Massachusetts law bars any town zoning bylaw from prohibiting or unreasonably regulating solar energy systems, except to protect health, safety, or welfare. Plymouth County homeowners need only a building and electrical permit and a utility interconnection agreement.
Under MGL c.40A §3, no Plymouth County town may use zoning to prohibit or unreasonably regulate rooftop or ground-mounted solar. Homeowners in Plymouth, Marshfield, Wareham, and the rest of the county still pull a building permit and an electrical permit from their town, and the wiring must meet the Massachusetts Electrical Code. Systems connect to the grid, through Eversource or National Grid, under an interconnection agreement and net-metering terms. Ground-mounted arrays near wetlands or in flood zones also need a conservation commission order of conditions under the Wetlands Protection Act.
Connecting solar to the grid without an interconnection agreement violates utility rules and forces disconnection. Unpermitted or unlicensed electrical work draws town enforcement and can fail inspection.
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 panel permits rules stack up against other locations.
Help us keep this page accurate. If you notice an error or outdated information, let us know.