Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Land Use topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Select Board reviews draft junkyard ordinance with larger buffers, added planning‑board review
Summary
Planning staff presented a draft junkyard ordinance that increases buffers around public buildings and schools, requires planning‑board site review before select‑board approval, and moves fees to a fee schedule; the board signalled support and scheduled a public hearing in May.
Joel presented a first draft revision of Chelsea's junkyard ordinance, prepared after the town had imposed a moratorium to allow drafting of new rules. The proposed ordinance increases setback and screening requirements (the draft includes a 200‑foot buffer from schools and public buildings, heavier screening requirements and minimum acreage standards), retains existing nonconforming operations as grandfathered, and funnels new permit applications through planning‑board site review prior to select‑board consideration.
Joel said the board preferred not to embed fees directly in the ordinance and planned to move them to a fee schedule, and he discussed enforcement and appeal routes. Under the draft, notices of violation could be advisory and the town could choose to pursue enforcement through the town's court process (the board discussed whether to provide a direct right to appeal to superior court or to make enforcement contestable only once the town initiates court action). Joel observed that the draft would address many of the recurring problems posed by small, nonconforming junk‑car operations.
A resident asked about temporary scrap metal storage and whether occasional one‑off loads would be treated as junkyards; Joel noted a 90‑day temporary‑storage exception for small or episodic activity. The board directed staff to incorporate minor fee and appeals edits and to hold a public hearing in May ahead of the June town meeting.
