Sterling City Zoning Code
ARTICLE 3
General Regulations
§ 301-3.1 Signs.
Signs in Residence Districts. In a Neighborhood Residence District and in a Rural Residence and Farming District the following signs are permitted:
One nonflashing sign not over two square feet in area for each family residing on the premises including the name of the owner or occupant and/or pertaining to a permitted accessory use.
Two nonflashing signs aggregating not over 10 square feet in area pertaining to a permitted use on the premises other than a dwelling or use accessory thereto or pertaining to a use specifically authorized on the premises by the Board of Appeals.
Temporary unlighted signs aggregating not over 10 square feet in area advertising the sale or lease of the premises.
Unlighted directional signs not over two square feet in area, indicating the route to, or location of, a lawful use located on another premises.
Temporary building contractors' signs erected only during period of construction.
Signs over two square feet in area shall be located not less than 20 feet from the lot line.
[Added 6-14-2021 ATM by Art. 31, approved 12-10-2021]
Signs in Commercial Districts and Light Industrial Districts. In a Commercial District and Light Industrial District the following signs are permitted:
Signs painted on or attached flat against the wall of a building (without limitation on the number thereof), but having a total area not exceeding 40% of the area of any one wall.
Not more than two freestanding signs aggregating not more than 40 square feet in total area and pertaining to a permitted use located on the premises.
Signs may have flashing action but may contain no visible moving parts.
Unlighted directional signs not over two square feet in area, indicating the route to, or location of, a lawful use located on another premises.
Signs over two square feet in area shall be located not less than 20 feet from the lot line.
[Added 6-14-2021 ATM by Art. 31, approved 12-10-2021]
Authorization for special permit. The following regulations shall apply, unless otherwise authorized by a special permit issued by the Zoning Board of Appeals.
[Added 6-14-2021 ATM by Art. 31, approved 12-10-2021]
§ 301-3.2 Parking and loading requirements.
[Amended 6-14-2021 ATM by Art. 38, approved 12-10-2021; 5-5-2025 ATM by Art. 41, approved 1-9-2026]
General. Adequate off-street parking must be provided to service all parking demand created by new construction, whether through new structures or additions to old ones, and by change of use of existing structures. Such parking shall be on the same premises as the activity it serves, or within 200 feet on a separate parcel, which may be jointly used with other premises for this purpose, provided that the continued joint use of such parcel be ensured through an agreement recorded in the Registry of Deeds.
Reduction of parking requirement by special permit. Notwithstanding the provisions of § 301-3.2.1, the Planning Board may, by special permit, reduce the number of parking spaces required for nonresidential uses upon its determination that the intended use of the premises can be adequately served by fewer spaces. The Planning Board may consider on-street parking available near the premises as a factor in this determination.
Table of Parking Requirements.
Parking shall be provided in accordance with the following schedule.
Principal Use | Minimum Number of Parking Spaces |
|---|---|
Single-family, single-family with accessory dwelling unit (ADU), two-family, or multifamily dwelling | 2 per dwelling unit, provided not more than 1 parking space shall be required for an ADU, except that no additional parking space shall be required for the ADU if any portion of its lot is located within 0.5 miles of a transit or bus station |
Group residence | 1 per 2 beds |
Assisted elderly housing, Convalescent home or nursing home | 1 per 4 beds |
Home occupation | 1 per room used for office plus 1 per nonresident employee (in addition to parking spaces for the principal residential use) |
Day-care facility | 1 per 10 children of rated capacity of the facility, plus 1 for each staff person on the largest shift |
School, elementary or junior high | 1 per 15 students of rated capacity of the facility, or 1 per 4 seats in auditoriums and other places of assembly, whichever is greater |
School, secondary | 1 per 2 students, faculty and staff, based on design capacity, or 1 per 4 seats in auditoriums and other places of assembly, whichever is greater |
Nonprofit social or recreational club or lodge | 1 space for every 3 persons of rated capacity |
Place of assembly, with seating facilities (including theater, church or synagogue) | 1 per 4 seats plus 1 per 2 employees |
Place of assembly, without seating facilities | 1 per 200 square feet of gross floor area, or 1 space for each 2 persons of rated capacity, whichever is greater |
Motel, hotel or inn | 1 per sleeping room plus 1 per 2 employees |
Bank or post office | 1 per 100 square feet of gross floor area |
Library or museum | 1 per 400 square feet of gross floor area |
General retail | 1 per 200 square feet of gross floor area |
Sale or rental of automobiles | 1 per 500 square feet of gross floor area, plus 1 per 2,500 square feet of outdoor display area, plus 3 per service bay |
Retail sales of furniture, nursery stock or other goods requiring extensive display area | 1 per 800 square feet of gross floor area, plus 1 per 1,000 square feet of outdoor area used for display and sales |
Restaurant | 1 per 2 seats, or 1 per 2 persons of rated capacity, whichever is greater |
Restaurant, drive-in | |
General office | 1 per 250 square feet of gross floor area |
Medical or dental office | 1 per 150 square feet of gross floor area |
Motor vehicle service station or gas station | 2 spaces, plus 4 spaces per service bay |
Manufacturing or industrial | 1 per 500 square feet of gross floor area |
Warehousing and storage | 1 per 2,000 square feet of area devoted to indoor or outdoor storage |
Commercial recreation or sports facility | 1 per 4 seats, or 1 per 200 square feet of gross floor area, or 1 space per 4 persons of rated capacity, whichever is greater. |
Where a use is not specifically included in Subsection 1, it is intended that the requirements for the most nearly comparable use specified shall apply, as determined by the Planning Board.
Any computation resulting in a fraction of a space shall be rounded to the highest whole number.
In the Town Center District, the required number of parking spaces shall be 50% of the number resulting from the computations in Subsection 1. The Planning Board, acting as special permit granting authority, may grant a special permit to reduce the required number of spaces further, provided that it finds that adequate parking spaces are available to serve the proposed use in reasonable proximity to the site.
Parking lot design.
Parking spaces shall be at least nine feet by 18 feet.
All required parking areas, except those serving residential premises, shall be paved.
In parking areas with eight or more spaces, individual spaces shall be delineated by painted lines, wheel stops, or other means.
Parking lot aisles shall be designed in conformance with the following:
Parking Angle | Minimum Aisle Width (one-way traffic) | Minimum Aisle Width (two-way traffic) |
|---|---|---|
0° (parallel) | 12 feet | 20 feet |
30° | 13 feet | 20 feet |
45° | 14 feet | 21 feet |
60° | 18 feet | 23 feet |
90° | 24 feet | 24 feet |
All artificial lighting shall be arranged and shielded so as to prevent direct glare from the light source onto any public way or any other property. All parking facilities which are used at night shall be lighted as evenly and fully as possible within the maximum wattage limits established by the State Building Code.
Parking facilities shall provide specially designated parking stalls for the physically handicapped in accordance with the Rules and Regulations of the Architectural Barriers Board of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Department of Public Safety or any agency superseding such agency. Handicapped stalls shall be clearly identified by a sign stating that such stalls are reserved for physically handicapped persons. Said stalls shall be located in that portion of the parking facility nearest the entrance to the use or structure which the parking facility serves. Adequate access for the handicapped from the parking facility to the structure shall be provided.
Drive-in facilities, such as drive-in banks or restaurants, shall provide stacking or waiting lanes, which shall be in addition to and separate from any aisle designed to provide access to off-street parking spaces. Such stacking or waiting lanes shall have sufficient length to accommodate eight vehicles for the first service window, ATM or other station, and six additional vehicles for each additional window, ATM or station.
In the Town Center District, required parking areas shall not be located forward of any building front line on the lot or on an adjacent lot.
Driveway design.
Access driveways to nonresidential premises shall be 10 feet wide for one-way traffic and 18 feet for two-way traffic; provided, however, that driveways serving two-way traffic may be reduced to 10 feet in width when the driveway does not exceed 50 feet in length, does not serve more than five parking spaces, is not regularly used by trucks, and provides sufficient turnaround so as not to require backing onto a public way. Driveways shall not exceed 22 feet in width.
To the extent feasible, lots and parking areas in nonresidential districts shall be served by common private accessways, in order to minimize the number of curb cuts. Such common accessways shall be in conformance with the functional standards of the Subdivision Rules and Regulations of the Planning Board for road construction, sidewalks, and drainage. Proposed documentation (in the form of easements, covenants, or contracts) shall be submitted with the application, demonstrating that proper maintenance, repair, and apportionment of liability for the common accessway and any shared parking areas has been agreed upon by all lot owners proposing to use the common accessway. Common accessways may serve any number of adjacent parcels deemed appropriate by the Planning Board.
Landscaping requirements for parking areas.
All open off-street parking and loading areas, storage areas, refuse storage and disposal areas, and service areas shall be screened from all adjoining lots and streets by a landscaped area with a width of 20 feet, except that in the Town Center District the required landscaped area shall be five feet. Such landscaped area shall be densely planted with a mixture of deciduous and evergreen trees and shrubs, and shall create an effective visual barrier. This provision shall not apply to parking areas for single-family dwellings, or to side lot lines separating one commercial or industrial use from another.
Parking lots containing more than 10 parking spaces shall incorporate shade trees and green areas conforming to the following standards:
Parking areas must be shaded by deciduous trees (either retained or planted by the developer) that have, or will have when fully mature, a trunk at least 12 inches in diameter.
At least one shade tree shall be planted in or adjacent to the parking area for each 10 parking spaces. In sites that are presently wooded the retention of a greater number of trees is encouraged.
Each tree shall be presumed to shade a circular area having a radius of 15 feet with the trunk of the tree as the center, and there must be sufficient trees so that, using this standard, 20% of the parking area will be shaded.
No paving may be placed within six feet of any tree, whether newly planted or retained to comply with this section. All new trees shall be located so that they are surrounded by at least 200 square feet of unpaved area per tree.
Parking areas shall be laid out and detailed to prevent vehicles from striking trees. Vehicles will be presumed to have a body overhang of three feet, six inches.
Planting shall be done in accordance with proper landscaping practices. Minimum trunk size shall be 2 1/2 inches caliper at planting measured four feet from the ground. Native trees and shrubs shall be planted wherever possible. Trees which die or become diseased shall be replaced.
Loading requirements.
Adequate off-street loading facilities and space shall be provided to service all needs created by construction whether through additions, change of use, or new structures.
Facilities shall be so sized and arranged that no vehicle need regularly to back onto or off of a public way, or be parked on a public way while loading, unloading, or waiting to do so.
Loading areas shall be landscaped in accordance with § 301-3.2.6.
§ 301-3.3 Site development requirements.
(Reserved)
Erosion control.
Any area of bare earth exposed through nonresidential and nonagricultural building development must be permanently stabilized through replanting, paving, or other means of eliminating wind or water erosion. Such stabilization must be completed prior to building occupancy, or a performance bond must be posted in an amount sufficient to assure completion of such work.
With the exception of where an earth removal permit has been issued, any construction which will expose more than 60,000 square feet of bare earth during development through either removal or filling on the same parcel or on contiguous parcels in the same ownership must comply with the following:
[Amended 6-14-2021 ATM by Art. 48, approved 12-10-2021]
Stripping of vegetation, regrading or other development shall be done in a way that will minimize soil erosion. An erosion control plan shall be submitted, having sufficient information on existing and proposed topography, vegetation, and control measures to allow determination of compliance.
Whenever practical, natural vegetation shall be retained, protected and supplemented.
The disturbed area shall be kept to a minimum.
Where necessary, temporary vegetation and/or mulching shall be used to protect areas exposed during development.
Sediment basins (debris basins, desilting basins or silt traps) shall be installed and maintained when necessary to remove from runoff waters any sediment from land undergoing development.
The angle of graded slopes and fills shall be no greater than the angle which can be retained by vegetative cover or alternative proposed erosion control devices or structures. In any event, slopes left exposed must immediately be planted or otherwise provided with permanent ground cover or other means sufficient to retain erosion.
A ground cover sufficient to retain erosion must be planted or otherwise provided within 30 working days, season permitting, of any portion of the tract upon which further active construction is not being undertaken.
The development plan or land-disturbing activity shall be fitted to the topography and soils so as to create the least erosion potential.
The Building Inspector may require review of erosion control proposals by the Soil Conservation Service or others expert in soil mechanics in cases where doubt as to adequacy or proposed measures exists. Selection of techniques and determination of adequacy of measures shall, unless otherwise specified, be consistent with Guidelines for Soil and Water Conservation in Urbanizing Areas of Massachusetts, USDA Soil Conservation Service, 1975.
All stormwater management systems for new development and redevelopment projects that result in a land disturbance of one or more acres and discharge stormwater into the municipal system must comply with the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Stormwater Management Policy Handbook and Technical Handbook, whether or not the project falls within the jurisdiction of the Wetland Protection Act (MGL c. 131, § 40 et seq.). This enforcement will include projects that are less than one acre if the project is part of a larger common plan development.
§ 301-3.4 Access.
Street access. Every lot created shall be provided with access from a "street" as defined herein. Every lot created for residential use shall be provided with access from a "street" as defined herein and said access will be included within the "lot frontage," as defined herein, of said lot except for a shared driveway as provided for in § 301-3.4.2. Determination that a parcel is not a buildable lot because of access inadequacy may be appealed to the Board of Appeals by any party having standing as provided in Chapter 40A, § 8, Massachusetts General Laws, as amended.
Driveway access.
Required off-street parking and loading spaces shall have adequate vehicular access to a street as determined by the Building Inspector or, if site plan review is involved, the Planning Board. A shared driveway shall not be considered adequate access if serving parking spaces on more than two lots, except that by special permit from the Planning Board a shared driveway may be determined to provide adequate access to parking spaces on no more than four lots. A shared driveway shall not be considered adequate access for any lot created for residential use, except that by special permit from the Planning Board a shared driveway maybe determined to provide adequate access to parking spaces for no more than four dwelling units.