Taunton, MA Building Setbacks & Zoning: Setback Rules (2026)

Chapter 440, Article XVII creates the Transit-Oriented Development District (TOD) around the East Taunton MBTA commuter rail station on County Street, adopted to build a walkable, mixed-use neighborhood center with less reliance on cars (§ 440-1701, as amended 11-29-2022). Section 440-1705, last amended 5-21-2024, sets the district's density and dimensional requirements: a 15,000-square-foot minimum lot area, 100-foot minimum frontage, and minimum front, side and rear yard setbacks of just 10 feet each, far tighter than the 40-foot setbacks Taunton requires around assisted living residences under § 440-705.

B, C). The Board of Appeals sits as the special permit granting authority for secondary uses and may approve a higher density than allowed by right after notice and a public hearing, but the base setback minimums apply regardless of that special permit track (§ 440-1702). Uses inside the TOD are limited to those listed in § 440-1706; anything not enumerated there is prohibited outright. Because the district serves the East Taunton commuter rail stop, its 10-foot setbacks apply only within the mapped TOD boundary, not citywide; the code's general dimensional and intensity-of-use table for the City's standard residential, business and industrial districts is filed as a separate attachment to Chapter 440 rather than printed in the chapter's own text, so owners outside the TOD should confirm their district's setback figures with the Department of Planning and Conservation before designing to the lot line.