Groton City Zoning Code
§ 218-6.3
General provisions.
A.
Frontage.
(1)
A building lot in any district shall have frontage on and rights of access to one or more of the following for the distance required under § 218-6.2, Schedule of Intensity Regulations:
(a)
A way legally accepted by Town Meeting vote, except for those roads accepted by the Town pursuant to the provisions of § 180-2 of Chapter 180, Roads and Ways, of the Code of the Town, which such ways shall be considered under Subsection A(1)(e) herein.
(b)
A way established by county, state or federal authority.
(c)
A way established by a subdivision plan approved in accordance with the Subdivision Control Law.
(d)
Any other way in existence when the Subdivision Control Law became effective in Groton, which has, in those portions that provide a means of reaching the premises in question, the following: right-of-way width generally of 33 feet or more, with no locations of less than 24 feet; horizontal and vertical alignment of the traveled way providing at least 150 feet of stopping sight distance; grades not exceeding 10% except for short intervals; adequate provisions for drainage and snow removal; traveled way construction at least 18 feet wide with at least eight inches of gravel and, in cases where the way potentially provides access to 10 or more dwelling units, bituminous paving of the traveled way as of January 1, 1980; or where provisions satisfactory to the Planning Board and the Director of Public Works have been made to secure compliance with these standards without cost to the Town.
(e)
Any other way or portion of a way in existence when the Subdivision Control Law became effective in Groton which, because of unusual conditions such as limitations upon the extent or type of land use to be served, the Planning Board, following consultation with the Director of Public Works, Police Chief, Fire Chief and Select Board, has been determined to be sufficient for the needs of access and utilities to serve potential needs of land abutting on or served thereby. The Planning Board may specify that its determination of adequacy applies only to given premises and not generally to all properties served by that way in cases where the limitations or other conditions justifying access adequacy for those premises are not generally true for other properties served by that way.
(2)
Any determination made by the Building Inspector or Planning Board under Subsection A may be appealed to the Board of Appeals by any party having standing as provided in MGL c. 40A, § 8.
(3)
The Town Clerk shall maintain a list of ways and portions thereto which have been determined to qualify to provide frontage under the provisions of this section.
B.
Appurtenant open space. No building setback area or other open space required for a building by this chapter shall, during the life of such building, be occupied by or counted as open space for another building.
C.
Corner clearance. Within an area formed by the side lines of intersecting streets and a line joining points on such lines 15 feet distant from their point of intersection or, in case of a rounded corner, from the point of intersection of their tangents, no structure shall be erected and no foliage maintained between a height of 3 1/2 feet and a height of eight feet above the plane through their curb grades.
D.
Height limitations. Limitations of height shall not apply to such structures as belfries, flagpoles, chimneys, radio and television antennas, windmills, silos, water tanks and similar non-habitable structures.
E.
Density. No more than one dwelling with accessory buildings customarily incidental thereto shall be located upon any single lot in any district, except as provided in § 218-9.1F(2), Flexible development, § 218-9.3, Multifamily use, or § 218-7.3, Town Center Overlay District.
F.
Nonconforming lots.
(1)
Application of amended intensity regulations to previously created lots is limited by MGL c. 40, § 6. The following shall apply where less restrictive than the requirements applicable under MGL c. 40A, § 6.
(2)
Such nonconforming lots may be changed in size or shape or their land area combined without losing this exemption, so long as the change does not increase the actual or potential number of buildable lots.
G.
Computation of lot area. In computing the area of any lot, no part of a public or private way and no part of a pond or river shall be included. At least 80,000 contiguous square feet or 100% of the required lot area, whichever is less, of every lot laid out for residential use shall be land exclusive of area subject to protection under the Wetlands Protection Act, MGL c. 131, § 40. Each lot shall be capable of containing a one-hundred-fifty-foot-diameter circle within which there is no area subject to protection under the Wetlands Protection Act, MGL c. 131, § 40, and within which any principal building shall be located. All easements, except easements specifically serving the individual dwelling, shall not intersect with the one-hundred-fifty-foot-diameter circle.
H.
Modification of front building setback. Except as may be permitted pursuant to § 218-7.3, Town Center Overlay District, a building shall be set back at least 50 feet from the street lot line. Where existing buildings on adjacent lots are set back less than 50 feet from the street lot line, a new building may be located at the average setback of the adjacent existing buildings. A vacant lot is counted as though occupied by a building set back 50 feet.
I.
Corner lots.
(1)
For a corner lot, the minimum front yard setback shall be required for each street frontage; one of the remaining yards shall be a rear yard. No side line shall be located so as to meet an intersection of side lines of intersecting streets or the midpoint of an arc connecting side lines of intersecting streets.
(2)
A corner lot with frontage on an existing public way and a new subdivision road must have a combined frontage of twice the required frontage. Small parcels used to circumvent this provision shall not be allowed. Corner lots with frontage on two existing public ways or two new subdivision roads shall be required to have the minimum frontage on each street.
J.
Lot shape.
(1)
The shape of all lots shall conform to the following requirement:
16A divided by P is greater than or equal to 0.4 |
Where |
A = The lot area in square feet. |
P = The lot perimeter in feet. |
(2)
This formula may be applied to only that portion of the lot which conforms to all requirements of this chapter. The Planning Board may waive this requirement if it determines that a less stringent requirement will result in a better potential house siting, less environmental damage or better land use. This requirement shall not apply to lots created in accordance with § 218-6.4, Hammerhead lots.
K.
Minimum lot width. Not less than the frontage requirement shall be maintained for 50 feet measured perpendicular to a straight line connecting the two front lot corners, and at no point within the area from the front yard depth to the principal dwelling shall the distance between the side lot lines be less than 75% of the minimum required frontage in that district unless specifically exempted by another portion of the chapter. For corner lots with frontage as defined in the last paragraph of § 218-6.3I, the minimum lot width shall not be less than 75% of the actual frontage along each road.
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