§459b–4 Zoning Regulations

Summary

The Secretary must create rules, as soon after August 7, 1961 as he can, that say what local zoning bylaws need to include to get his approval under the law. He can change those rules later if conditions change. Any proposed new or changed rules must be sent to Congress and the named towns at least 90 calendar days before they take effect (not counting days when either the House or Senate is not in session because of an adjournment of more than three calendar days to a day certain). The Secretary must consider suggestions during that 90-day period and must publish both proposed and final rules in the Federal Register. The Secretary must approve a town’s zoning bylaw or amendment if it meets the rules in effect when the town adopted it, unless he has already sent out proposed rule changes that would make the bylaw not meet the rules; in that case he can wait and approve only if the final rules match the bylaw. Once he approves a bylaw or amendment, that approval cannot be taken away by later rule changes while the bylaw stays in force. The rules must work to stop commercial and industrial uses inside the seashore unless the Secretary allows them, and must help preserve and guide development there by using things like acreage, frontage, setback, and other requirements that fit Massachusetts law. The Secretary must not approve any bylaw that he thinks would harm the seashore’s preservation or development goals, or any bylaw that fails to require notice to him when a variance or exception is granted. If a property that had been protected by an approved bylaw later gets a variance or starts a use that does not meet the applicable rules, the Secretary may restore his authority to acquire that property by condemnation. He may also make agreements with owners to delay or limit that authority on terms he thinks serve the seashore.