Massachusetts Scenic Roads Act protects trees and stone walls along designated scenic roads, requiring public hearing before any removal or alteration.
G.L. c. 40 Section 15C, the Scenic Roads Act, allows municipalities to designate roads as scenic. Once designated, no tree within the right-of-way may be cut or removed and no stone wall destroyed without prior written consent of the planning board after a public hearing with notice. The protection is in addition to public shade tree protections under c. 87. While designation is local, the procedural protections and statewide standard for hearings are dictated by state law and cannot be weakened by municipalities.
Cutting or removal without planning board consent violates state law and exposes the violator to injunctive relief and replacement costs.
Other ordinances people look up for this city. Green dot = verified primary-source excerpt.
Somerville, MA
Somerville restricts amplified music through its noise ordinance and entertainment licensing, with plainly-audible standards at property lines and stricter c...
Somerville, MA
Somerville limits construction noise to daytime and early-evening weekday hours with shorter Saturday windows and a full Sunday and holiday prohibition, refl...
Somerville, MA
Overnight street parking in Somerville requires a resident permit citywide. Snow emergencies trigger odd-even or posted-side bans.
Somerville, MA
Commercial vehicles over 2.5 tons cannot park overnight on Somerville residential streets. Loading zones are time-limited and signed by block.
Somerville, MA
Most Somerville streets are resident-permit zones. Non-residents are limited to 2 hours on posted blocks from 8 AM to 8 PM daily including weekends.
Somerville, MA
Somerville requires a building permit for most fence installations, with historic districts adding a Historic Preservation Commission review step for visible...
See how Somerville's heritage & protected trees rules stack up against other locations.
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