Plympton City Zoning Code
ARTICLE V
Intensity of Use Regulations
§ 300-5.0 General provisions.
In order to provide for an on-site supply of potable water and for an on-site septic system, a dwelling hereafter erected in an Agricultural-Residential District, or in a Business District, or in a Light Manufacturing District, or in an Industrial District shall be located on a lot having not less than the minimum requirements set forth in this bylaw.
A.
No more than one dwelling shall be built upon any lot. Said restriction shall not prohibit Accessory Dwelling Units created in conformity with the provisions of § 300-5.10.
[Amended 5-15-2024 ATM by Art. 27]
B.
No existing lot shall be changed as to size or shape so as to result in the violation of the requirements set forth below.
C.
Lots which are so distorted in configuration as to be detrimental to public health, safety, welfare or convenience, even though complying with dimensional requirements established herein, shall not be allowed.
§ 300-5.1 Table of Intensity of Use.
Districts |
|---|
AR = Agricultural-Residential |
B = Business |
LM = Light Manufacturing |
I = Industrial |
A.
Minimum lot dimension. A lot or parcel of land having an area or frontage of lesser amounts than required by this table may be considered as coming within the area and frontage requirements of this section, provided such lot or parcel of land was shown on a plan or described in a deed duly recorded or registered at the time of the adoption of this bylaw and did not at the time of such adoption adjoin other land of the same owner, available for use in connection with such lot or parcel.
AR | B | LM | I | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Area (square feet) | 60,000 | 60,000 | 60,000 | 60,000 |
Frontage (feet) | 200 | 200 | 200 | 200 |
Two-family dwelling area (square feet) | 100,000 | 100,000 | 100,000 | 100,000 |
Retreat lot area (square feet) | 120,000 | 120,000 | 120,000 | N/A |
Retreat lot frontage (feet) | 40 | 40 | 40 | N/A |
B.
Minimum yard dimensions.
AR | B | LM | I | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Front yard (feet) | 40 | 40 | 40 | 40 | |
Side yard (feet) | 20 | 30 | 30 | 40 | |
Rear yard (feet) | 20 | 30 | 30 | 40 | |
Two-family dwelling | |||||
Side yard (feet) | 40 | 40 | 40 | N/A | |
Rear yard (feet) | 40 | 40 | 40 | N/A | |
Retreat lot: | |||||
All yards (feet) | 100 | 100 | 100 | N/A | |
Wireless communication towers/facilities | |||||
All sides | 1x tower height | 1x tower height | 1x tower height | 1x tower height | |
C.
Maximum height of buildings.
AR | B | LM | I | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Number of stories | 2 1/2 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
Height in feet | 35 | 35 | 35 | 40 |
D.
Maximum percentage of land covered by buildings.
AR | B | LM | I |
|---|---|---|---|
30% | 30% | 30% | 30% |
§ 300-5.2 Frontage.
"Frontage" shall be defined as and determined by a continuous, uninterrupted measurement along the right-of-way line of either a public way maintained by the Town and recorded at the Plymouth County Commissioners' office or a way shown on a subdivision plan duly approved by the Planning Board under subdivision control statutes, and shall preclude segmented measurements along ways.
§ 300-5.3 Front yard.
A front yard shall extend across the full width of a lot and be measured from the right-of-way line to the nearest part of a building.
§ 300-5.4 Side yard.
A.
Side yard dimensions will be 50 feet when adjacent to an Agricultural-Residential District. The mean direction of side lot lines shall be as close as possible to perpendicular to the street line or to its tangent at the point of intersection of the side lot line. In no case shall the mean direction of the side lot line form an angle of less than 75° with the street line or the aforesaid tangent.
B.
Buildings, parking areas and all associated improvements shall be located no closer than 50 feet to the side lot line when abutting a lot located in the Agricultural-Residential District. A screening type of landscaping or other suitable barrier of at least four feet in height may be required within the rear and side of the setback area where natural vegetation is not sufficient to provide a visual screen.
§ 300-5.5 Rear yard.
Rear yard dimension will be 50 feet when adjacent to the Agricultural-Residential District.
§ 300-5.6 Lot area.
The minimum lot area shall be in addition to the required off-street parking area (§ 300-6.4). The portion of any lot in a Floodplain and Watershed Protection District may be used to meet the lot area requirements for the Agricultural-Residential Districts over which the Floodplain and Watershed Protection District is superimposed, provided that such portion in the Floodplain and Watershed Protection District does not exceed 50% of the minimum lot area in the Agricultural-Residential District.
A.
Minimum contiguous upland requirement. At least 40% of the minimum lot size required shall be contiguous upland; i.e., not a bank, bog, dune, marsh, swamp, or wet meadow under MGL c. 131, § 40, or riverfront area under the Massachusetts River Protections Act.
§ 300-5.7 Building height.
The limitations on height of buildings shall not apply in any district to chimneys, ventilators, towers, spires or other ornamental features of buildings, which features are in no way used for living purposes.
§ 300-5.8 Retreat lots.
For the purpose of allowing additional, reasonable use of back land without building otherwise unneeded roads, there is hereby established a category of "retreat lots", the building upon which for residential purposes is permitted subject to the following requirements:
A.
Minimum lot size shall be 120,000 square feet, exclusive of the Access Area serving the lot. The Access Area is the portion of the lot between the street and the point where the lot width equals 100 feet or more.
[Amended 5-18-2022 ATM by Art. 32]
(1)
Minimum contiguous upland requirement. At least 40% of the minimum lot size required shall be contiguous upland; i.e., not a bank, bog, dune, marsh, swamp, or wet meadow under MGL c. 131, § 40, or riverfront area under the Massachusetts River Protections Act.
B.
The frontage must be at least 40 feet, and the width of the Access Area serving the retreat lot must remain a minimum of 40 feet throughout its entire length. Fee simple title to such Access Area shall be held in the same name as the owner of the retreat lot, not separate and distinct.
[Amended 5-18-2022 ATM by Art. 32]
C.
Not more than one single-family dwelling shall exist on a single retreat lot.
D.
Not more than one lot shall be served by the Access Area.
[Amended 5-18-2022 ATM by Art. 32]
E.
No retreat lot Access Area shall abut any other retreat lot Access Area.
[Amended 5-18-2022 ATM by Art. 32; 5-15-2024 ATM by Art. 31]
F.
Each retreat lot shall have at least 60,000 square feet of land other than Access Area which is not in the Floodplain and Watershed Protection District.
[Amended 5-18-2022 ATM by Art. 32]
G.
All structures on retreat lots shall be at least 100 feet from any lot line.
§ 300-5.9 Adult uses.
Adult bookstores, adult motion-picture theaters, adult paraphernalia stores, adult clubs, adult mini-motion-picture theaters, adult video stores, and massage service establishments, and all advertising signs for same shall not be located within 50 feet of a public or private way and shall be set back a minimum of 50 feet from all property lines. They shall not be located within 1,000 feet of each other nor within 1,000 feet of the nearest lot lines of:
§ 300-5.10 Accessory dwelling units.
[Added 5-12-2021 ATM by Art. 30]
A.
For the purpose of enabling the owners of single-family, owner-occupied dwellings that are larger than required for their present needs to share the space and burdens of home ownership, or for the purpose of providing a small additional dwelling unit to rent, an accessory dwelling unit (ADU) may be created, but only for one additional dwelling unit per lot as follows:
(1)
Within the physical boundaries of an existing single-family dwelling or in an existing detached structure accessory to a single-family use and located on the same lot, without any construction to increase the footprint of same, i.e., as of right, ("by-right ADU") in accordance with the conditions set forth below; or
(2)
Either partially or entirely within a proposed addition to an existing single-family dwelling or to an existing detached structure accessory to a single-family use and located on the same lot, ("site plan review ADU") subject to site plan review by the Planning Board in accordance with the conditions set forth below.
B.
No ADU shall be constructed without applying for a building permit.
C.
Conditions applicable to all accessory dwelling units (by-right ADU and site plan review ADU hereinafter collectively termed "accessory dwelling unit" or "ADU"):
(1)
The ADU must be used for residential housing purposes and either located within the existing single-family dwelling (hereinafter referred to as the "primary residence") or detached from the primary residence and located on the same lot as the primary residence in an existing outbuilding, such as a barn, garage or shed (hereinafter referred to as an "existing outbuilding"), additions to said primary residence or existing outbuilding being subject to site plan review and approval by the Planning Board.
(2)
The ADU shall be designed so that the external appearance of the primary residence remains that of a single-family dwelling.
(3)
Exterior alterations are permitted, provided they are in keeping with the architectural integrity of the primary residence or existing outbuilding and the character of the neighborhood, including, but not limited to, the following considerations:
(a)
The exterior finish material should be the same or visually consistent in type, size, and placement as the exterior finish material of the primary residence or the exterior finish material of the existing outbuilding;
(b)
The roof pitch should be consistent with the predominant roof pitch of the primary residence or the existing outbuilding;
(c)
Trim should be consistent in type, size, and location as the trim used on the primary residence or the existing outbuilding;
(d)
Windows should be consistent with those of the primary residence or of the existing outbuilding in proportion and orientation;
(e)
Exterior staircases should be designed to minimize visual impact and be complementary to the primary residence or the existing outbuilding, and may not be constructed on the front of a primary residence or an existing outbuilding or be visible from the street. The Planning Board may waive the exterior staircase's location requirement upon a finding that compliance with the above requirement is not feasible and that the proposed exterior staircase location will be adequately shielded from view through the installation of landscaping or fencing.
(4)
An ADU located within a primary residence shall maintain a separate entrance, either directly from the outside or through an entry hall or corridor shared with the primary residence sufficient to meet the requirements of the State Building Code for safe egress. No entrance for an accessory dwelling unit shall be permitted on the front of the primary residence, unless the entrance is a common entry shared by both the primary residence and the accessory dwelling unit; the accessory dwelling unit's primary entrance shall be not be visible from the street view of the primary residence unless it is the existing entrance to an existing outbuilding in which an ADU is proposed to be located.
(5)
A by-right ADU shall not be larger than 1/2 the floor area of the primary residence, inclusive of all lofts and any attic areas seven feet or greater in height, of the gross area contained in the primary residence, exclusive of all unfinished cellars and attics, or 1,200 square feet, whichever is smaller, and a site plan review ADU shall not exceed 1,200 square feet.
(6)
The lot must meet the minimum lot size for the zoning district in which it is located; and the ADU shall not increase the number of dwelling units on the lot beyond two.
(7)
The orientation of the proposed accessory dwelling unit shall, to the maximum extent practical, maintain the privacy of the occupants in the primary residence as determined by the physical characteristics surrounding the accessory dwelling unit, including landscape screening, fencing, and window and door placement.
(8)
One additional parking space shall be provided for the ADU. With respect to site plan review ADUs, if the Planning Board finds that the additional parking requirements are directly related to the use of the ADU, then additional parking spaces may be required.
(9)
The owner of the lot shall own the primary residence and the ADU, and must occupy the primary residence, or the ADU, or both. No ADU shall be leased for a lease term that is less than one calendar year.
(10)
For a by-right ADU located within the primary residence, only one electrical meter shall be allowed to serve the primary residence and the accessory dwelling unit. For a site plan review ADU, the electrical service may be provided by new and/or existing electrical meters.