Law & Oversight
Lakeville Chapter 140 — Earth Work Bylaw
The verified text of the bylaw’s permit standard and the conditions the Select Board may impose — quoted directly, without characterizing how any of it applies to this project.
60-Second Summary
- Chapter 140 defines "earth work" as any earth removal, stockpiling, or fill operation, and requires a permit from the Select Board for any such operation above 2,000 cubic yards per year.
- The Board's permit-denial standard is specific: it "may deny the application" if it finds the permit "may result in a nuisance or that it will otherwise create a risk of harm to public health, safety or welfare."
- Work may not extend within 400 feet of a public way or 100 feet of a structure unless the Board is satisfied it will not undermine the way/structure or prove detrimental to the neighborhood — a specific, quoted setback standard, not a general characterization.
- A permit is valid for one year and must be renewed; the Board may engage outside engineers, scientists, and other professionals at its discretion to review a project.
Take Action
Help Protect Lakeville
Add your name to the petition asking the Lakeville Select Board to deny and not approve the earth-work permit for the proposed 30 Howland Road earth-removal operation as presently proposed.
The permit-denial standard, quoted directly
§140-3: "If the Board finds…that the permit may result in a nuisance or that it will otherwise create a risk of harm to public health, safety or welfare, the Board may deny the application." This is the bylaw's own language — not this site's paraphrase.
Key sources
- Lakeville Chapter 140 — Earth Work Bylaw (§140-1 through §140-8) — Town of Lakeville General Bylaws (live document — verify current version)Full text independently re-read via eCode360 during this site's Sept. 4, 2026 factual audit; the standards and setback figures cited on this site were checked against and corrected to match this text.
Information Needed for a Complete Determination
§140-3 lists the specific conditions the Select Board may impose as part of a permit. Each is quoted or closely paraphrased from the bylaw text below.
Setback from ways and structures
Work may not extend within 400 feet of a way open to the public, or within 100 feet of a building or structure, "unless the Board is satisfied that such removal will not undermine the way or structure, or prove detrimental to the neighborhood."
Methods for the work
The specific methods, equipment, and temporary structures used to carry out the earth work.
Hours of operation
The days and hours during which work, hauling, and processing would occur.
Routes of travel or transportation of material
The roads used to transport removed or imported material.
Control of temporary or permanent drainage
How the operation manages stormwater, erosion, and drainage on and off the site.
Finished leveling, grading & restoration
Final grades as shown on approved plans, plus "the placing of topsoil and planting necessary to restore the area to usable condition," with slopes no steeper than 4 to 1.
Duration of the operation
How long the permitted work may continue.
Fencing and nuisance/erosion protection
"Construction of necessary fencing and other protections against nuisances and/or erosion."
Financial security (bond or escrow)
The Board "may require a bond or, at the election of the applicant, the deposit of money into an escrow account to enforce performance of conditions."
Compliance with other laws
Operations must comply with "applicable federal, state and local laws," including Conservation Commission requirements.
Renewal, administration, and enforcement
Permits are valid for one year. A renewal application must state "the number of cubic yards of material removed during the prior permit term" and include an updated elevation plan from a registered professional engineer. The Board may renew without a new hearing only if all conditions have been met and the project's scope has not changed.
The Board "may engage engineers, scientists, financial analysts, planners, attorneys or other appropriate professionals" to review a project, and may modify, suspend, or revoke a permit for a violation. Violations carry noncriminal fines ($100 first offense, $200 second, $300 third and subsequent) or criminal penalties up to $300 per violation.
Key sources
- Lakeville Chapter 140 — Earth Work Bylaw (§140-1 through §140-8) — Town of Lakeville General Bylaws (live document — verify current version)Full text independently re-read via eCode360 during this site's Sept. 4, 2026 factual audit; the standards and setback figures cited on this site were checked against and corrected to match this text.
What Has Not Yet Been Established
- A complete, written application addressing every condition in §140-3
- Whether the proposed excavation footprint complies with the 400-foot/100-foot setback from public ways and structures, or whether the Board would need to make the specific findings required to permit closer work
- Independent evidence supporting a finding on nuisance or risk of harm to public health, safety, or welfare
- Proposed hours of operation, methods, and duration in enough detail to evaluate the standard above
- A bonding/escrow structure sized to the conditions the Board ultimately imposes
Sources
Key sources
- Lakeville Chapter 140 — Earth Work Bylaw (§140-1 through §140-8) — Town of Lakeville General Bylaws (live document — verify current version)Full text independently re-read via eCode360 during this site's Sept. 4, 2026 factual audit; the standards and setback figures cited on this site were checked against and corrected to match this text.