5 rules for unincorporated Essex County, Massachusetts.
Verified from official government sources
Trash must be stored in covered, rodent-proof containers, not loose bags or open cans. Local boards of health set container standards under state authority, and bins left at the curb or overflowing count as a nuisance.
MGL c.111 §31
Boards of health may make reasonable health regulations.
Dilapidated, dangerous, or blighted buildings can be declared a nuisance by the city. After written notice and a hearing, owners must repair, secure, or demolish the structure or face the town doing it and billing them.
MGL c.139 §1
after written notice to the owner of a burnt, dilapidated or dangerous building or other structure, or his authorized agent, or to the owner of a vacant parcel of land, and after a hearing, make and record an order adjudging it to be a nuisance
Owners of vacant lots must keep them clean, safe, and free of overgrowth and dumping. The nuisance law reaches vacant parcels, and boards of health require weeds, trash, and standing water to be controlled.
MGL c.139 §1
after written notice to the owner of a burnt, dilapidated or dangerous building or other structure, or his authorized agent, or to the owner of a vacant parcel of land, and after a hearing, make and record an order adjudging it to be a nuisance
Property owners must clear snow and ice from the sidewalk abutting their land. Cities set the deadline by ordinance — Salem requires clearing within six hours after snowfall stops — with fines for each day it stays uncleared.
MGL c.85 §5
Cities by ordinance and towns by by-laws may provide for the removal of snow and ice from sidewalks within such portions of the city or town as they consider expedient by the owner or occupant of land abutting upon such sidewalks. Such ordinances and by-laws shall determine the time and manner of removal and shall affix penalties, not exceeding fifty dollars in the case of a city or ten dollars...
Yard and garage sales need a permit from the city clerk and are capped at a few days per year. Peabody allows two sale days annually; Lawrence allows up to four. Signs cannot be attached to city property.
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