Stoughton City Zoning Code
SECTION 8
0 Special Nonresidential Regulations
8.2 Fast order food establishments.
8.2.1.
General. In considering special permits for fast order food establishments, the Zoning Board of Appeals shall give consideration to the following criteria, in addition to those set forth in Section 10.5. In the Stoughton Center District (SCD) the Planning Board is the SPGA.
[Amended 5-2-2022 ATM by Art. 24]
8.2.2.
Additional criteria.
1.
Impact on traffic and parking.
2.
Sensitivity to the visual and physical characteristics of the particular location, including siting, signing, lighting, landscaping, fencing, materials, windows, etc.
3.
Fulfillment of a need in the neighborhood or in the Town.
4.
Reliance on walk-in trade as opposed to drive-in or automobile-related trade.
8.3 Removal of earth materials.
8.3.1.
General. For the removal of sand, gravel, quarry, or other earth materials other than that which is incidental to and in connection with the construction of a building on a lot, and for processing and treating raw materials, the following conditions shall govern.
8.3.2.
Conditions.
1.
Removal and processing operations shall not be conducted closer than 50 feet to a street.
2.
All equipment for sorting, washing, crushing, grading, drying, processing and treating, or other operation machinery, shall not be used closer than 100 feet from any street or from any adjoining lot line.
3.
Off-street parking as required in the Table of Off-Street Parking Regulations[1] shall be provided.
[1]
Editor’s Note: The Table of Off-Street Parking Regulations is included as an attachment to this chapter.
4.
Any access to excavated areas or areas in the process of excavation will be adequately posted with KEEP OUT - DANGER signs.
5.
Any work face or bank that slopes more than 30° downward adjacent to a public street will be adequately fenced at the top.
6.
Adequate provision is to be made for drainage during and after the completion of operations.
7.
Lateral support shall be maintained for all adjacent properties.
8.
The use of explosives shall be done in accordance with the regulations for storage or handling of explosives as published by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
9.
All operations shall be conducted in such a manner so as to comply with the laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts regulating water pollution and air pollution.
10.
The work hours of operation shall be designated.
11.
Excavation shall be restricted to those areas which are at elevations 10 feet or more above the maximum groundwater elevation as determined by the most recent testing conducted under the provisions of this section.
8.3.3.
Groundwater elevation. No permit shall be issued or renewed under this bylaw until the applicant has submitted to the Zoning Board of Appeals current and complete information on the actual and proposed depth of excavation and the maximum groundwater elevation throughout the entire area proposed to be excavated. Maximum groundwater elevation shall be determined by means of monitoring wells, test pits and soil borings during the months of March, April or May. Such tests shall be conducted by a Massachusetts registered professional engineer at the expense of the applicant and shall be submitted to the Zoning Board of Appeals over the engineer's stamp.
1.
The groundwater monitoring wells shall be left in place during the period that the applicant holds a permit hereunder, and readings therefrom shall be taken during March, April or May of each year. The results of such readings shall be submitted to the Board over the engineer's stamp.
8.3.4.
Site plan. A site plan shall be filed with the Planning Board for any land which is used or intended to be used for the extraction of sand, gravel, rock, and associated earth materials. Site plans of the removal areas shall be prepared by a registered professional engineer and a registered land surveyor at a scale of 200 feet to the inch or such other suitable scale as may be determined by the Building Inspector and shall be in accordance with and indicate the following:
1.
Lot lines;
2.
Adjacent public streets;
3.
Proper provisions for safe and adequate water supply and sanitary sewerage and for temporary and permanent drainage of the site;
4.
Plan for regrading of all or parts of the slopes resulting from such excavation or fill;
5.
Plan for replacements of at least four inches of topsoil over all excavated, filled, or otherwise disturbed surfaces and seeding with a perennial cover crop, reseeded as necessary to assure uniform growth and soil surface stabilization;
6.
Plan for lighting, if night operation is contemplated;
7.
Proper provision for vehicular traffic, service roads, control of entrances and exits to highways;
8.
The relation of future buildings and operations machinery to the removal areas;
9.
Delineation of removal areas;
10.
Provision for a temporary fence, which shall be approved by the Planning Board, enclosing the excavation or quarry where any excavation or quarry will extend under original ground level or will have a depth of 10 feet or more and create a slope of more than one foot in two feet. Such fence shall be located 10 feet or more from the edge of the excavation or quarry, and shall be at least six feet in height;
11.
Provision shall be made for the submission to the Building Inspector of as-built plans of all final grading and site improvements.
8.3.5.
Reuse plan. A land reuse plan must be submitted to and approved by the Board subject to the regulations set forth in the following paragraphs:
1.
The Building Inspector may require up to three approved alternative future land reuse plans to be submitted for such land as is used for excavation of sand, gravel, rock, and associated earth materials. It is recognized that land reuse of the removal areas is in the public interest.
2.
Said land reuse plan and its implementation applies to the conversion of the abandoned site and its planned reuse. It is, therefore, required that any land reuse plan correspond to a situation which could reasonably occur in the immediate future (zero to five years), and be revised as necessary as the existing physical character of the removal area changes.
3.
The land reuse plan or any part thereof which reasonably applies to an area which has been abandoned from removal use shall be put into effect within one year of the abandonment of said operation.
8.3.6.
Special permit required. No soil, loam, sand, gravel, stone or other earth materials shall be removed from any premises within the Town unless such removal will constitute an exempt operation as hereinafter provided or done pursuant to a special permit therefor issued by the Board of Appeals.
8.3.7.
Application and reference to Planning Board. Each application for a permit for earth material removal shall be accompanied by a plan, submitted in duplicate (the exact size and number of copies of which may be indicated by a rule of the Board of Appeals), prepared at the expense of the applicant by a registered land surveyor or civil engineer showing the information set forth above.
1.
Within 10 days after receipt of the plan, the Board of Appeals shall transmit a copy thereof to the Planning Board which said Board may, in its discretion, investigate the case and write its recommendation to the Board of Appeals. The Board of Appeals shall not take final action on such application until it has received a report thereon from the Planning Board, or until said Planning Board has allowed 30 days to elapse after receipt of such plan without submission of a report.
8.3.8.
Conditions of permit. In granting a special permit hereunder, the Board of Appeals shall impose reasonable conditions specially designed to safeguard the neighborhood and the Town, which shall include conditions as to: (1) method of removal, (2) type and location of temporary structures, (3) hours of operation, (5) routes for transporting the material through the Town, (6) area and depth of excavation, (7) distance of excavation to the street and lot lines, (8) steepness of slopes excavated, (9) reestablishment of ground levels and grades, (10) provisions for temporary and permanent drainage, (11) disposition of boulders and tree stumps, (12) replacement of loam over the area of removal, and (13) planting of the area to suitable cover, including trees.
8.3.9.
Duration. No special permit for removal of earth material shall be issued for a period of more than one year in a residential district or more than two years in a nonresidential district, although such a permit may be renewed for additional periods in the same manner as for initial issuance. Where the duration of the period exceeds one month, the Board shall require a bond or other security to insure compliance with its conditions of authorization, unless, in a particular case, it specifically finds that such security is not warranted and so states in its decision, giving the reasons for its finding. Where the duration of the permit is one month or less, the Board may, in its discretion, require such security, as hereinafter set forth, for all special permits.
8.3.10.
Existing operations. A sand or gravel pit, quarry, or other removal activity in lawful operation on any premises on the effective date of this bylaw may continue as an exempt operation unless and until abandoned, or if operating under a prior permit issued by the Zoning Board of Appeals, until the expiration thereof. Discontinuance for more than 12 consecutive months shall be deemed to constitute abandonment.
8.3.11.
Exceptions. No soil, loam, sand, gravel, stone, or other earth material shall be removed from any premises within the Town without a special permit therefor issued by the Zoning Board of Appeals unless:
1.
The removal by an authorized person of material from land in use by the Town or other governmental agency.
2.
The removal by an authorized person of less than 100 cubic yards of material in the aggregate in any year from any one premises.
3.
The removal is incidental to and in connection with the construction of a building on a lot.
4.
Such removal is by an authorized person of material necessarily excavated in connection with the lawful construction of a building or structure, or a pool, driveway, sidewalk, or path incidental to any such building or structure, provided that the quantity of material removed does not exceed that actually displaced by the portion of building, structure, driveway, sidewalk, or path below the existing grade.
5.
The transfer is by an authorized person of material from one part of a premises to another part of the same premises.
8.3.12.
Permits in proposed subdivisions. It is the intention of this bylaw that the removal of earth materials from any parcel of land for which a preliminary or definitive subdivision plan has been prepared shall be allowed only in the same manner as removal from other parcels of land in the Town. Consequently, tentative or final approval of a subdivision plan by the Planning Board shall not be construed as authorizing the removal of material from the premises, even though in connection with the construction of streets shown on the plan.
8.4 Planned business development.
8.4.1.
General. Planned business development of land subject to maximum building coverage more than the maximum permitted in the Table of Dimensional and Density Regulations[1] and less than the parking requirements contained in the Table of Off-Street Parking Regulations[2] shall be subject to the following conditions.
[1]
Editor’s Note: The Table of Dimensional and Density Regulations is included as an attachment to this chapter.
[2]
Editor's Note: The Table of Off-Street Parking Regulations is included as an attachment to this chapter.
8.4.2.
Conditions.
1.
The tract shall be in single or consolidated ownership at the time of application and shall be at least five acres in size.
2.
A site plan shall be presented for the entire tract showing two-foot finished contours, existing and proposed drainage, sewerage, water, parking, street access and landscaping.
3.
Uses shall be contained in one continuous building except that groupings of buildings may be allowed by special permit of the Zoning Board of Appeals where such groupings are consistent with the safety of the users of the development and are further consistent with the overall intent of this section; the development shall be served by one common parking area, exit, and entrance.
4.
The ratio of the gross floor area of the building(s) to the total lot area shall not exceed 0.50.
5.
The development shall be served by one common parking area and by common exit and entrance areas.
6.
Reduction in parking space requirements shall not exceed more than 10% of those required under normal application of requirements for the particular uses proposed.
7.
The development would be served by a public water system, and sewer if available.
8.
Any use that requires a special permit under the Table of Use Regulations[3] shall require a separate application. Separate applications for special use permits, if part of the same development proposal, shall be held concurrently.
[3]
Editor’s Note: The Table of Use Regulations is included as an attachment to this chapter.
9.
Property benefitting from a special permit for a planned business development or shopping center shall receive necessary approvals under the Site Plan Review Bylaw prior to issuance of any construction permits pursuant to the special permit.
8.5 Planned industrial development.
8.5.1.
General. The planned industrial development of land for manufacturing or service industrial purposes subject to area regulations less than the minimum required in Table of Dimensional and Density Regulations[1] shall be subject to the following conditions:
[1]
Editor's Note: The Table of Dimensional and Density Regulations is included as an attachment to this chapter.
8.5.2.
Conditions.
1.
The tract in single or consolidated ownership at the time of application shall be at least 15 acres in size.
2.
A site plan shall be presented for the entire tract. It shall be referred to the Planning Board for advice and recommendation. Where the site plan constitutes a subdivision, it shall require approval by the Planning Board under the Subdivision Control Law.[2]
[2]
Editor’s Note: See MGL c. 41, § 81K et seq.
3.
Individual lot sizes shall not be reduced more than 10% below that normally required for manufacturing or service industrial purposes in the district.
4.
The total number of establishments in the development shall not exceed the number of establishments which could be developed under normal application requirements of the district.
5.
The permitted uses shall be limited to manufacturing or service industrial uses with the total use completely within the building.
6.
The development shall be served by a public water system, and sewer if available.
8.5.3.
Common land. At least 10% of the total tract area (of which at least 50% shall not be wetlands) shall be set aside as common land. Such common land shall be preserved for recreation, conservation or public use. Such common land shall be restricted to open space, playfield, golf course, or conservation area. Such common land shall have suitable access to a street. Preservation shall be guaranteed at the time of approval of the plan by the appropriate Board (Board of Appeal) as follows:
1.
Conveyance to and acceptance by the Town of Stoughton; or
2.
Conveyance to and acceptance by the Stoughton Conservation Commission; or
3.
Dedicated by covenant or comparable legal instrument for use by the tenants or owners in the development; or
4.
Ownership shall be arranged and maintenance permanently assured through a suitable recorded land agreement through which each lot owner is involved and each lot is subject to a charge for a share of the maintenance expenses.