[HISTORY: Adopted by the Annual Town Meeting of the Town of North Reading 3_18_1963 by Art. 65, approved 4_10_1963. Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Numbering of buildings __ See Ch. 31.
Excavations __ See Ch. 62.
Vehicles and traffic __ See Ch. 181.
Subdivision of land __ See Ch. 350.
~ 158_1. Covering of vehicles. [Amended 10_17_1977 OTM by Art. 16, approved 2_28_1978]
No person, firm, or corporation shall use the public ways or streets of the Town of North Reading to transport or convey thereon sand, fill, gravel, or other like materials by open motor vehicle, truck, or trailer, unless the cargo shall be covered by properly secured tarpaulin or other suitable covering material. Penalty for violation of this section shall be a fine of fifty dollars ($50.00) for each violation.
~ 158_2. Horses on public ways. [Added 3_12_1973 ATM by Art. 2, approved 10_11_1973]
The riding or leading of horses on a public way shall be prohibited between one half (1/2) hour after sundown and one half (1/2) hour before sunrise.
~ 158_3. Excavations or obstructions. [Added 3_12_1973 ATM by Art. 2, approved 10_11_1973; amended 10_2_2000 OTM by Art. 13, approved 3_29_2001]
No person shall break or dig up any sidewalk, curbing, street, highway, or public way, or place thereon any staging or other temporary structure, or move any building in or along the same without first obtaining proper insurance coverage and a written permit from the Director of Public Works. Any permit issued hereunder shall be in force for such time as the Director of Public Works may specify and shall be subject to such conditions as he may prescribe. Lighted lanterns or similar warning devices and proper barriers shall be so placed so as to protect travelers from danger.
~ 158_4. Restoration of traveled surfaces. [Added 3_12_1973 ATM by Art. 2, approved 10_11_1973; amended 10_17_1977 OTM by Art. 20, approved 2_28_1978]
A. No person shall, when constructing, reconstructing, or altering any building or structure located on a lot bordering on an accepted public way within the Town, or when excavating, grading, or landscaping on such a lot, cause any construction equipment or vehicle to pass over any curbing or sidewalk bordering said public way without having first obtained a permit therefor from the Director of Public Works. It shall be a condition of the granting of any such permit that any damage occurring to the way, sidewalk, or curbing as a result of the use of said equipment or vehicle shall be repaired by the holder of the permit at his own expense.
B. No person shall remove or alter any section of a curbing without having first obtained a permit from the Director of Public Works.
C. No person shall break or dig up any sidewalk, curb, street, highway, or public way without a permit. A person issued a permit under this section shall restore the sidewalk, curb, street, highway, or public way to its original condition or to a condition satisfactory to the Director of Public Works and shall maintain such restoration for a period of two years. Application for permits must be filed with the Director of Public Works, and said Director of Public Works may revoke said permit at any time and may require a bond before the work commences.
~ 158_5. Traffic control for construction projects. [Added 3_12_1973 ATM by Art. 2, approved 10_11_1973]
When construction on any sidewalk, street, highway, or public way is to be performed, there shall be a police officer to direct traffic if, in the opinion of the Chief of Police, such officer is necessary. The expense of such officer shall be assumed by the party or parties doing the construction work.
~ 158_6. Placing materials on public ways or common land. [Added 3_12_1973 ATM by Art. 3, approved 10_11_1973; amended 10_8_1981 OTM by Art. 16, approved 3_2_1982; 10_2_2000 OTM by Art. 13, approved 3_29_2001]
No person shall place or cause to be placed on any public sidewalk, street, highway, public way, or upon any of the common lands of the Town any gravel, dirt, wood, lumber, snow, or any other material without the permission of the Director of Public Works.
~ 158_7. Discharging of liquids. [Added 3_12_1973 ATM by Art. 2, approved 10_11_1973]
No person shall cause any water or other liquid substances to run or be discharged from any building or land owned by him or under his control on or across any sidewalk, street, highway, or public way, except that any person may wash, with water from hose or pipe, windows or other parts of a building or vehicles on private property without danger to the public safety.
~ 158_8. Maintenance of private ways. [Added 10_23_1980 OTM by Art. 7, approved 1_8_1981; amended 10_5_1992 OTM by Art. 8, approved 1_6_1993]
The Town shall not repair or maintain private ways, except that the Town may make repairs on private roads provided:
A. That such repairs are necessary to keep such ways open for emergency vehicles;
B. That only such drainage work shall be performed as is necessary to keep such ways passable;
C. That the repairs are required by public necessity;
D. That at least 1 percent of the abutters of any private way which is to be the subject of repairs shall have previously made a request for road repairs, and then the decision as to whether to make repairs shall lie in the exclusive discretion of the Department of Public Works;
E. That no betterment charges shall be assessed;
F. That the liability limit of the Town on account of damages in any fashion caused by such repairs shall not exceed ten thousand ($10,000) dollars;
G. That such ways shall have been open to public use for at least six (6) years prior to the passage of the by_law; and
H. No cash deposit shall be required for said repairs.
~ 158_9. Snow removal on streets and sidewalks. [Added 10_7_2002 OTM by Art. 3, approved 12_30_2002]
A. The tenant or occupant, and in case there is no tenant or occupant, the owner or any other person having the care of any building or lot of land which is used for non_residential purposes abutting upon any street or public place within the town where there is a sidewalk, shall exert reasonable effort to keep the sidewalk free of snow and ice. If the sidewalk becomes covered with ice that cannot be readily removed, the tenant, occupant, or owner shall place sand, ash, salt or similar materials on the sidewalk so as to render it safe for pedestrians.
B. The owner, or any other person having the care of any non_residential building abutting upon or any part of which stands within fifteen (15) feet of the line of any street, the roof of which building pitches or slopes toward the street or sidewalk, shall fit or provide such roof with snow barriers or guards sufficient to prevent the sliding of snow and ice from such building onto any part of the street or sidewalk.
C. No person shall lay, throw or place or cause to be placed any snow or ice on any portion of any street or sidewalk within the town, which has been cleared or plowed for travel. No snow shall be plowed across any public way by any private plow to deposit snow from one property to another. No snow shall be deposited in such a way as to obstruct the operation of any fire hydrant, including Fire Department connections to buildings, cisterns and dry hydrants. This provision shall be in addition to the provisions of ~ 158_6.
D. This bylaw shall be enforceable through the non_criminal disposition provided for in ~ 1_5. The penalty for violation shall be: first offense: warning, second offense: $50.00, third offense: $100.00. Each day or portion thereof during which a violation continues shall constitute a separate offense. The North Reading Police Department shall be authorized to enforce this bylaw.
E. To the extent that any particular provision of this bylaw is determined to be invalid, such invalidation shall not affect the validity of any other provision.
~ 158_10. Utility poles. [Added 4_4_2002 ATM by Art. 8, approved 6_11_2002]
A. Location restricted; exception. No public or private organization or utility company shall place or allow more than one pole to exist within five feet of another utility pole on any public or private way within the Town of North Reading without the permission of the Board of Selectmen, which may contain conditions. There is excepted from this provision the temporary emergency replacement of a damaged utility pole.
B. Order to remove, relocate or alter.
(1) Following a public hearing, the Selectmen may issue an order for the removal, relocation or alteration of any utility pole or poles in excess of one at any given location, upon the determination that more than one utility pole at any given location presents a nuisance, hazard or threat to the public safety, welfare or convenience to the inhabitants of the Town.
(2) Any organization or utility company which owns or is responsible for a utility pole or poles subject to any order issued by the Selectmen shall fully comply with the terms and conditions of any such order within 180 days of the date of its issuance unless such period is extended by the Selectmen in their sole and absolute discretion. In the event of noncompliance with the terms of any order issued by the Selectmen, the Selectman may take whatever enforcement action they deem appropriate, including, without limitation:
(a) The imposition of a fine of $300 per day for each day of noncompliance;
(b) The application for an injunction restraining the continued existence of any such pole or poles subject to such order; and
(c) Any other penalties, impositions or relief as the Selectmen may deem necessary.
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