10/20/2008 Annual Town Meeting - Laserfiche WebLink

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Motion made by Selectman Wayne Taylor. Motion: I move the Town vote to approve Article 17 as printed in the warrant with the exception of the phrase "or take any other action relating thereto". Motion is defeated at 8:26PM. Article 18 To see if the Town will vote to amend the Zoning By-law by amending Subsection 174-25.1.9 of the Table of Use Regulations to read as follows, and by replacing the ten-n "SP" under the R-3, R-5 and C-2 Columns with the term "SP/Y" under all columns: "Fixed and floating piers, wharves, docks, boardwalks, of seasonal and year-round, subject to the securing of all necessary permits from the town, state and federal government agencies having jurisdiction over inland and/or coastal waterways and wetlands. Any dock proposed to extend across a total of more than seventy (70) feet of coastal beach, coastal bank, salt marsh or bordering vegetated wetlands, all as defined in 310 CMR, and/or coastal wetlands, freshwater wetlands, swamps or marshes, all as defined in MGL Chapter 131, Section 40, shall require a special permit from the Zoning Board of Appeals. All other docks will be permitted as of right. When a special, permit is required, the applicant shall, at the time of filing a plan. with the Board of Appeals, submit copies of said plan to the Conservation Commission, the Shellfish Commission, the Waterways Commission and the Harbormaster. Prior to the granting of any such special. permit, the Board of Appeals shall consider comments and recommendations from the Conservation Commission, the Shellfish Commission, the Waterways Commission and the Harbormaster. Failure by any of the aforementioned to comment may be interpreted as approval of the proposal. The Board shall not grant the special permit if the structure will unduly interfere with free passage of travel by water or land or cause or contribute to the substantial disruption or degradation, through direct or indirect impacts, including uses allowed by said structure,, on the marine or coastal environment. The applicant shall bear the burden of proof when questions exist about the proposal's contribution to environmental damage," or take any other action relating thereto. Submitted by Planning Board and Zoning Board of Appeals Explanation: A special permit from the Zoning Board of Appeals is now required for every pier, wharf, dock or boardwalk constructed in Mashpee, with a length limit of 70 feet. The length limit has frequently been varied by the Board due to conditions at the site, including marshes and depth of water. Permitting is also required from the Conservation Commission under the state and town wetlands laws, by the state under Chapter O and sometimes by the Army Corps of Engineers. This article would eliminate the requirement for a special permit and variance for most docks, and require a special permit only for docks which are proposed to cross more than 70 feet of certain wetlands, as defined in the state's wetlands laws and regulations. Other docks would be allowed as of right under zoning, but still require Conservation Commission and other local, state and federal approvals. October Town Meeting Warrant