ZONING BY-LAWS
Devens Regional Enterprise Zone

November 18, 1994

The Joint Boards of Selectmen:
    Town of Ayer
    Town of Harvard
    Town of Lancaster
    Town of Shirley
The Massachusetts Government Land Bank

XVI. DEFINITIONS

    In the By-Laws, the following words and phrases shall, unless the context requires otherwise, have the following meanings:

    1. "Act," Chapter 498 of the Acts of 1993, as it may from time to time be amended;

    2. "applicant," a person who applies for a Development Permit and, upon issuance of such Development Permit, the person responsible for any undertaking pursuant to that Development Permit;

    3. "Bank" or "Land Bank," the Government Land Bank, established by Chapter 212 of the Acts of 1975, as amended;

    4. "building," a structure designed to be used as a place of occupancy, storage, or shelter;

    5. "By-Laws," these By-Laws;

    6. "Commission," the Devens Enterprise Commission established by section 9 of the Act;

    7. "development," that which is to be done pursuant to a Development Permit;

    8. "Development Permit," a permit issued by the Commission that authorizes the recipient to make use of property in accordance with the requirements of the By-Laws and the Regulations, provided that a Development Permit may be issued in phases consistent with the level, complexity, and schedule proposed for the project.

    9. "Devens" or the "Devens Regional Enterprise Zone," the regional development zone created by the Act, the boundaries of which include all the land area of Fort Devens, except the South Post, but including certain land adjacent to Fort Devens currently owned by the Commonwealth, and certain land adjacent to Fort Devens currently owned by the Springfield Railway Terminal, Inc., or affiliate thereof or successor thereto, and currently used primarily for railroad purposes;

    10. "dwelling," a building or portion thereof designed exclusively for residential occupancy, including one (1) -family detached houses, two (2) -family houses, townhouses, and multiple-family dwellings, but not including hotels, motels, boarding houses, or trailers;

    11. "dwelling unit," an enclosure containing sleeping, kitchen, and bathroom facilities designed for and used or held ready for use as a permanent residence by one family;

    12. "family," one or more persons living together as a single housekeeping unit;

    13. "floor-area ratio," the total gross floor area of all buildings on one lot divided by the total area of the lot;

    14. "Fort Devens," the lands, including all easements, reservations, and rights appurtenant thereto, and all buildings, structures, utility facilities, and improvements located thereon, comprising all or a portion of the military base of that name presently located in the towns of Ayer, Harvard, Lancaster, and Shirley, as long as such lands remain within the ownership, control, and jurisdiction of the United States government;

    15. "gross floor area," the total area of a building measured by taking the outside dimensions of the building at each floor level intended for occupancy or storage;

    16. "Land Use Administrator," the person or persons appointed by the Commission to administer and enforce the By-Laws and the Regulations and, if no such person has been so appointed, the Commission

    17. "lot," a single area of land in one ownership defined by metes and bounds or boundary lines in a recorded deed or in a recorded plan;

    18. "multi-family dwelling" or "apartment house," a building intended and designed to be occupied by more than two (2) families living independently in separate dwelling units;

    19. "nonconforming use or structure," a building, structure, or use of land existing at Devens on the effective date of the By-Laws and the Regulations, which does not conform to the requirements applicable to the zoning district in which it is situated, as provided in the By-Laws;

    20. "one (1) -family detached house," a dwelling intended and designed to be occupied by a single family, but not including a trailer, whether detached or attached to the ground;

    21. "person," an individual, trustee, executor, other fiduciary, corporation, firm, partnership, association, organization, or other entity acting as a unit;

    22. "principal use," where there is more than one use of a particular lot, the predominant use, as determined by the Commission;

    23. "Regulations," the land-use regulations to be developed by the Commission pursuant to section 9 of the Act;

    24. "Reuse Plan," the plan for the reuse of Devens, as approved by the Towns pursuant to section 10 of the Act;

    25. "road," all private ways, whether planned or constructed, used to provide motor-vehicle access to (i) two or more lots or (ii) two or more distinct areas or buildings in unsubdivided developments;

    26. "sign," any exterior device that is sufficiently visible to persons not located on the lot where such device is located and is designed to attract the attention of such persons or to communicate information to them;

    27. "street," a public way or a way having, in the opinion of the Commission, sufficient width, suitable grades, and adequate construction to provide for the proposed use of the land abutting thereon or served thereby;

    28. "street, arterial," a major street in Devens' street system that serves as an avenue for the circulation of traffic onto, out of, or around Devens designed to carry a high volume of traffic;

    29. "story," that portion of a building included between the upper surface of a floor and the upper surface of the floor or roof next above. The first story, for the purposes of determining the height of a building, shall be the lowermost story with more than sixty (60) percent of the wall surfaces enclosing that story above the natural grade;

    30. "structure," a combination of materials assembled at a fixed location to give support or shelter, such as a building, framework, retaining wall, tent, reviewing stand, platform, bin, fences over six (6) feet high, sign, flagpole, recreational tramway, mast for radio antenna, or the like. The word "structure" shall be construed, where the context requires, as though followed by the words, "or part or parts thereof."

    31. "subdivision," the division of a tract of land into two or more lots or other divisions for the purpose of sale or development (whether immediate or future) and including all divisions of land involving the dedication of a new street or a change in existing streets;

    32. "Town" or "Towns," any one or combination of the towns of Ayer, Harvard, or Shirley, depending upon the context;

    33. "townhouse," a dwelling unit attached by party walls on one or both sides to other dwelling units, but having separate entrances and front and rear yards;

    34. "two (2) -family house," a dwelling intended and designed to be occupied by two (2) families living independently in separate dwelling units;

    35. "use," the activity or function that actually takes place or is intended to take place on a lot;

    36. "utility facilities," any structures or facilities (other than buildings, unless such buildings are used as storage incidental to the operation of such structures or facilities) owned by a governmental entity, a nonprofit organization, a corporation, or any entity defined as a public utility for any purpose and used in connection with the production, generation, transmission, delivery, collection, or storage of water, sewage, electricity, gas, oil, or electronic signals;

    37. "variance," a grant of permission by the Commission that authorizes the recipient to do that which, according to the strict letter of the By-Laws and the Regulations, he could not otherwise legally do;

    38. "zoning district" or "district," a district, as described in Article V of the By-Laws and identified on the Zoning Map, provided that the term zoning district shall include all of the areas on the Zoning Map designated with the same district designation, notwithstanding that such areas may not be contiguous to one another;

    39. "zoning Map," the designated Zoning Map for Devens, found at Exhibit A of the By-Laws, as from time to time revised.


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