Lakeville City Zoning Code

An independent living unit containing a kitchen, bathroom, living area and independent means of egress, built into or attached to an existing single-family dwelling (referred to herein as the "principal dwelling") and subordinate in size to the principal dwelling.

A building, structure and/or use customarily incidental or subordinate to and located on the same lot with the principal building, structure or use.

A self-contained housing unit, inclusive of sleeping, cooking and sanitary facilities on the same lot as a principal dwelling, subject to otherwise applicable dimensional and parking requirements, that:

An establishment having as a substantial or significant portion of its stock-in-trade, books, magazines, videos, visual materials 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, as amended.

An enclosed building used for presenting material distinguished by an emphasis on matter depicting, describing or relating to sexual conduct or sexual excitement as defined in MGL c. 272, § 31, as amended.

A marijuana cultivator, craft marijuana cooperative, marijuana product manufacturer, independent testing laboratory, marijuana research facility, marijuana transporter, or any other type of licensed marijuana-related business, as such uses are or may be defined in 935 CMR 500.02. For purposes of this bylaw, adult use marijuana establishment shall not include a marijuana retailer or a registered marijuana dispensary.

An entity licensed to purchase and transport cannabis or marijuana product from an adult use marijuana establishment and to sell or otherwise transfer this product to adult use marijuana establishments and to consumers.

Any construction, reconstruction or other action resulting in a change in the structural parts or height, number of stories or exits, size, use or location of a building or other structure.

An establishment involving auto or boat sales, rentals or service, including, but not limited to, a body or paint shop, auto or boat dealership, and repair/service garage.

An awning with lettering or logo advertising the name of the business shall constitute a sign. All such awnings over doorways and windows shall only count as one sign.

An enclosed structure, either a principal building or shed, garage, stable, or other accessory building.

The vertical distance measured from the average ground level adjacent to the building to the highest point of the building. Maximum building height shall not apply in any district to chimneys, ventilators, spires or other ornamental features of buildings, which features are in no way used for living purposes.

That part of the building above the basement or cellar and between the top of any tier of floor beams and the top of the tier of floor or roof beams next above.

A story in a sloping roof the area of which at a height of four feet above the floor does not exceed two-thirds of the floor area of the story immediately below it.

Signs with letters which can be manually or mechanically moved in order to change the message or wording of the sign.

Where more than one business or use is located in a building, only one freestanding sign may be erected, which shall serve all of the businesses or uses at that location.

Shall be solely for pedestrian or vehicular traffic. Directional signs shall indicate parking entrances, exits, drive-throughs, etc. They shall not include any other information, advertising, or logos.

A commercial establishment which provides a service directly to the occupants of a motor vehicle or where the customer drives a motor vehicle onto the premise and to a window or mechanical device through or by which the customer is serviced without exiting the vehicle.

A building designed or used exclusively as the living quarters for one or more families.

Living quarter for a single family with living, sanitary and sleeping facilities independent of any other unit.

A building occupied by a single family and having no party wall or walls in common with an adjacent structure.

Electronically controlled signs that display lighted messages that change at intermittent intervals. Images which refresh must be displayed for at least 20 seconds and may refresh or change, no more than three times in one minute.

A use whereby an outdoor sign or billboard, whether double-faced, back-to-back, or V-shaped, with a screen(s) that serves to advertise, direct or call attention to any business, article, substance, or service, or anything that is digitally or electronically projected, on or by a structure of any kind on real property or upon the ground itself, and that advertises services, products or commodities that are not available on said real property or parcel.

A site or works for the storage, treatment, dewatering, refining, incinerating, reclamation, stabilization, solidification, disposal or other process where hazardous wastes can be stored, treated or disposed of; however, not including a municipal or industrial wastewater treatment facility if permitted otherwise under this bylaw.

One or more individuals living together as a single housekeeping unit.

Any tract of land used for the production of crops or the rearing of livestock or poultry.

An establishment involving on-site distribution of fuel to be sold retail and primarily used to power vehicles for transportation purposes.

A stormwater sediment trap or settling basin.

Any sign supported by a structure permanently anchored to the ground which is independent from any building.

That portion of a lot which is bounded by the street line or way, the sidelines and the minimum building setback line. The minimum required frontage must be contiguous and suitable for development of an access route or driveway to the building site.

A room or a building appropriate to the meetings of a fraternal, literary or other incorporated society.

A waste, or combination of wastes, which because of its quantity, concentration or physical, chemical or infectious characteristics may cause, or significantly contribute to an increase in, mortality or an increase in serious irreversible or incapacitating reversible illness or pose a substantial present or potential hazard to human health, safety or welfare or to the environment when improperly treated, stored, transported, used or disposed of or otherwise managed; however, not to include solid or dissolved material in domestic sewage, or solid or dissolved materials in irrigation return flows or industrial discharges which are point sources subject to permits under Section 402 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act of 1967, as amended,[1] or source, special nuclear or by-product material as defined by the Atomic Energy Act of 1954.[2]

"Home occupation" is the use of a room or rooms in a dwelling and/or accessory building on the premises for a business activity carried on by the person or persons who live in that dwelling. A "home occupation" is a profession, trade, craft, activity, or other legal use conducted for financial gain. Such use must be clearly incidental and subordinate to the primary residential use of the premises.

A sign which is illuminated by means of a light source completely enclosed by the sign's panels.

Old (used) metal, glass, paper, plastic, wood, cloth, including trash, rubbish and useless materials.

An area of land in one ownership with definite boundaries recorded in the Registry of Deeds or in the Land Court.

That percentage of the lot area covered by the horizontal projection of the largest single floor area of the principal structure, plus all accessory structures, parking and loading areas and access roads.

Same as "house trailer," meaning a dwelling unit built on a chassis and containing complete electrical, plumbing and sanitary facilities, designed and intended to be moved as a unit to a fixed location and installed on a permanent or a temporary foundation or support for use as stationary living quarters. This definition shall not include a travel or camping trailer which is a vehicle designed to travel on highways on rubber-tired wheels and used as living quarters for a period not to exceed several weeks at any one location.

Those used primarily for heavy or light industry or the manufacture or assembly of a product, including processing, blending, fabrication, assembly, treatment and packaging.

A sign or advertising display that is not permanent, affixed to a building, structure or the ground.

"Projections" shall mean cornices, eaves, gutters, outside chimneys, steps, bay windows and terraces.

An entertainment event open to the general public such as outdoor concerts, winter carnivals, parades, etc.

A medical marijuana treatment center as defined in 935 CMR 501.002 and regulated in 935 CMR 501.001 et seq.

Those facilities used primarily for research, development and/or testing of innovative information, concepts, methods, processes, materials or products. This can include the design, development, and testing of biological, chemical, electrical, magnetic, mechanical, and/or optical components in advance of product manufacturing. The accessory development, fabrication, and light manufacturing of prototypes, or specialized machinery and devices integral to research or testing may be associated with these uses.

A dwelling with a substandard septic design not meeting minimum Title V requirements for a year-round residence.

The distance between the lot boundary line and the building or structure line, measured for the front, rear and side yards.

Any words, lettering, parts of a letter, figures, numeral phrases, sentences, emblems, devices, trade names or trademarks by which anything is made known, such as are used to designate an individual, a firm, an association, a corporation, a profession, a business or a commodity or product, which are located outdoors or otherwise visible to persons not on the premises.

For a sign, the area shall be considered to include all lettering, wording and accompanying designs and symbols, together with the background, whether open or enclosed, on which they are displayed. Frames and structural members not designed as advertising or attention-getting devices shall not be included in computation of sign area. For a sign consisting of individual letters, designs or symbols attached to or painted on a surface, building, wall or window, the area shall be considered to be that of the smallest quadrangle which encompasses all of the letters, designs or symbols.

Any trailer completely enclosed or covered in any way; shipping containers, also referred to as "cargo boxes"; and trailers which are or were part of a tractor trailer unit. This definition shall not include a travel or camping trailer which is a vehicle designed to travel on highways on rubber-tired wheels and used for recreational purposes.

An accepted Town way, or a way established by or maintained under county, state or federal authority, or a way established by a subdivision plan approved in accordance with the Subdivision Control Law,[3] or a way determined by the Planning Board to have sufficient width, suitable grades and adequate construction to provide for the needs of vehicular traffic in relation to the proposed use of the land.

The dividing line between the street right-of-way and abutting property.

Any combination of materials attached to or requiring a fixed location on or in the ground. For the purposes of location on a lot, the following shall not be deemed to be structures prohibited within a setback required in the Zoning Bylaw: boundary walls and fences under seven feet in height, utility poles, support posts not over four feet in height for mailboxes and name signs and parking lots.

Commonly referred to as "tattoo parlors," where puncturing of the skin with needles and various colored compounds create a design.

Any tower, including but not limited to telephone, radio, television, electronic, wind-generation and smokestacks, shall be limited to 35 feet above mean ground level on the lot in question in all districts except Industrial, where 45 feet shall be allowed.

A sign attached parallel to or painted on the wall of a building.

A permanent or temporary sign applied to, attached to, or inside a window or door which is visible from the exterior.

See Article IX, entitled "Wireless Communications Facility."