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

Town of Hawley’s own rules

• Building permitRequired

  Construction, exterior alteration, or change of use of buildings and land inside Hawley town

  • Permit is issued by the building inspector under the zoning bylaw; construction may proceed after the permit issues.
  • State building code permit rules (780 CMR) were not verified in this research.

  “no building shall be erected or externally altered so as to change its outside dimension, and no use of land or building shall be changed, without a permit having been issued by the building inspector.”

• Local zoningPresent (with conditions)

  Land inside Hawley town's limits. Hawley adopts and administers its own Protective (Zoning) Bylaw, which designates the entire town as one rural district.

  • Bylaw cover page lists adoption November 27, 1978 (approved by the attorney general March 8, 1979) and amendments in May 1982 and November 1988; the current amended text is the copy posted on the town website and should be confirmed with the Town Clerk.
  • Zoning Board of Appeals page states the town has zoning bylaws and an appeals process.

  “the entire town of hawley is hereby designated as a rural district.”

• Zoning districtsPublished (with conditions)

  Land inside Hawley town's limits: the whole town is one rural district.

  • Under Section 32 any otherwise lawful activity meeting all bylaw requirements is permitted in the rural district, except the listed prohibited and special-permit uses.
  • Cluster development (Section 34) and common driveways (Section 35) are special-permit exceptions within the district.

  “the entire town of hawley is hereby designated as a rural district.”

• Minimum lot sizeSpecified

  Single-family residential lots in the entire rural district (the only district in Hawley town)

  • Minimum lot frontage is 250 feet on a public way or a way with legally sufficient frontage.
  • Nonconforming exception (Section 41.3): a recorded lot of at least 5,000 sq ft with at least 50 feet of frontage, owned separately at the bylaw's effective date, may be built on for a single-family, two-family or campsite use.
  • Cluster developments (Section 34) require a 10-acre tract and a planning board special permit.

  minimum lot area: >= 2 acres (nonconforming lot exception in Section 41.3) · minimum lot frontage: >= 250 feet (nonconforming lot exception in Section 41.3; back-lot development in Section 33.5)

  “33.2 - lot frontage: the minimum lot frontage shall be 250 feet measured along a public way”

• SetbacksSpecified

  Front yard for structures in the rural district (entire town)

  • Applies to all structures except a fence or wall.
  • On-premises residential signs must be at least 20 feet from a street.
  • Measured to the greater of the two distances.

  front yard setback from street or front lot line: >= 60 feet (or 80 feet from the centerline of the street layout, whichever is greater)

  “33.3 - front yard: no structure other than a fence or wall, shall be located within 60 feet of a street or front lot line, or within 80 feet of the centerline of the street layout, whichever is greater.”

  One more reviewed finding on this topic

  • Specified — Side and rear yards for structures in the rural district (entire town)

    “33.4 - side and rear yards: no structure other than a sign, fence or wall, shall be located within 30 feet of any lot line other than a street line.”

• Building heightSpecified

  Buildings within a cluster development approved by special permit in Hawley town

  • Applies only to cluster developments under Section 34; no general building height limit for the rural district was found in the posted bylaw.
  • Height is measured per the bylaw definition of building height.

  maximum building height in cluster development: <= 35 feet (cluster development only)

  “the maximum building height within a cluster development shall be 35 feet.”

• Living in an RVLimited

  Occupancy of recreational vehicles on land inside Hawley town

  • Land used for campers or RVs is a campsite, which requires at least two acres per campsite under the lot-area rule.
  • Permit needs for RV use not separately stated in the bylaw.

  minimum lot area per campsite: >= 2 acres

  “33.1 - lot area: the minimum lot area shall be two acres, and not less than two acres for each principal building or campsite.”

• Manufactured homesLimited

  Mobile or manufactured homes used as dwellings inside Hawley town

  • Mobile homes are defined as dwellings and are subject to the same bylaw limits, including the two-acre lot and 250-foot frontage rules.
  • Single-family use in the rural district is permitted only if all bylaw requirements are met.

  “any otherwise lawful activity meeting all requirements of this and other town bylaws shall be permitted within a rural district, except the following”

• Who permits septicMixed (with conditions)

  Septic systems on land inside Hawley town. The Hawley Board of Health (the Selectboard) acts under state Title 5 and is staffed through the Franklin County Cooperative Public Health Service.

  • State Title 5 (310 CMR 15.000) governs septic design and construction statewide; the local board of health is the primary regulatory authority for new construction.
  • Hawley's septic regulations were revised after a June 18, 2024 hearing; the adopted text was not found.

  “services shown below are provided under the authority of the hawley board of health in conjunction with the franklin county cooperative public health service (cphs).”

• Subdividing landRegulated (with conditions)

  Division of land inside Hawley town

  • Hawley has separate regulations governing the subdivision of land (referenced in Section 35.1); the Planning Board applies the state subdivision control law.
  • Approval Not Required (ANR) forms are listed on the town's key-documents page; those regulations were not opened.

  “guarantees including but not limited to financial security as provided by the hawley regulation entitled "regulations governing the subdivision of land"”

• Driveway accessLimited

  Shared (common) driveways serving up to four lots inside Hawley town

  • Common driveways need a special permit from the Board of Appeals, with deeded maintenance covenants and a signed engineer's plan.
  • Each lot must still meet frontage requirements; a common driveway does not exempt a lot from frontage.
  • A separate Driveway Curb-Cut Bylaw is posted on the town site; its scanned PDF had no readable text and was not verified.

  maximum lots sharing a common driveway: <= 4 lots (common driveway special permit under Section 35)

  “35.1 - at most four (4) lots may be connected, served by, or otherwise share a common driveway.”

• Permit processPartial

  Zoning and building permits issued by the Hawley building inspector; appeals and special permits go to the Zoning Board of Appeals

  • Building inspector issues permits under Section 51.1.
  • Appeals of a permit decision are heard by the Zoning Board of Appeals.
  • Special permits require a public hearing within 65 days of filing, per Section 53.
  • Application form, fees and timelines for building permits not located.

  “no building shall be erected or externally altered so as to change its outside dimension, and no use of land or building shall be changed, without a permit having been issued by the building inspector.”

Rules another office applies inside Town of Hawley

Town of Hawley does not set these itself; the county, a health district or the state does, and they apply to every address inside its limits.

• Septic permitRequired

  Construction of a new septic system or an upgraded system on land inside Hawley town

  • Permits from the Board of Health and the building department are obtained separately; the state page advises asking both before starting construction.
  • Hawley's own septic rules may add requirements; adopted text not verified.
  • Inheritance is the state Title 5 rule (310 CMR 15.000) applied statewide.

  “for new construction of a system, the first step is to go to your local board of health as well as your local building department. you will need to obtain permits from both separately.”

Still unanswered

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

• Owner-builder exemption — Owner-builder construction inside Hawley town
• Building code adopted — Building code applicable inside Hawley town
• Inspections — Building inspections inside Hawley town
• Certificate of occupancy — Occupancy of new buildings inside Hawley town
• Minimum dwelling size — Minimum floor area for a dwelling inside Hawley town

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.