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Great Barrington City Zoning Code

SECTION 1

0 Purpose and Authority

1.1 Title.

This bylaw shall be known as the "Zoning Bylaw of the Town of Great Barrington, Massachusetts," hereinafter referred to as "this bylaw." The original date of this bylaw was June 12, 1978. It has been amended thereafter from time to time by Town Meeting, and recodified and amended by Town Meeting on May 3, 2010, the effective date of this bylaw.

1.2 Authority.

This bylaw is adopted in accordance with the provisions of Chapter 40A of the General Laws, as amended by c. 808, Acts of 1975, and by Article 89 of the Massachusetts Constitution, the Home Rule Amendment, to regulate the use of land, buildings and structures to the full extent of the independent constitutional powers of cities and towns to protect the health, safety and general welfare of the present and future inhabitants of the Town.

1.3 Purpose.

The purpose of this bylaw is to promote the general interests of public health, safety and welfare, including but not limited to the following objectives:
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To prevent overcrowding of land; to secure safety from fire, flood, panic and other dangers; to conserve health; to lessen congestion in the streets; to encourage housing for persons of all income levels;
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To facilitate the adequate provision of transportation, water supply, drainage, sewerage, schools, parks, open space and other public requirements;
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To conserve the value of land and buildings, including the conservation of natural resources and the prevention of blight and pollution of the environment;
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To preserve and increase amenities;
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To protect the Town's significant environmental features such as floodplains and flood-prone areas, wetlands, all rivers, brooks, ponds, water resources and woodlands; areas of scenic beauty such as mountains and ridges; and sites and structures of historic importance;
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To preserve the natural, scenic and aesthetic qualities of the community;
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To minimize the adverse effects of development on the Town's unique environmental and historic features;
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To further the objectives of the Town's Comprehensive Master Plan;
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To employ cooperatively the various measures taken by the Town's agencies, under diverse legislative authority, including the State Sanitary Code, Wetlands Protections Act, Subdivision Control Legislation and the State Building Code, for the protection and enhancement of the Town's existing character, open spaces, and in the interests of the Town's orderly growth; and
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To promote a vital and diverse economic and cultural environment which will enable young people to remain and prosper in the community.

1.4 Applicability.

The use, construction, repair, alteration, height, location, percentage of lot coverage by buildings and structures and the use of land in the Town of Great Barrington are hereby restricted and regulated as herein provided. No building, structure or land shall be used or occupied and no building or structure or part thereof shall hereafter be erected, constructed, reconstructed, moved or structurally altered unless in conformity with the regulations of this bylaw, except those already lawfully existing as provided herein.
1.4.1. 
Nonconformities. Except as herein after provided, this bylaw shall not apply to structures or uses lawfully in existence or lawfully begun, or to a building permit or special permit issued before the first publication of notice of the public hearing on this bylaw or any amendments thereto, but shall apply to any change or substantial extension of such use, to a building permit or special permit issued after the first notice or said public hearing, to any reconstruction, extension or structural change of such structure and to any alteration of a structure begun after the first notice of said public hearing to provide for its use in a substantially different purpose or for the same purpose in a substantially different manner or to a substantially greater extent except where alteration, reconstruction, extension or a structural change to a single- or two-family residential structure does not increase the nonconforming nature of said structure.
1.4.2. 
Commencement of construction or operation. Construction or operations under a building permit or special permit shall conform to any subsequent amendments to this bylaw, unless the use or construction is commenced within a period of not more than six months after the issuance of the permit and in any case involving construction, unless such construction is continued through to completion as continuously and expeditiously as is reasonable.

1.5 Other laws.

In their interpretation and application, the provisions of this chapter shall be held to be minimum requirements. Whenever the requirements of this chapter are at variance with the requirements of any other lawfully adopted regulations or bylaws, the most restrictive or the one imposing the highest standards shall govern.

1.6 Amendment.

1.6.1. 
Town Meeting. This bylaw may be amended from time to time in an Annual or Special Town Meeting in accordance with MGL c. 40A, § 5.
1.6.2. 
Public hearing. No zoning bylaw or amendment thereto shall be adopted at an Annual or Special Town Meeting until after the Planning Board has held a public hearing thereon for which a notice has been published, posted and mailed as provided in MGL c. 40A, § 5 and has made a report with recommendations to the Town meeting or after 21 days shall have lapsed after such hearing without submission of such report.
1.6.3. 
Two years. No proposed bylaw making a change in any existing zoning bylaw which has been unfavorably acted upon by a town meeting shall be considered on its merits by the Town meeting within two years after the date of such unfavorable action unless the adoption of such proposed bylaw is recommended in the Report of the Planning Board to Town Meeting, if any.

1.7 Severability.

The invalidity of any section or provision of this bylaw shall not invalidate any other section or provision thereof.