Shutesbury Wetlands Protection Bylaw Regulations

 

The Conservation Commission has approved updated Bylaw Regulations for the existing Shutesbury General Wetlands Protection Bylaw Regulations on October 5, 2023.

If landowners have questions about how the new Regulations affect proposed projects, the Commission encourages them to reach out to us and arrange a working session. 



Approved Shutesbury Wetlands Protection Bylaw Regulations, 10/5/23

 

Why do we need updated Regulations?

The Shutesbury Wetlands Protection Bylaw protects our community’s sensitive wetland resource areas, water quality and quantity, and wildlife habitat. Local wetlands protection offers our community vital resilience against climate change (e.g., shading, cooling, water filtration, and carbon sequestration).

The Shutesbury Wetlands Protection Bylaw tasks the Conservation Commission with promulgating Regulations. Regulations create a consistent, predictable approach to individual situations, allowing landowners and applicants to know in advance how their project will be reviewed. Updated Regulations, based on solid environmental science, will enable the Commission to make evidence-based and reasonable decisions. 

The Commission has worked to incorporate features in the new Regulations that will allow flexibility (such as options for Hardship Waivers) and streamlined review for small projects. Hardship Waivers allow landowners to seek approval for a project if their property does not allow them to meet all of the standards in the Regulations. Examples include very small lots with no other options for siting a structure or a property where a wetland crossing on a driveway via a culvert is necessary to use the property's interior. The Commission reviews Hardship Waiver requests on a case-by-case basis. We hope these changes will improve and speed up our permitting review process and, in some cases, reduce costs for the landowner!

Shutesbury’s greatest assets are our forests and water resources. Many of us choose to live here because we feel passionate about the natural environment. The Shutesbury Wetlands Protection Bylaw is a valuable tool to help us all protect our quality of life and our fragile environment. The SCC welcomes community input about how to protect our natural resources in the years to come.

 

Thank you! The Shutesbury Conservation Commission

 

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