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TOWN OF NORTH ANDOVER
OFFICE OF THE TOWN CLERK
120 MAIN STREET
NORTH ANDOVER, MASSACHUSETTS 01845
Joyce A.Bradshaw,CMMC Telephone(978)688-9501
Town Clerk Fax (978)688-9557
E-mail Bradshaw(dtownofnorthandover.com
This is to certify that the following vote (Voted June 6, 2006) was taken on
Article 42 - Amend General Bylaws — Chapter 178, Section 9 - Wetlands Protection
— Rules and Regulations of the General Bylaws for the Town of North Andover at
the Dissolved Annual Town Meeting for the Town of North Andover held May 8,
2006, June 5, 2006 and June 6, 2006:
Article 42. Amend General Bylaws — Chapter 178, Section 9 - Wetlands
Protection — Rules and Regulations. UNANIMOUSLY VOTED to amend Chapter
178 Section 9 Rules and Regulations, of the North Andover Wetlands Protection Bylaw
to insert the words "procedures governing small projects," between the words in "...in
wetland resource areas," and "and such other information..." so that Chapter 178 Section
9 Rules and Regulations, would read as follows:
Chapter 178 Section 9: The Commission shall be empowered to establish Rules and
Regulations to govern its affairs, including but not limited to fees, definitions, use of
consultants, security to assure performance, performance standards for work in wetland
resource areas, procedures governing small projects, and such other information which
it deems necessary to discharge its responsibilities. After due notice and public hearing,
the Commission may promulgate such rules and regulations to effectuate the purposes of
this Bylaw, by majority vote of the duly appointed members. Failure by the Commission
to promulgate such rules and regulations; or a legal declaration of their invalidity by a
court of law shall not act to suspend or invalidate the effect of this By-law; or to take any
other action relative thereto.
NOTE: The full text of Chapter 178 is available at the Town Clerk's Office and on
the Town of North Andover Web site at www.townofnorthandover.com.
Chapter 178—Wetlands Protection as amended by Article 42 reads as follows:
The purpose of this Bylaw is to preserve and protect the wetland resource areas (as
specified in Section 178.2) of the Town of North Andover by regulation of, and control
of, activities (as specified in Section 178.2) deemed by the North Andover Conservation
Commission (the "Commission") to have significant or cumulatively detrimental effect
upon the following interests and values, including: public or private water supply;
groundwater; the prevention and control of flooding, erosion, sedimentation, storm
damage, and/or pollution; protection of fisheries, wildlife, wildlife habitat and recreation.
§178.2 Jurisdiction.
Except as permitted in writing by the Commission, or as provided in this
Bylaw, no person shall engage in the following activities ("activities"): removal, filling,
dredging, discharging into, building upon, or otherwise altering or degrading the wetland
resource areas described in the following sentence. The Town's wetland resource areas
consist of
1) any isolated vegetated wetland,
2) any ephemeral pool
3) any vegetated wetland bordering on any creek, river, stream, pond or lake,
4) any bank, beach, marsh, wet meadow, bog, or swamp,
5) any land under any creek, river, stream, pond or lake,
6) any 100-foot buffer zone of wetland areas 1-5 listed above,
7) any land subject to storm flowage, or flooding by groundwater or surface
water,
8) and the 200-foot riverfront area.
The following waterbodies and contiguous 200-foot zones on either side of the
waterbody in North Andover have been identified by the Commission as
riverfront areas: Mosquito Brook, Rocky Brook, Boston Brook, Cochichewick
Brook, Merrimack River and Shawsheen River (See Figure 1-3 — North
Andover Riverfront Area Maps).
The wetland resource areas listed in 1-8 above are protected in addition to the
wetland resource areas protected under the Massachusetts Wetlands Protection
Act M.G.L. Chapter 131, Section 40 ("the Act") and its accompanying
regulations 310 CMR 10.00.
The Commission shall not grant such permission without receiving written
notice of the intention to conduct such activity, and without issuing written
permission to do so all in compliance with the provisions of this Bylaw.
§178.3 Exemptions.
This Bylaw shall not apply to the following activities:
1. Emergency projects as defined in the Commission's regulations (Section
II); or
2. Maintenance, repair or replacement, without substantial change or
enlargement, of existing and lawfully located structures or facilities used in the
service of the public and used-to provide electric, gas, water, telephone, or
other telecommunication services to the public; or
3. Normal maintenance of land in agricultural use, as defined in the
Commission's regulations (Section II); or
4. Maintenance and repair of existing public ways.
§178.4 Applications to perform work and information required.
All applications to perform activities in the Town's resource areas shall be
either in the form of a Request for Determination or a Notice of Intent, or both. Such
applications shall contain data and plans as specified in the Commission's regulations,
and shall be submitted in complete written form to the Commission as required by this
Bylaw, regulations, and application checklist (Appendix A of Regulations). The date
which serves to commence the Commission's deliberation period is the date of receipt of
the application at its offices, during regular office hours. The Town Conservation
Administrator shall be granted the power to make determinations of completeness for
applications submitted to the Commission and reject, within two (2) business days, those
applications that do not meet the minimum submittal requirements of this Bylaw,
regulations, and application checklist. In order to provide sufficient review time the
Commission may continue a public hearing or public meeting if new information is
submitted by the applicant, or applicant's agent, less than seven (7) business days before
the scheduled public hearing or public meeting.
The applicable forms may be obtained from the Commission and must be
signed by the applicant or applicant's agent where required. The Commission
may require further information by Regulation, guideline, or as otherwise
deemed necessary by the Commission. In order to comply with the provisions
of this Bylaw, each application must be complete as filed, and must comply
with the rules set forth herein and Commission regulations. No such
application shall be accepted as complete before all permits, variances, and
approvals required by the Bylaws of the Town with respect to the proposed
activity, at the time of such Notice, have been applied for or obtained. Such
Application shall also include any information submitted in connection with
such permits, variances, and approvals that is necessary to describe the effect
of the proposed activity on the resource areas.
§178.5 Hearings.
A) Combination with State Law Hearing:
The said Commission, in its discretion, may hear any oral presentation
under this Bylaw at the same public hearing required to be held under the
provisions of chapter 131, section 40, of the Massachusetts General Laws.
Notice of the time and place of such hearing(s) shall be given as required
below.
B) Notice:Notice of the time and place of the hearing shall be given at the
applicant's expense, not less than seven (7) calendar days prior to the public
hearing, by publication in a newspaper of general circulation in North
Andover, and by mailing a copy of such notice to all land owners within 300
feet of the land on which the work is proposed. All publications and notices
shall contain the name of the applicant, a description of the area where the
activity is proposed by street-address, if any, or other adequate identification of
the location of the area or premises which is the subject of the notice, the date,
time and place of the public hearing, the subject matter of the hearing, and the
nature of the action or relief requested, if any. Public notice requirements for
continued public hearings under this Bylaw shall be the same as the
notification requirements set forth in 310 CMR 10.05(5)(b)3.
B) Proof: The applicant shall have the burden of proving by a preponderance
of credible evidence that the activity proposed in the Notice of Intent will
not cause adverse impacts to any of the interests and values sought to be
protected by this Bylaw. Failure to provide to the Commission adequate
evidence for it to determine that the proposed activity does not cause
adverse impacts shall be sufficient cause for the Commission to deny
permission or to grant such permission with such conditions as it deems
reasonable, necessary or desirable to carry out the purposes of this Bylaw;
or to postpone or continue the hearing to another date certain to enable the
applicant and others to present additional evidence, upon such terms and
conditions as seem to the Commission to be reasonable.
Due consideration shall be given to possible effects of the proposal on all
interests and values to be protected under this Bylaw and to any
demonstrated hardship on the petitioner by reason of a denial, as brought
forth at the public hearing.
D) Continuances:
The Commission may continue a public hearing or public meeting in the
following situations:
1. With the consent of the applicant, to an agreed-upon date which shall
be announced at the hearing; or
2. Without the consent of the applicant, to a specific date for the reasons
stated at the hearing, including but not limited to receipt of additional
information from the applicant or others.
E) Investigations:
The Commission, its agents, officers and employees, may enter upon
privately owned land for the purpose of carrying out its duties under this
Bylaw and may make or cause to be made such examination or survey as
deemed necessary.
§178.6 Orders And Decisions.
A) All Orders and Decisions:
If the Commission determines that the proposed activity does not require
the imposition of conditions to preserve and protect the interests of this
Bylaw, the applicant shall be so notified in writing.
If, after the hearing, the Commission determines that the proposed activity
is significant to one or more interests and values of this Bylaw, the
Commission may vote to issue written Orders of Conditions within 21
days of the close of the public hearing. The Commission may impose
such conditions, safeguards and limitations on time and use upon such
activity as it deems necessary to protect those interests.
The Commission may prohibit such activity altogether, in the event that it
finds that the interests and values of this Bylaw can not be preserved and
protected by the imposition of such conditions, safeguards or limitations.
B) Security to Assure Performance:
The Commission may, as a part of its Order of Conditions, require, in
addition to any security required by any other Town or State Board,
Commission, agency or officer, that the performance and observance of
the conditions, safeguards and limitations imposed under this Bylaw on
the applicant and owner be secured by one, or both, of the methods
described in the following clauses:
1. Deposit:
By the deposit of money, sufficient to complete the work as proposed,
to secure performance of the conditions and observance of the
safeguards of such Order of Conditions. Such security, if filed or
deposited, shall be approved as to form and manner of execution by
Town Counsel or the Town Treasurer.
2. Land Restrictions(s):
By a conservation restriction, easement, or other covenant running
with the land, executed and properly recorded (or registered, in the
case of registered land).
C) Duration of Orders:
All Orders of Conditions shall expire three (3) years after the date of
issuance. An Order of Conditions may be extended for one year upon the
request of the applicant. The request for an extension of an Order of
Conditions shall be made to the Commission at least 30 days prior to
expiration of the Order of Conditions. The Commission may grant only
two (2) extensions for an individual Order of Conditions.
No activity governed by an Order of Conditions shall be performed unless
and until all permits, approvals and variances required by the Bylaws of
the Town shall have been obtained, such Order of Conditions or
notification shall have been recorded or registered at the Essex North
District Registry of Deeds or in the North Essex District of the Land Court
Department, and all applicable appeal periods have expired. The
Commission shall have the right to record or register its Order of
Conditions with said Registry or Registry District. In the event that an
Order of Conditions issued pursuant to this Bylaw is identical to a final
Order of Conditions issued pursuant to the provisions of MGL Chapter
131, Section 40, only one such order need be recorded or registered.
D) Modifications, Amendments, Revocations:
The Commission shall have the power (on its own motion or upon the
petition of the applicant, or any person interested) to modify, amend, or
revoke an Order of Conditions. In revoking an Order of Conditions the
Commission shall officially notify the interested parties through certified
mail and hold a public hearing within 21 days of the notification date. In
the case of an amendment to an Order of Conditions, the Commission
shall have the discretion to decide if a public hearing is warranted. This
decision shall be based on the potential impact of proposed work and its
effect on the ability of the identified wetland resource areas to provide
those interests as defined under the Act and Bylaw. No public hearing is
required for a modification to an Order of Conditions. Written notification
to the applicant by certified mail is required in all cases where the
Commission initiates a modification, amendment or revocation of an
Order of Conditions.
§178.7 Certificates Of Compliance.
The Commission shall, upon receiving a written request and weather
permitting, inspect the resource areas where the activity governed by an Order
of Conditions was carried out and issue a Certificate of Compliance (or Partial
Certificate of Compliance) to the owner of the property, applicant, or
applicant's representative, in a form suitable for recording or registering, if it
shall determine that all of the activity or activities, or portions thereof, limited
thereby have been completed in accord with said order.
§178.8 Responsibility For Compliance.
After the recording of a Notice of Violation or Order , any person who
purchases, inherits or otherwise acquires real estate upon which work has been
done in violation of the provisions of this Bylaw or in violation of any order
issued under the Bylaw shall forthwith comply with any such Order or restore
such land to its condition prior to any such violation; provided, however, that
no action, civil or criminal, shall be brought against such person unless such
action is commenced within three years following the recording of the deed or
the date of the death by which such real estate was acquired by such person.
§178.9 Rules And Regulations.
The Commission shall be empowered to establish Rules and Regulations to
govern its affairs, including but not limited to fees, definitions, use of
consultants, security to assure performance, performance standards for work in
wetland resource areas, procedures governing small proiects, and such other
information which it deems necessary to discharge its responsibilities. After
due notice and public hearing, the Commission may promulgate such rules and
regulations to effectuate the purposes of this Bylaw, by a majority vote of the
duly appointed members.
Failure by the Commission to promulgate such rules and regulations; or a legal
declaration of their invalidity by a court of law shall not act to suspend or
invalidate the effect of this Bylaw. [Underlined Text Added — June 2006
Annual Town Meeting-Article 42-Pending AG Approval]
§179.10 Enforcement, Investigations & Violations
In accord with the provisions of M.G.L. Chapter 40, Sections 21D and 31 as
well as every other authority and power that may have been or may hereafter
be conferred upon it, the Town may enforce the provisions of this Bylaw,
restrain violations thereof and seek injunctions and judgments to secure
compliance with its Orders of Conditions. Without limiting the generality of
the foregoing:
A) Any person who violates any provision of this Bylaw or of any condition
or a permit issue pursuant to it may be punished by a fine pursuant to
Massachusetts General Laws, Chapter 40, section 21. Each day or portion
thereof during which a violation continues shall constitute a separate
offense; if more than one, each condition violated shall constitute a
separate offense. This Bylaw may be enforced pursuant to Massachusetts
General Laws Chapter 40, section 21D, by a Town police officer, other
persons having police powers, Conservation Commissioners or the
Conservation Administrator.
In accordance with Ch. 40 S. 21D, violators shall, at the discretion of the
enforcement authorities, be charged a penalty. The penalties for violations
of this Bylaw or regulations promulgated hereunder may be assessed as
follows:
Violation Violation/Day
Alteration of any wetland resource area $ 100
identified in Section 178.2 of this Bylaw:
Violation of any Order of Conditions: $ 100
Depositing any refuse, debris, yard waste or $ 100
construction material in a wetland or water body:
Alteration of any stream or water body: $ 100
Any violation of any section of this Bylaw that
occurs in the Lake Cochichewick Watershed: $ 100
B) In the event of a violation of this Bylaw or of any order issued thereunder,
the Commission or its agents may issue a stop work order to the owner,
the applicant or applicant's agent by certified mail, return receipt
requested, or by posting the same in a conspicuous location on said site.
Any person who shall violate the provisions of a stop work order shall be
deemed in violation of the Bylaw; but the failure of the Commission to
issue a stop work order for any reason shall not prevent the Town from
pursuing any other legal remedy at law or in equity to restrain violations
of this Bylaw or promulgated regulations and to secure compliance with
its Orders.
C) The Town shall be the beneficiary of all fines imposed on account of the
violation of this Bylaw or promulgated regulations in order to defray the
expense of enforcing the same.
D) Upon request of the Commission, the Board of Selectmen and Town
Counsel shall take such legal action as may be necessary to enforce this
Bylaw or promulgated regulations and permits issued pursuant to it.
E) Upon recommendation of the Commission, the Board of Selectmen may
employ Special Counsel to assist the Commission in carrying out the legal
aspects, duties and requirements of this Bylaw and promulgated
regulations.
§178.11 Consultant Services Account. [Section 178.11 Disapproved by Attorney
General October 20,1998]All remaining provisions were approved.
§178.12 Captions and Severability.
The captions used herein are for convenience only and are expressly
intended to have no legal or binding significance. The invalidity of any
section or provision of this Bylaw shall not invalidate any other section or
provision thereof, nor shall it invalidate any Order of Conditions or
decisions which have previously become final.
VOTED JUNE 6, 2006