Newton, MA Environmental Rules: Stormwater Management (2026)

Sec. 3, titled Stormwater Runoff, opens with a cross-reference directing readers to "Revised Ordinances Chapter 29, Article VIII, as amended" for the city's separate stormwater management provisions, then sets its own standard in subsection (A): whenever existing land contours are altered, the land must be left in a usable condition, graded to prevent soil erosion and to prevent surface water runoff from being altered to or from abutting properties, and substantially landscaped. This grading standard applies broadly to any contour-altering work, not just large subdivisions, making it the baseline drainage rule for lot-level construction and landscaping projects citywide.

The same section separately addresses a related flooding concern in subsection (B): an attached garage built after March 16, 1953 cannot have its entrance built less than 6 inches above the grade the City Engineer sets for the highest point of the abutting sidewalk, unless the Commissioner of Inspectional Services and the City Engineer jointly certify that surface drainage conditions minimize flooding risk to the garage and dwelling.