Local rules and regulations for Hampshire County, Massachusetts. Population: 162,622.
Verified from official government sources
Select a topic to see Hampshire County's rules on that subject.
Driveway parking across Hampshire County is governed by local bylaws. Vehicles may not block public sidewalks, must sit on approved surfaces, and inoperable or unregistered vehicles…
Overnight on-street parking across Hampshire County is controlled by local bylaw. Most towns impose winter overnight bans from November through April for snow removal; downtown…
EV charging rules across Hampshire County are set locally and are largely enabling. New commercial and multifamily construction must include EV-ready parking under the state energy…
RV, boat, and trailer storage on residential lots across Hampshire County is set by each town's zoning bylaw. Front-yard storage is generally restricted; side and rear-yard storage is…
Hampshire County towns restrict commercial-vehicle parking in residential zones by bylaw, but MGL c.40 §22 protects registered commercial passenger vehicles and station wagons under…
A vehicle apparently abandoned and left more than 72 hours on any way or property in Hampshire County may be taken and disposed of under MGL c.90 §22C. Towns and state police both hold…
Street parking across Hampshire County is regulated by each town under MGL c.40 §22, which authorizes local parking rules and penalties. Winter overnight parking bans for snow removal…
No county or Massachusetts statute restricts residential fence materials. Wood, vinyl, chain-link, and iron are all allowed. Material limits come only from each town's zoning bylaw or…
Every residential pool in Hampshire County must be enclosed by a barrier. The state building code, 780 CMR, requires a barrier at least 48 inches high with self-closing, self-latching…
Hampshire County abolished its government in 1999 and Massachusetts counties never zoned, so no county fence-height rule exists. Each town's zoning bylaw sets the limits, and MGL c.49…
Massachusetts imposes no general duty to split a boundary fence's cost; each owner fences their own land. The one statewide neighbor rule is MGL c.49 §21: a malicious fence over six…
No county permits retaining walls. Under the state building code, 780 CMR, a retaining wall up to four feet high, measured from the footing, needs no building permit unless it supports…
No Hampshire County permit exists for a fence; the county runs no building department. Under the state building code, 780 CMR, fences up to seven feet are exempt from a building…
Breed-specific bans are illegal in Massachusetts. MGL c.140 §157 bars every Hampshire County town from regulating dogs by breed. No town may ban pit bulls; a dog is regulated only for…
No county rule governs feeding wildlife, but state regulation bars feeding that draws problem animals, and MassWildlife prohibits feeding black bears. Some Hampshire County towns add…
Leash rules are set by each Hampshire County town under authority of MGL c.140 §173. Statewide, MGL c.140 §155 makes a dog's owner strictly liable for any damage the dog does…
Backyard chickens are allowed subject to each town's zoning bylaw. MGL c.40A §3 bars towns from zoning out commercial agriculture on parcels of five acres, or two acres earning $1,000…
Beekeeping is allowed across Hampshire County. Massachusetts registers hives through the state, and MGL c.128 §32 caps the registration fee at five dollars. Towns may add setback…
Massachusetts bans keeping most wild and exotic animals without a state license. Under MGL c.131 §23, propagating or maintaining wild mammals, birds, reptiles, or amphibians requires a…
Massachusetts sets no statewide grass-height limit. Because Hampshire County has had no county government since 1999, the rule that binds an address is its town or city…
Western Massachusetts is water-abundant, but summer watering limits still happen. Under the Water Management Act, MGL c.21G, public suppliers operate on state permits, and during dry…
Massachusetts has no statewide weed statute. In Hampshire County, brush and weed complaints run through each town's property-maintenance or health bylaw, and for rental housing the…
Rainwater harvesting is unrestricted across Hampshire County. Massachusetts has no law limiting rain collection, and neither the state nor the abolished county government restricts…
No Massachusetts law or Hampshire County rule restricts native or drought-tolerant planting. Residents may replace lawn with native meadow or pollinator beds, though the state…
No Massachusetts statute and no Hampshire County rule governs artificial turf on a home lawn. Individual towns regulate it through zoning and stormwater bylaws, and some limit…
Trimming a tree on your own Hampshire County lot needs no permit. But any tree within a public way is a public shade tree under MGL c.87, and it cannot be cut or trimmed without the…
In Hampshire County you may generally remove a tree on your own land without a permit, since Massachusetts does not regulate private-property trees and the county has no government. A…
Turning a garage into living space is permitted work under 780 CMR in every Hampshire County community. It is a change of use, so the building department reviews egress, ceiling…
A carport is a roofed structure, so it takes a building permit in every Hampshire County community under 780 CMR. The town or city, since there is no county office, reviews it, and…
Since February 2025 an accessory dwelling unit up to 900 square feet is allowed by right in every single-family zone across Hampshire County. State law, not town discretion, made it…
A small shed skips the building permit everywhere in Hampshire County. The state code exempts a one-story detached storage shed of 200 square feet or less, so a backyard shed in…
A tiny home's rules in Hampshire County turn on its foundation. Built on a permanent foundation at 900 square feet or less, it now qualifies as a by-right accessory dwelling unit; on…
Massachusetts has no statewide replant-what-you-cut law, and Hampshire County has no county ordinance. Replacement duties arise when a public shade tree is removed under MGL c.87 or…
Hampshire County issues no tree-removal permit, and there is no county government to run one. For a tree on your own land, no permit is generally needed. For any public shade tree in…
Massachusetts keeps no statewide heritage-tree registry, and Hampshire County has no county government to maintain one. Notable trees are protected mainly as public shade trees under…
Hampshire County has no county government, so home-occupation rules come from each city or town under the Massachusetts Zoning Act. Northampton, Amherst, South Hadley, and Easthampton…
Massachusetts has no permit-free cottage food law. To sell home-baked or home-canned goods you register your kitchen as a residential kitchen with your local board of health…
Home occupations in Northampton, Amherst, and the other Hampshire County towns may not advertise with exterior signs. The zoning goal is no visible evidence of a business on…
A home occupation in Hampshire County's cities and towns may not generate customer or delivery traffic beyond normal residential levels. Walk-in retail is barred, and any client…
Home child care in Hampshire County is licensed by the state Department of Early Education and Care, not the county. Massachusetts zoning law protects family child care homes: no city…
A food truck in Hampshire County gets its permit from the local board of health in each city or town where it serves — Northampton, Amherst, and so on — not from a county. A commissary…
Where a food truck may set up in Hampshire County depends on each city or town's rules and zoning, plus property-owner permission. The board of health permit covers food safety, not…
Door-to-door commercial solicitors in Hampshire County register for a permit with the city or town they canvass — Northampton, Amherst, and others — often with a background check…
Several Hampshire County towns let residents join a no-knock or no-soliciting list, and a posted "No Soliciting" sign carries weight. A commercial solicitor who ignores either can lose…
Every short-term rental operator in Hampshire County must carry liability insurance of at least $1,000,000 under MGL c.175 §4F, unless the hosting platform provides equal coverage. The…
No Massachusetts statute sets short-term rental parking. Rules come from each city or town's STR bylaw and zoning. Northampton and Amherst can require off-street guest parking; Pioneer…
No Massachusetts statute caps short-term rental occupancy. Limits come from each city or town's STR bylaw and, off municipal sewer, the property's Title 5 septic capacity. Northampton…
Short-term rental operators register with the Massachusetts DOR statewide, and under MGL c.64G §14 each Hampshire County city or town can require its own licensing. Northampton and…
Short-term rentals owe the 5.7% Massachusetts state excise plus a local excise of up to 6% adopted under MGL c.64G §3A. Northampton, Amherst, and Easthampton levy the local rate…
Short-term rental guests follow the same city or town noise bylaw as residents, authorized by MGL c.40 §21(22). Northampton and Amherst attach noise conditions to local registration…
Massachusetts designates no regulatory wildfire hazard zones. Hampshire County's elevated-risk terrain — the forested Holyoke Range and Mount Tom slopes — is managed by the state DCR…
All consumer fireworks are illegal everywhere in Hampshire County under MGL c.148 §39 — including sparklers. Possession, use, and sale are banned statewide. Only licensed professional…
Recreational fires are legal in every Hampshire County town, but any open-air fire needs a permit from the local fire department under MGL c.48 §13. A cooking fire on clear sand or…
Burning brush to clear vegetation in Hampshire County requires a fire department permit under MGL c.48 §13, allowed only during the January 15–May 1 open-burn season, with a 75-foot…
Open burning across Hampshire County is legal only January 15–May 1, and only with a permit from the local fire department under MGL c.48 §13. Each permit covers a maximum of two days.
Pool safety across Hampshire County runs on 780 CMR Appendix G. The gate does most of the work: every pedestrian gate has to swing outward, close on its own, and latch on its own, so…
Hampshire County has had no county government since 1999, so a pool permit comes from your town or city building department. Every community works from the same statewide code, 780…
An above-ground pool gets no discount in Hampshire County. Its wall can serve as the required barrier only when it reaches 48 inches, and the access ladder must be removable or…
The pool fence rule in Hampshire County is set by the state building code, not by any town. Every outdoor pool must stand behind a barrier at least 48 inches high, and that number is…
Hot tubs get the one real exemption in the pool code. A spa or hot tub fitted with a safety cover meeting ASTM F1346 is excused from the barrier rules, so no 48-inch fence is required…
Hampshire County government was abolished in 1999, so no county collects trash. Each community runs its own: Northampton offers curbside pay-as-you-throw, Amherst residents subscribe…
Set-out times come from each community, not the county. Northampton wants pay-as-you-throw bags and carts curbside by 7:00 AM on the collection day and carts pulled back promptly…
Mattresses, box springs, and textiles cannot go in the trash anywhere in Hampshire County under the MassDEP waste ban at 310 CMR 19.017, effective November 1, 2022. Whole tires…
Recyclables are banned from the trash across Hampshire County by the MassDEP waste ban at 310 CMR 19.017. Glass, metal, and plastic containers, paper, cardboard, and leaf and yard…
Blighted and dangerous buildings are handled under MGL c.139 §1, which lets a community, after written notice and a hearing, declare a burnt, dilapidated, or dangerous structure a…
Garage sale conduct is controlled by each community, not the county. Northampton, Amherst, and the surrounding towns take a light touch, enforcing mainly sign placement and cleanup so…
Vacant parcels are reached directly by MGL c.139 §1, which names the owner of a vacant parcel of land alongside dangerous buildings. After written notice and a hearing, a community can…
Snow and ice clearing is set by each community under MGL c.85 §5, which lets cities by ordinance and towns by bylaw require abutting owners to clear sidewalks. State law caps the…
Where you store and screen trash carts is set by each town's board of health, not the county, under MGL c.111 §31, which lets local boards make reasonable health regulations. Carts…
Permits are a local matter, and the abolished county issues none. Northampton, Amherst, and the surrounding towns generally do not require a permit for an occasional residential yard…
How often you can hold a sale is a local question, not a county one. Northampton, Amherst, and the surrounding towns set no fixed numeric cap for occasional home sales, but repeatedly…
No county rule sets yard sale hours, and Hampshire County communities impose few limits beyond daylight and general noise bylaws. Sales are expected to run during reasonable daytime…
State parks in Hampshire County close overnight. Under 302 CMR 12.03, DCR properties like Skinner State Park and the Mount Holyoke Range are open only from a half hour before sunrise…
No Hampshire County community can criminally enforce a juvenile curfew. In Commonwealth v. Weston W., 455 Mass. 24 (2009), the Supreme Judicial Court struck the criminal penalties of a…
Massachusetts has no statewide dark-sky lighting law for private property, and Hampshire County cannot make one. Any shielded-lighting or dark-sky requirement comes from a city or town…
No Massachusetts statute limits light spilling onto a neighbor's property, and Hampshire County cannot regulate it. Remedies come from a city or town lighting or nuisance bylaw and…
With no county government, erosion control falls to each town and the Massachusetts Wetlands Protection Act. Clearing or grading near a bank, wetland, or the 200-foot Riverfront Area…
There is no Hampshire County government, so stormwater is regulated town by town. Northampton, Amherst, and Easthampton are EPA-regulated MS4 communities, and each town's Conservation…
Flood rules here follow FEMA and the NFIP, administered by each town, not a county. The Connecticut River floodplain through Hadley, Hatfield, and Northampton drives elevation…
Grading is permitted town by town, with no county role. Earthwork cannot redirect runoff onto a neighbor, and any grading near a wetland, bank, or the 200-foot Riverfront Area needs…
Hampshire County is landlocked, so there is no coastal zone. Instead the Massachusetts Wetlands Protection Act governs rivers and wetlands: a 200-foot Riverfront Area along the…
Rent control is illegal in every Hampshire County community. Massachusetts voters banned it statewide in 1994, now MGL c.40P §4: no city or town may enact, maintain, or enforce rent…
Massachusetts has no just-cause eviction law, and no Hampshire County town can add one. But the state is strongly tenant-protective: a security deposit is capped at one month's rent…
Rental registration is a town power, not a county one, and Hampshire County has no government. Amherst requires every landlord to hold an annual rental permit under its 2024…
Good news for solar owners: Massachusetts zoning law strongly protects solar access, and HOAs and condo associations are far less common in the Pioneer Valley than in many states, so…
Rooftop solar is strongly protected in Massachusetts. State zoning law bars towns from prohibiting or unreasonably regulating solar systems, so a homeowner mainly needs a building and…
No Hampshire County or state law limits holiday lights, inflatables, or yard displays. Towns rarely regulate seasonal decorations, and where a bylaw touches signs or nuisances it must…
No Hampshire County rule governs garage-sale signs; towns handle them through local sign bylaws. A sign on your own lawn is generally fine, but one staked in a public way or a state…
Towns, not Hampshire County, regulate signs through zoning bylaws under MGL c.40A. Since Reed v. Town of Gilbert (2015), a bylaw must stay content-neutral: Northampton or Amherst…
Hampshire County government was abolished in 1999, so no county quiet-hours rule exists. Each city or town sets its own noise bylaw under MGL c.40 §21(22). Northampton and Amherst…
No countywide construction schedule exists in Hampshire County. Each city or town fixes permitted work hours in its noise bylaw under MGL c.40 §21(22). Northampton and Amherst limit…
A dog is a 'nuisance dog' under MGL c.140 §136A when excessive barking disrupts a reasonable person's quiet enjoyment. Any Hampshire County resident can petition their city or town…
Leaf-blower limits come from city and town bylaws under MGL c.40 §21(22), not any county. Northampton restricts gas blowers by season and hour; other communities apply general noise…
Amplified music answers to city and town noise bylaws under MGL c.40 §21(22) and disturbing-the-peace law, MGL c.272 §53. Northampton, a live-music hub, and Amherst require permits for…
Cannabis retail is legal and state-licensed in Massachusetts. Hampshire County towns decide locally: Northampton was one of the state's first recreational markets, a shop needs a host…
Home cannabis growing is legal in Massachusetts. An adult 21 or older may cultivate up to 6 plants, with a household cap of 12, out of public view. Northampton, Amherst, and other…
Hampshire County sets no height limit. Building height is capped by each city or town's zoning bylaw under the Zoning Act, MGL c.40A. Most residential districts across Northampton…
Hampshire County has no ordinance power over setbacks. Front, side, and rear yards are set by each city or town's zoning bylaw under the Massachusetts Zoning Act, MGL c.40A…
Hampshire County has no lot-coverage rule. Building coverage and impervious limits are set by each city or town's zoning bylaw under the Zoning Act, MGL c.40A. Riverfront and wetland…
Recreational drone flights across Hampshire County follow federal FAA rules under 49 USC 44809: register drones over 250 grams, pass the TRUST test, fly below 400 feet, and keep visual…
Commercial drone operators across Hampshire County follow FAA 14 CFR Part 107: hold a Remote Pilot Certificate, register the aircraft, fly below 400 feet, and keep visual line of…
These cities are located within Hampshire County and may have their own ordinances.
These communities are in unincorporated Hampshire County. County ordinances apply directly to these areas.
Ordinance data for Hampshire County is sourced from the following official government references. Click any topic above for detailed citations.