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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif">Mark:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif">Northbridge has a “Forest Products Overlay District (FPOD)” -allowing for harvesting timber, packaging, shipping and warehousing of cordwood & wood products..<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif">As an Overlay district, the Town designated property they deemed appropriate for this type of land-use.
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif">The town has had a facility in operation for a number of years -located at the edge of town with direct access to a main highway corridor & (more or less) away from existing residential.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif">-Gary<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;color:black;mso-ligatures:none">R. Gary Bechtholdt II, Director <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;color:black;text-transform:uppercase;mso-ligatures:none">Northbridge Community Planning & Development</span></b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;color:black;mso-ligatures:none"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;color:black;mso-ligatures:none">1679 Providence Road Northbridge, MA 01534<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;color:black;mso-ligatures:none">(508) 234-2447<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;color:black;mso-ligatures:none"><a href="https://www.northbridgemass.org/"><span style="color:#467886">https://www.northbridgemass.org/</span></a>
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;color:black;mso-ligatures:none"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;color:black;mso-ligatures:none">Mailing Address:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;color:black;mso-ligatures:none">Northbridge Memorial Town Hall<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;color:black;mso-ligatures:none">7 Main Street<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;color:black;mso-ligatures:none">Whitinsville, MA 01588<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;color:black;mso-ligatures:none"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif;color:#156082">WE MOVED!<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif">Our new address is:
<b>1679 PROVIDENCE ROAD NORTHBRIDGE, MA 01534<o:p></o:p></b></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif">Building, Conservation, Health Department, Planning, & Zoning Board now located in separate wing of new Fire Station.
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif">Those visiting municipal offices shall
<u>proceed up driveway (stay to far left)</u> parking available front/side of building.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="mso-ligatures:none">From:</span></b><span style="mso-ligatures:none"> MassPlanners <massplanners-bounces@masscptc.org>
<b>On Behalf Of </b>Mark Archambault via MassPlanners<br>
<b>Sent:</b> Wednesday, February 05, 2025 3:02 PM<br>
<b>To:</b> MassPlanners <massplanners@masscptc.org><br>
<b>Subject:</b> [Massplanners] Firewood Splitting Operations and Zoning<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt">Hello everyone, <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt">We have a guy in town (Shirley) who wants to operate a
<b>large-scale firewood splitting / processing operation</b>. Our Schedule of Uses doesn’t have anything that quite fits this operation. He was hoping to fall under ‘<u>Contractors Yard’</u> which is defined in our Zoning Bylaw as “<i>Premises used by a building
contractor or subcontractor for storage of equipment and supplies, fabrication of sub-assemblies, and parking of wheeled equipment</i>”. I think it’d be a stretch to allow his operation to fall under this definition.
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt">He was then hoping to fall under the definition of ‘agriculture’ in MGL Chapter 128, section 1A, as referenced in the Bylaw, which reads: <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size:12.0pt">''Farming'' or ''agriculture'' shall include farming in all of its branches and the cultivation and tillage of the soil, dairying, the production, cultivation, growing and harvesting of any agricultural,
aquacultural, floricultural or horticultural commodities, the growing and harvesting of forest products upon forest land, the raising of livestock including horses, the keeping of horses as a commercial enterprise, the keeping and raising of poultry, swine,
cattle and other domesticated animals used for food purposes, bees, fur-bearing animals, and any forestry or lumbering operations, performed by a farmer, who is hereby defined as one engaged in agriculture or farming as herein defined, or on a farm as an incident
to or in conjunction with such farming operations, including preparations for market, delivery to storage or to market or to carriers for transportation to market</span></i><span style="font-size:12.0pt">”.
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt">Given the growing popularity of wood stoves and considering soon to rise energy costs, I believe that it may be a good idea to allow for this type of use in one of our Industrial or Commercial zoning districts,
away from residences due to the noise and dust associated with such operations. <o:p>
</o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt">Does anyone have a definition for such firewood / wood processing operations as well as regulations governing their location and use? If so, I’d be grateful for any assistance and advice anyone could provide.
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt">Sincerely, <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt">Mark Archambault<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt">Shirley Town Planner <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
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