Grading, filling, or altering drainage within 100 feet of a wetland, bank, or coastal resource area triggers the Wetlands Protection Act and requires an order of conditions from the conservation commission. Runoff cannot be diverted onto neighboring property.
Under MGL c.131 §40, moving earth or changing drainage within the 100-foot buffer of any bank, wetland, beach, or dune requires a filing with the town conservation commission. Across Plymouth County, commissions review grading plans to confirm that regraded lots and new drainage do not increase runoff, erosion, or sedimentation into wetlands and tidal waters. Post-construction stormwater must be recharged or treated on site under the Massachusetts Stormwater Standards. Outside the buffer, common-law drainage rules still bar diverting concentrated runoff onto an abutter, and many towns require a grading or earth-removal permit for larger projects.
Regrading or altering drainage in a wetland buffer without an order of conditions violates the Wetlands Protection Act. Diverting concentrated stormwater onto a neighbor creates civil liability for drainage damage.
Other ordinances people look up for this city. Green dot = verified primary-source excerpt.
Plymouth County, MA
No Plymouth County or state law limits holiday lights, inflatables, or yard displays. Towns rarely regulate seasonal decorations at all, and where a bylaw to...
Plymouth County, MA
No Plymouth County rule governs garage-sale signs; towns handle them through local sign bylaws. On your own lawn a yard-sale sign is generally fine, but a si...
Plymouth County, MA
Towns, not Plymouth County, regulate signs, through zoning bylaws authorized by MGL c.40A. Those bylaws must stay content-neutral: after Reed v. Town of Gilb...
Plymouth County, MA
Rental registration and inspection are local powers, not county ones. The State Sanitary Code under MGL c.111 §127A lets each town's board of health enforce ...
Plymouth County, MA
Massachusetts has no statewide just-cause eviction law, and no Plymouth County town can add one. A landlord ends a tenancy at will with 30 days' written noti...
Plymouth County, MA
Rent control is illegal across every Plymouth County community. Massachusetts voters banned it in 1994 through Question 9, now codified as MGL c.40P §4: no c...
See how Plymouth County's grading & drainage rules stack up against other locations.
Help us keep this page accurate. If you notice an error or outdated information, let us know.