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Committee seeks clearer definitions for 'equipment' and screening standards
Summary
Members asked staff to define 'equipment' and 'materials' and to specify what constitutes adequate screening so enforcement and special-permit review can be objective.
A recurring complaint the committee has received centers on outdoor equipment and materials spilling into yards. Members told staff that the ordinance should define "equipment" and "materials" to remove subjectivity from enforcement.
"If you have so much stuff that it's not on your truck or on your trailer and it's spilling into the yard, that affects the neighborhood," Commissioner Brian Florence said when describing typical enforcement triggers. He suggested objective criteria (e.g., items must be in an enclosed structure or on an allowed trailer) and recommended specifying screening standards—height of fencing, type of plantings, or a required opaque fence—so the ZBA and enforcement staff have a consistent standard.
Committee members favored using the ZBA for discretionary screening approvals so neighbors can be heard, and they asked staff to draft specific screening language and examples for dense Hyannis neighborhoods where yard orientation complicates front/rear yard definitions.
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