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

Town of Carlisle’s own rules

• Zoning districtsPublished

  Zoning districts of Carlisle town (General Residence A and B, Business, Center Business), listed in the bylaw's Table 2 and table of contents

  • Table 2 is labelled informational only; the district map and section 3 use table were not opened.

  “table 2 summary of dimensional requirements for informational purposes only see section 4 of zoning bylaw for detailed dimensional requirements general residence a general residence b business center business”

• Minimum lot sizeSpecified

  Lots laid out as dwelling sites in the General Residence B district inside Carlisle town

  • Shape requirements in 4.1.3 (40 ft minimum width and depth, ellipse of 1.12 acres) also apply; not fully read.
  • Pork-chop lot exception in 4.1.2.4 may apply.

  minimum lot area: >= 2 acre · minimum lot frontage on one street: >= 250 ft (pork-chop lot exception in section 4.1.2.4)

  “each lot in residence district b shall have, at a minimum, a frontage on one street of at least two hundred and fifty (250) feet.”

  One more reviewed finding on this topic

  • Specified — Lots laid out as dwelling sites in the General Residence A district inside Carlisle town

    “each lot in residence district a shall have, at a minimum, a frontage on one street of at least one hundred and fifty (150) feet.”

• SetbacksDistrict specific (with conditions)

  Dwellings in the General Residence A district inside Carlisle town

  • Taken from the informational Table 2 summary, which says to see section 4 for the detailed requirements; the table's footnotes (3 and 4) were not read.
  • Side/rear value 20 ft is read from the garbled table cell '204'; confirm against section 4.

  front setback: 40 ft (Table 2 footnote 3 not read) · side and rear setback: 20 ft (Table 2 footnote 4 not read)

  “no building shall be erected or altered in general residence district a so as to extend nearer to any side or rear lot line of its lot than twenty (20) feet, except that a building having a floor area of less than one hundred eighty (180) square feet, a height of less than fifteen (15) feet and a setback from the street of at least forty (40) feet may be constructed not less than five (5) feet from said lines.”

  One more reviewed finding on this topic

  • District specific (with conditions) — Dwellings in the General Residence B district inside Carlisle town

    “no building shall be erected or altered in general residence districts b and m so as to extend nearer to any side or rear lot line of its lot than forty (40) feet”

• Lot coverageSpecified

  Lots in the General Residence A district inside Carlisle town

  • From the informational Table 2 summary; section 4 (lot coverage) not read.

  maximum lot coverage: <= 25 percent

  “no building shall be erected to cover, together with all other buildings on the lot, more than twenty-five per cent (25%) of the total area of the lot if in general residence a or b districts”

  One more reviewed finding on this topic

  • Specified — Lots in the General Residence B district inside Carlisle town

    “no building shall be erected to cover, together with all other buildings on the lot, more than twenty-five per cent (25%) of the total area of the lot if in general residence a or b districts”

• Accessory dwellingsLimited

  Protected-use accessory dwelling units in the single-family residential districts inside Carlisle town

  • Permitted through site plan review, with abutter notice and a public hearing before the Planning Board.
  • Regulated under M.G.L. c. 40A s. 3 and 760 CMR 71.00 as cited in the bylaw purpose clause.
  • Detailed ADU standards in section 5.6 (owner-occupancy, size, parking) were not read in full.

  “to provide for the permitting of protected use adus via site plan review which includes a public process with notification to abutters and a public hearing with the planning board.”

• Well permitRequired

  Private domestic water supply wells inside Carlisle town (Board of Health permit)

  • Application must show an approved septic plan on file or a plot plan showing the well location, buildings, and nearby septic systems.
  • Applicant must submit a water quality analysis and well driller's report, per the form.

  domestic water supply well permit fee: 345 USD (form lists the fee; the form is dated 2019 in its file title, so the current fee was not confirmed)

  “application for domestic well/pump permit and other wells fees: domestic water supply-$345 well repair -$50.00”

• Permit feesPublished

  Board of Health well permit fees in Carlisle town only; building, electrical and zoning permit fees were not located

  • Fee shown on the Board of Health well form; the current fee schedule was not opened.

  domestic water supply well permit fee: 345 USD (Board of Health form; form dated 2019 in file title)

  “application for domestic well/pump permit and other wells fees: domestic water supply-$345 well repair -$50.00”

Still unanswered

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

• Building permit — New residential construction inside Carlisle town's limits
• Owner-builder exemption — Owner-builder construction of a home inside Carlisle town's limits
• Building code adopted — Building construction inside Carlisle town's limits
• Inspections — Building inspections inside Carlisle town's limits
• Certificate of occupancy — Certificates of occupancy for new homes inside Carlisle town's 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.

Off-grid gear

Going off-grid in Town of Carlisle means bringing your own water and power. The kit we’d start with:

• Water Crystal Quest Filter any source — well, rain, or creek — to drinking-clean.
• Power Bluetti Solar generators and home battery backup for living off the grid.
• Septic Soil percolation test kit Run your own perc test before paying an engineer — the first thing a septic office asks about.
• Water Well water test kit Bacteria, nitrates, hardness — know what the well on a parcel is really pumping.

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