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Committee recommends replacing Article 54 to update stormwater bylaw; some members express concern about homeowner impacts
Summary
The committee recommended replacing Article 54 of the general bylaws to bring stormwater rules into compliance with federally-required permit conditions; vote passed with two no votes and one member absent. Members asked for clearer public-facing comparisons and clarification on a 5,000-square-foot applicability threshold.
The Advisory Finance Committee on Sept. 23 recommended that Town Meeting delete and replace Article 54 of the Town general bylaws to update Westborough’s stormwater rules and align the bylaw with requirements in the town’s federal stormwater permit.
DPW Director Chris Payant said the existing bylaw dates to roughly 2008 and that federal/state permit changes and an external review identified gaps that must be corrected. "This is part of our permit — our stormwater permit issued from the federal government — requires us to do a number of things, and one of those things is to update our bylaw," Payant said. He described the replacement as primarily adding construction-site stormwater runoff control, updated terminology, and clearer enforcement authorities; technical details will be placed in accompanying regulations.
Committee members pressed on several points: whether the bylaw would require new staff to implement, whether the changes would add downstream costs to developers or homeowners, how waivers would operate, and whether the proposed text removes a prior 5,000-square-foot disturbance exemption that applied to some home projects. Payant said the bylaw itself imposes no direct staffing increase, that many requirements reflect existing practice or state-driven changes, and that waivers would be allowed only where federal, state, and local statutes permit and where the public interest is served; he agreed to provide a clearer, line-by-line and resident-impact comparison to help explain the differences.
Some members said the committee should make an explicit point at Town Meeting that this bylaw update is distinct from other stormwater-related bills already in public discussion. McMahon moved and Bradley seconded the recommendation to replace Article 54; the committee recorded a roll-call vote with six votes in favor and two opposed (Brent and Shaffer), with one member absent. Payant warned that the town has "a letter from the DEP telling us we have, we're out of compliance," and that failing to update the bylaw would leave the town noncompliant with its permit obligations.
The committee asked DPW to prepare a public-facing comparison (redline/old versus new) and to clarify whether the 5,000-square-foot threshold or an equivalent exemption will be included in the regulations or the bylaw text before Town Meeting.
