§459b–4 Zoning Regulations

Summary

The Secretary must create rules for approving town zoning bylaws for the seashore soon after August 7, 1961, and can change those rules later if needed. Proposed rules or changes must be sent to Congress and the named towns and made public at least 90 calendar days before they take effect (the 90 days do not count days when either House is out for more than three calendar days to a set date). The Secretary must consider comments during that period and must publish both proposed and final rules in the Federal Register. The Secretary must approve a town’s bylaw or amendment if it follows the rules that were in effect when the town adopted it, unless he had already proposed new rules that would make the bylaw not match; in that case he can wait and then approve only if the bylaw meets the final new rules. Once approved, that approval can’t be withdrawn by later rule changes while the bylaw stays in effect. The rules must mostly keep commercial and industrial uses out of the seashore (except any the Secretary allows) and must promote preservation by using things like acreage, frontage, and setback limits that fit Massachusetts law. The Secretary must not approve bylaws he thinks would hurt preservation or that fail to require notice to him about any variances or exceptions. “Such bylaw” means an approved zoning bylaw that suspended the Secretary’s power to condemn property. The law also covers cases where a variance, exception, or a later use conflicts with the applicable rules, but uses allowed by the bylaw are still treated as conforming.