Zoning, building permits and septic rules in Town of Richmond, Massachusetts

Town of Richmond’s own rules

• Local zoningPresent (with conditions)

  All land inside Richmond town limits (Town of Richmond, Berkshire County, MA). The town's own Zoning By-Law contains a use table (section 4.8) and a table of dimensional requirements (section 5.6) for districts RA-A, RA-C, SR, COMM1 and COMM2.

  • Uses and lots are regulated by district; RA-A and RA-C districts are the single-family and rural-residential districts used for the dimensional claims in this record.
  • Use status markers such as yes+, spa and sps in section 4.8 were not decoded in this research pass.

  “section 4.8 table of use regulations districts section 4.8 a. permited principal uses ra-a ra-c sr comm1 comm2 1. one-family dwelling yes+ yes+ yes+”

• Zoning districtsPartial

  Zoning districts of Richmond town (RA-A, RA-C, SR, COMM1, COMM2) as named in the by-law use and dimensional tables

  • The zoning map is referenced by amendment but was not opened; district boundaries are not confirmed here.

  “section 4.8 table of use regulations districts section 4.8 a. permited principal uses ra-a ra-c sr comm1 comm2 1. one-family dwelling yes+ yes+ yes+”

• Minimum lot sizeDistrict specific (with conditions)

  RA-A district inside Richmond town limits (main single-family residential district; one-family dwelling permitted there under section 4.8 a.)

  • Values are read from the table of dimensional requirements in section 5.6; the column reading (area in acres, frontage and width in feet) is taken from the table header and should be checked against the rendered PDF.
  • Section 5.1 requires buildings used for dwelling purposes to meet the minimum lot area, frontage and width set in the table of dimensional requirements, except as otherwise provided in the by-law.
  • Per footnote (c), minimum lot width may be measured at the minimum front setback line, the proposed building setback line or the actual building setback line, whichever provides the greater lot width.

  minimum lot area: >= 0.25 acres (RA-A district) · minimum frontage and width: >= 100 feet (RA-A district)

  “ra-a 1/4 100 20 20 20 35 ra-c 2 1/2 250 35 35 35 35 sr 1/4 50 15 15 15 25 comm 1/4 100 20 20 20 35”

  One more reviewed finding on this topic

  • District specific (with conditions) — RA-C district inside Richmond town limits (rural-residential district with the larger lot requirement)

    “ra-a 1/4 100 20 20 20 35 ra-c 2 1/2 250 35 35 35 35 sr 1/4 50 15 15 15 25 comm 1/4 100 20 20 20 35”

• SetbacksDistrict specific (with conditions)

  RA-A district inside Richmond town limits: principal building front, side and rear setbacks

  • Footnote (a): front setback measured from the right-of-way line where a plan of a street is on file with the registry of deeds, or in the absence of such plan, from a parallel line 35 feet from the centerline of the traveled way.
  • Footnote (b): see section 6.5 for minimum setback requirements along bodies of water.
  • Setbacks shown are minimums from the table of dimensional requirements; the SR-district reduction for accessory structures in footnote (d) does not apply to RA-A.

  minimum front setback: >= 20 feet (RA-A district; footnote (a) measurement) · minimum side setback: >= 20 feet (RA-A district) · minimum rear setback: >= 20 feet (RA-A district)

  “ra-a 1/4 100 20 20 20 35 ra-c 2 1/2 250 35 35 35 35 sr 1/4 50 15 15 15 25 comm 1/4 100 20 20 20 35”

  One more reviewed finding on this topic

  • District specific (with conditions) — RA-C district inside Richmond town limits: principal building front, side and rear setbacks

    “ra-a 1/4 100 20 20 20 35 ra-c 2 1/2 250 35 35 35 35 sr 1/4 50 15 15 15 25 comm 1/4 100 20 20 20 35”

• Building heightDistrict specific (with conditions)

  RA-A district inside Richmond town limits: maximum building height

  • Building height is defined in the by-law as the vertical distance from mean grade to the top of the highest roof beams of a flat roof or the mean level of the highest gable or slope of a hip roof.
  • Height column read from the section 5.6 table header ('maximum height and setbacks'); verify against the rendered PDF.

  maximum building height: <= 35 feet (RA-A district)

  “ra-a 1/4 100 20 20 20 35 ra-c 2 1/2 250 35 35 35 35 sr 1/4 50 15 15 15 25 comm 1/4 100 20 20 20 35”

  One more reviewed finding on this topic

  • District specific (with conditions) — RA-C district inside Richmond town limits: maximum building height

    “ra-a 1/4 100 20 20 20 35 ra-c 2 1/2 250 35 35 35 35 sr 1/4 50 15 15 15 25 comm 1/4 100 20 20 20 35”

Still unanswered

We looked and could not find an official answer yet. Silence is not permission; ask Town of Richmond or Berkshire County directly.

• Building permit — New dwelling construction inside Richmond town limits
• Owner-builder exemption — Owner-builder construction inside Richmond town limits
• Building code adopted — Building construction inside Richmond town limits
• Inspections — Building inspections inside Richmond town limits
• Certificate of occupancy — Occupancy approval for new homes inside Richmond town limits

Each answer was extracted from an official source and independently re-checked against that source by a second reviewer. That is an evidence check, not legal advice. Rules change; confirm with the authority before you buy or build.