Executive Office of the President, Office of Management and Budget.
An "accessory apartment" is a second dwelling unit located within a structure originally designed, constructed and occupied as a detached single-family dwelling unit, subordinate in size to the principal dwelling unit in a manner that maintains the appearance of the structure as a single-family home.
A building or use customarily subordinate to and incidental to and located on the same lot with the principal building or use, except that if more than 30% of the lot area is occupied by such building or use, it shall no longer be considered accessory.
Shall include and be defined as follows:
ADULT BOOKSTOREAn establishment having greater than 10% of its stock-in-trade printed matter, books, magazines, and other matter which are distinguished or characterized by their emphasis depicting, describing, or relating to sexual conduct or sexual excitement as defined in MGL c. 272, § 31.
ADULT MOTION-PICTURE THEATERAn enclosed building or outdoor facility used for presenting material distinguished or characterized by an emphasis on matter depicting, describing, or relating to sexual conduct or sexual excitement as defined in MGL c. 272, § 31.
ADULT PARAPHERNALIA STOREAn establishment having greater than 10% of its stock devices, objects, tools, or toys which are distinguished or characterized by their association with sexual activity, including sexual conduct or sexual excitement as defined in MGL c. 272, § 31.
ADULT VIDEO STOREAn establishment having greater than 10% of its stock-in-trade videos, movies, or other film materials which are distinguished or characterized by their emphasis depicting, or relating to sexual conduct or sexual excitement as defined in MGL c. 272, § 31.
ADULT LIVE ENTERTAINMENT ESTABLISHMENTSEstablishments which displays live nudity for their patrons. An establishment which provides live entertainment for its patrons which includes the display of nudity, as that term is defined in MGL c. 272, § 31.
The use of land, buildings or structures for agriculture and farming, including floriculture, aquaculture, horticulture and viticulture; farming in all its branches and the cultivation and tillage of the soil; dairying; the production, cultivation, growing and harvesting of any agricultural, floriculture or horticultural commodities; the raising of livestock, the keeping and raising of poultry, swine, cattle and other domesticated animals used for food purposes; bees; fur-bearing animals; and any practices, including any forestry or lumbering operations, performed by a "farmer," who is hereby defined as one engaged in agriculture or farming as herein defined.
A change or modification of a building or structure or the service equipment thereof that affects safety or health and that is not classified as an ordinary repair, so as to provide no increase in its height or gross floor area.
A public or private meeting facility which may also include on-site kitchen/catering facilities. A banquet/meeting/reception hall usually serves as a location for activities such as weddings and other such gatherings by appointment only. Banquet/meeting/reception halls have limited hours of operation and usually are not open on a daily basis.
Includes certain types of recombinant DNA; organisms and viruses infectious to humans, animals or plants (e.g., parasites, viruses, bacteria, fungi); and biologically active agents (i.e., toxins, allergens, venoms) that may cause disease in other living organisms or cause significant impact to the environment or community.
"Biohazards" are infectious agents or hazardous biological materials that present a risk or potential risk to the health of humans, animals or the environment. The risk can be direct through infection or indirect through damage to the environment.
See definition for "structure."
That percentage of the lot area covered by the horizontal projection of the largest single-floor area of the principal building, plus all accessory buildings and impervious areas, excluding any structure that according to building code does not require a foundation or building permit; aboveground pools; in-ground pools
A building having any portion of one or more walls in common with the adjoining buildings.
A building having open space on all sides.
A building in which is conducted the principal use of the lot on which it is located.
A facility where recyclable material is collected from the public and/or private business and sorted, processed, and/or baled in preparation for shipment to others for remanufacture into new materials or as a reused product.
[Amended ]
A free standing building exclusively for residential uses by two families but not more than two families.
A building designed or used exclusively as the living quarters for one or more families.
A single, independent housekeeping unit with permanent provisions for living, sleeping, eating, cooking and sanitation, occupied or intended for occupancy by one separate family.
A single unit providing independent living facilities for one household, including permanent provisions for living, sleeping, cooking, eating and sanitation.
The floor area within the inside perimeter of the exterior walls of the building under consideration, exclusive of vent shafts and courts, without deduction for corridors, stairways, closets, the thickness of interior walls, columns, or other features. The floor area of a building, or portion thereof, not provided with surrounding exterior walls shall be the usable area under the horizontal projection of the roof or floor above. The gross floor area shall not include shafts with no openings or interior courts.
[Amended ]
A building or group of buildings providing accommodations for compensation on a transient basis.
Extraction, developing, manufacturing, assembling, processing or treatment of raw or processed materials, parts, or assemblies using other than manual power. A "light industry" is one using quiet motive power and processes which do not generate more noise, odor, smoke, fumes, vibrations, glare, electrical or magnetic interference, or hazard of fire, explosion or pollution of groundwater than could be expected of any of the other permitted uses in that location. A "heavy industry" is one generating one or more of the above neighborhood impacts.
A facility established in accordance with a valid site assignment for the purposes of disposing solid waste into or on the land, pursuant to 310 CMR 19.006.
An area of land in one ownership with definite boundaries recorded in the Registry of Deeds or in Land Court in accordance with state statute, MGL c. 183, § 6A.
The property line between a lot and the street or the line defining the limit of a right-of-way set aside for road purposes. On a corner lot, the owner shall designate one street line as the front line for the purpose of determining what line will be designated as the rear line.
The lot line opposite the front lot line.
Any lot line not a front or rear lot line.
Fabrication, assembly, finishing, packaging, processing or research.
Any vehicle or object on wheels having no motive power of its own but which is drawn by or used in connection with a motor vehicle, and which is so designed and constructed, or reconstructed or added to by means of such accessories as to permit use and occupancy thereof for human habitation, whether resting on wheels, jacks, or other foundation.
Any lot, tract, or parcel of land used or intended to be occupied by two or more mobile homes for a period of over three weeks in any calendar year. A park shall be one unit per 40,000 square feet, excluding water and public land.
A building or land lawfully occupied at the time of the adoption of this bylaw or of amendments thereto by a use which does not conform to the adopted regulations of the district in which it is situated.
A parking facility unit that has two rows of parking stalls and a central aisle.
A vehicle or vehicular attachment which is designed for sleeping or living quarters for one or more persons, with or without utilities, flush toilets, or bath facilities, is used for recreational purposes, is not a residence and including, among other items, a travel trailer, a pickup camper; a tent trailer, beach buggy, and a motor home.
An establishment or place of business which is maintained, operated, or used for storing, keeping, buying, or selling junk, or for the maintenance or operation of an automobile graveyard.
A front setback shall be measured from the front lot line to the closest point of the structure, excluding decorative trim, gutters, fascia, soffits, bulkheads, and unenclosed stairways.
A rear setback shall be measured from the rear lot line to the closest point of the structure, excluding decorative trim, gutters, fascia, soffits, bulkheads, and unenclosed stairways.
A side setback shall be measured from the nearest side lot line to the closest point of the structure, excluding decorative trim, gutters, fascia, soffits, bulkheads, and unenclosed stairways.
A written authority granted after a duly advertised public hearing to locate, build, or use structures or land in accordance with the provisions of this bylaw, for certain uses, including the expansion or alteration of existing nonconforming uses and buildings.
A public way or a way which the Town Clerk certifies is maintained and used as a public way; or
A way shown on a plan theretofore approved and endorsed in accordance with the Subdivision Control Law;[1] or
A way in existence when the Subdivision Control Law became effective in Freetown, having, in the opinion of the Planning Board, sufficient width, suitable grades, and adequate construction to provide for the needs of vehicular traffic in relation to the proposed use of the land abutting thereon or served thereby, and for the installation of municipal services to serve such land and the buildings erected or to be erected thereon.
Any combination of materials attached to or requiring a fixed location on or in the ground. Includes, but is not limited to, a principal building or a shed, garage, stable, greenhouse, bridge, trestle, tower, framework, stadium, reviewing stand, platform, in-ground swimming pool, or other accessory building.
A vehicle without motive power, designed to be towed by a passenger automobile or other powered vehicle of similar size but not designed and intended for human occupancy, such as utility trailers, boat trailers, and horse trailers.
A facility devoted, in whole or in part, to the sale of fuel and/or oil and/or services for transient trucks and/or where the trucks are allowed to park while the operator or any other person sleeps or rests in the cab.
A facility which in addition to providing fuel and/or oil and/or services to trucks and/or their operators, also provides on-premises facilities for any, all, or some of the following elements: overnight accommodations primarily for truck drivers; shower facilities; laundry facilities; or lounges or recreation rooms.
Any property where more than one truck is allowed to park, as part of its regular business activities, for periods of time longer than is necessary for obtaining fuel and/or services for truck or driver.
Any property, except a state-provided parking area, where more than one truck is allowed to park on a more or less regular basis, and no work is being performed and no services for truck or driver are required.
"Truck" for the purpose of this bylaw shall mean a transient tractor-trailer as a combined unit or as either unit singly or a transient truck with three or more axles.
A building or area in which freight brought by truck is assembled and/or stored for routing or reshipment or in which semitrailers, including tractor and/or trailer units and other trucks, are parked and stored for a duration in excess of 24 hours
The purpose for which a structure or lot is arranged, designed, or intended to be used, occupied or maintained.
A use incidental and subordinate to the principal use of a structure or lot, or a use, not the principal use, which is located on the same lot as the principal structure.
The main or primary purpose for which a structure or lot is designed, arranged, or intended, or for which it may be used, occupied, or maintained under this bylaw. Any other use within the main structure or the use of any other structure or land on the same lot and incidental or supplementary to the principal use and permitted under this bylaw shall be considered an accessory use.
A use by reason of its normal operation would cause readily observable differences in patronage, service, sight, noise, employment or similar characteristics from the use to which it is being compared.
[1]
Editor's Note: See MGL c. 41, §§ 81K to 81GG.