North Reading City Zoning Code
ARTICLE XII
Dimensional and Density Regulations
§ 200-61 Table of Dimensional and Density Regulations. [1]
The regulations for each district pertaining to minimum lot area, minimum lot frontage, minimum front yard, minimum side yard, minimum rear yard, maximum height of buildings, maximum number of stories, maximum building area and minimum open space shall be as set forth in the Table of Dimensional and Density Regulations.
[1]
Editor's Note: The Table of Dimensional and Density Regulations is included at the end of this chapter.
§ 200-62 Exceptions.
A fence, wall or other enclosure is not regulated except as otherwise provided herein. The Table of Dimensional and Density Regulations shall not apply to fences, walls or other enclosures or to utility poles.
§ 200-63 Accessory structures.
In residential, industrial and business districts a detached accessory structure shall conform to the following provisions: it shall not occupy more than twenty-five (25) percent of the required rear yard; it shall not be less than twenty (20) feet from the front street line or less than ten (10) feet from any other lot line; and it shall not exceed twenty (20) feet in height.
§ 200-64 Screening and buffers.
A.
Screening or buffers shall be required, erected and properly maintained in order to be environmentally protective according to the regulations set forth in § 200-87, to provide for safety, to attenuate noise and to conceal business, industrial, agricultural or public uses of land and buildings when such uses abut the side or rear lot of any property in any residential district or any residential property in any other district.
B.
Screening shall consist of a strip of land, natural or landscaped, equal in width at least to the minimum side yard requirement. It shall contain a screen of plantings of vertical habit planted so as to provide a dense strip not less than three (3) feet in width and not less than eight (8) feet in height at the time of occupancy of such lot. The quality of denseness shall begin at or near ground level and continue to the required height. Individual trees and shrubs shall not be planted more than three (3) feet on center and shall thereafter be maintained by the owner or agent so as to maintain a dense screen year-round. At least fifty (50) percent of the plantings shall consist of evergreens and they shall be evenly spaced along the full length of the screened section.
C.
Upon an application for a special permit, the Zoning Board of Appeals may allow alternate forms of screening such as a solid wall or fence complemented by suitable plantings and not exceeding six (6) feet in height, provided, however, that any such special permit shall contain conditions consistent with the intent of this section.
D.
Screening shall be required for the following uses:
(1)
All outdoor areas or facilities for the storage of fuel, material, products or utility installations;
(2)
Any principal use not conducted wholly within a building;
(3)
Any service yard, outdoor storage or utility installation required by a governmental service facility or public utility; and
(4)
Any refuse disposal system such as but not limited to a dumpster, not wholly or partly contained in a building.
E.
Buffering shall meet all the requirements, makeup and conditions of screening except that it shall contain a screen of plantings of vertical habit planted so as to provide a dense strip not less than ten (10) feet in width.
F.
Buffering shall be required for the following uses:
(1)
Any required off-street parking or loading area, except for off-street parking required to serve a single-family dwelling;
(2)
Any commercial parking lot;
(3)
Any lubrication, washing, repairing, storage or disposal not conducted entirely within a building at a service station;
(4)
Any industrial building use or required parking and loading areas in an industrial district within three hundred (300) feet of any adjoining residence district;
(5)
Any special permit use except when such use is specifically exempted by the Zoning Board of Appeals; and
(6)
Any multi-family dwelling, except those contained in a planned unit development, and its attendant uses when it abuts the side or rear lot lines of any single-family residence.
§ 200-65 Additional regulations.
In addition to the regulations in §§ 200-61 through 200-64 and the Table of Dimensional and Density Regulations, the following regulations shall apply:
A.
The minimum distance between principal buildings shall be twice the minimum side yard or side setback required in the district but no less than the sum of the heights of the buildings;
B.
A corner lot shall have minimum front yards with depths which shall be the same as the required front yards for the adjoining lots. No structure, fence or planting shall be placed or maintained between a plane two and one-half (2 1/2) feet above the curb level and a plane seven (7) feet above the curb level so as to interfere with the traffic visibility across the corner within that part of the lot which is within a triangle bounded by the street lot lines and a straight line drawn between points on each such line twenty-five (25) feet from the intersection of said lot lines or extension thereof;
C.
On a through lot, there shall be a front yard setback depth required which is equal to the front yard depth required for the district in which each street frontage is located;
D.
The following projections into required yards or other required open spaces are permitted subject to the following stated limitations:
(1)
Balcony or bay window, limited in total length to one-half (1/2) the length of the building and not projecting more than two (2) feet;
(2)
Open terrace or steps or stoop, under four (4) feet in height, as much as one-half (1/2) the required yard setback; and
(3)
Steps or stoop over four (4) feet in height, windowsill, chimney, roof eave, fire escape, fire tower, storm enclosure or similar architectural features not projecting more than two (2) feet.
E.
The provisions of this Zoning Bylaw governing the height of buildings shall not apply to chimneys, cooling towers, elevator bulkheads, skylights, ventilators, electronic equipment, elevator shafts and other necessary appurtenances usually carried above roofline, nor domes, towers, stacks or spires, if not used for human occupancy and which occupy not more than twenty (20) percent of the ground floor area of the building, nor to ornamental towers, observation towers, radio broadcasting towers, television and radio antennae and other like structures, which do not occupy more than twenty (20) percent of the lot area;
F.
The maximum gross floor area for a building in an LB District shall be ten thousand (10,000) square feet;
G.
Yard and setback requirements shall not apply to fences, hedges or walls not over seven (7) feet high measured from finished grade;
H.
Any gasoline or oil facilities shall be at least twenty-five (25) feet from any lot line; and
I.
Any swimming pool or enclosure for animals shall be at least ten (10) feet from any lot line.
§ 200-66 Reduction of lot or yard areas.
The lot or yard areas required for any new building or use may not include any part of a lot that is required by any other building or use to comply with any provision of this Zoning Bylaw, nor may these areas include any property of which the ownership has been transferred subsequent to the effective date of this Zoning Bylaw if such property was a part of the area required for compliance with the dimensional regulations applicable to the lot from which such transfer was made.
§ 200-67 Limited frontage lots.
[Added 10-10-1985 ATM by Art. 18, approved 2-4-1986]
In all residential districts limited frontage lots may be permitted provided the following safeguards and conditions for each particular site are established at the time of an application for a building permit and are approved by the Building Inspector:
A.
Each limited frontage lot in the Residential A, C, E and R Districts shall contain a minimum area of one hundred twenty thousand (120,000) square feet.
B.
Each limited frontage lot in the Residential D District shall contain a minimum area of two hundred thousand (200,000) square feet.
C.
Each limited frontage lot in the Residential B District shall contain a minimum area of sixty thousand (60,000) square feet.
D.
Each limited frontage lot in a residential district shall have a minimum continuous lot frontage of fifty (50) feet on a street, and if a corner lot, the frontage shall be measured by only one (1) front lot line. In addition, such lot shall have a width of not less than fifty (50) feet at any point between the street and the site of the dwelling or the proposed dwelling.
E.
No more than two (2) limited frontage lots shall have contiguous frontages.
F.
Each limited frontage lot shall contain an area in the following respective residential districts within the prescribed minimum diameter circle which shall include a compact area of buildable land suitable for the site of a dwelling and its accompanying septic system.
District | Minimum Diameter Circle (feet) | |
|---|---|---|
Residence A, C, E and R | 250 | |
Residence B | 200 | |
Residence D | 300 |
G.
The setback requirements for a principal use on a limited frontage lot for each residential district shall be the same as those set forth in the Table of Dimensional and Density Regulations of this Zoning Bylaw except that in no case shall a dwelling be located closer to any lot line than the minimum setback required for that district.
H.
The setback requirements for an accessory use on a limited frontage lot for each residential district shall be the same as those set forth in this article of this Zoning Bylaw except that in no case shall any accessory use be located closer to any lot line than the minimum setback required for that district.
J.
The maximum length of driveway serving the dwelling site on a limited frontage lot shall not be (except as described in the next sentence), greater than one thousand (1,000) feet measured from the side line of the street on which the lot has legal frontage to the front building line of the dwelling. Any driveway in excess of one thousand (1,000) feet shall require a special permit by the Board of Appeals which shall be governed by the provisions of Article VI of this Zoning Bylaw and in addition, the Fire Chief's recommendations shall be incorporated into said special permit.
K.
The existence of a dwelling on a limited frontage lot shall be clearly identified at the entrance of the driveway from the street on which the lot fronts and the identification sign shall be so located, sized and lighted to be visible at any time of day or night from the street for emergency service and all other vehicles.
L.
All information and plans submitted with an application for a limited frontage lot shall be drawn and endorsed by a registered land surveyor and registered professional engineer.
M.
A copy of each application for a limited frontage lot accompanied by all supporting documentation shall be forwarded by the Building Inspector to the Community Planning Commission, the Fire Department and the Police Department for review and recommendations; said review and report to the Building Inspector to be made within thirty (30) days of the date of referral. In the review process due consideration shall be given to the following:
