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

Town of Milton’s own rules

• Local zoningPresent

  Land inside Milton town limits; the Town of Milton's own Zoning Bylaw divides the town into zoning districts.

  • Source is a compiled PDF of the Town's Zoning Bylaw on miltonma.gov (its amendment history runs to the 2000s and it does not show a current effective date). The eCode360 Chapter 275 Zoning text was not located in this research; confirm against the adopted current text.

  “the town of milton is hereby divided, as shown on the zoning map entitled “map of milton, massachusetts, showing zoning districts,” dated january 7, 1938 and filed with the town clerk, and hereby declared a part of this bylaw”

• Zoning districtsPublished

  Land inside Milton town limits.

  • The zoning bylaw names residence AA, A, B, C, D, D-1, D-2 and E districts plus business districts; the district boundaries are on the Town zoning map, which is part of the bylaw. The compiled PDF is not the current zoning map.

  “residence a districts; residence b districts; residence c districts; business districts; residence d districts; residence d–1 districts; residence e districts; residence aa districts; residence d–2 districts”

• Minimum lot sizeDistrict specific (with conditions)

  New dwellings on lots in the Residence C district inside Milton town. Residence AA, A and B have larger minimums per the building department setback sheet; not verified in the adopted text here.

  • Lots must be the lots defined in the bylaw or lots established on February 10, 1938, as the bylaw provides.
  • A lot recorded on February 10, 1938 (or, if not so recorded, if authorized by special permit from the board of appeals) containing less than 15,000 and more than 12,000 square feet may be divided into lots of not less than 6,000 square feet with frontage of not less than 60 feet, and one dwelling may be erected on each such lot.
  • Only one dwelling per lot.

  minimum lot area: >= 7500 sq ft (lots established on February 10, 1938 or as provided in the bylaw; see conditions) · minimum lot frontage: >= 75 ft (see conditions)

  “in a residence c district no dwelling shall be erected or maintained except on lots as hereinbefore defined, or on lots established on february 10, 1938, as hereinbefore provided, containing no less than 7,500 square feet each and having each a frontage of not less than 75 feet”

• SetbacksDistrict specific (with conditions)

  Principal buildings in the Residence C district inside Milton town.

  • The front setback can be reduced to the average of adjacent setbacks (not more than 20 percent of mean lot depth) under the bylaw's front-yard rule.
  • Accessory buildings have separate rules: one story only, 21 feet maximum height, 40 feet from the front lot line, 8 feet from side and rear lot lines per the building department sheet.
  • The setback sheet states additional provisions and certain exceptions may apply.

  front setback: >= 20 ft (may be reduced to average of adjacent setbacks per bylaw) · side setback: >= 10 ft (corner lots: see bylaw side-street rule) · rear setback: >= 30 ft (one-story accessory buildings are exempt from this rear rule)

  “in a residence c district no building shall be erected within 20 feet of the line of the street on which it fronts, provided that no building need be set back more than 20 percent of the mean depth of the lot”

• Lot coverageDistrict specific (with conditions)

  Non-residential buildings and accessory buildings on Residence C lots inside Milton town. Single-family dwellings are excluded by the bylaw.

  • The building coverage and floor space limits do not apply to a single family dwelling.
  • Limits apply to buildings alone or combined on the same lot or adjacent lots in common ownership.
  • Gross floor area limit is 50% of lot area or 3,750 square feet, whichever is greater (Residence C).

  maximum building coverage: <= 30 percent of lot area (or 2,250 square feet, whichever is greater; not applied to single family dwellings)

  “in a residence c district, no building, alone or in combination with other buildings, on the same lot or on adjacent lots in common ownership, shall cover an area in excess of 30% of the total area of such lot or lots or 2,250 square feet, whichever is greater.”

• Off-grid sanitationLimited

  Privies, septic tanks and cesspools inside Milton town.

  • Unlawful to construct or repair a privy, septic tank, cesspool or other waste facility where a public sewer is within 500 feet of the property line and permission to enter the sewer can be obtained.
  • Otherwise on-site systems are subject to state Title 5 and Board of Health rules (not verified here).

  public sewer distance that bars new on-site disposal: <= 500 ft (only where permission to enter the public sewer can be obtained)

  “the regulation makes it unlawful for property owners to construct or repair any privy, privy vault, septic tank, cesspool, or other facility intended or used for the disposal of wastewater where a public sewer is within five hundred feet of the property line and where permission to enter such sewer can be obtained from the authority having jurisdiction over it.”

• Mandatory utility hookupSewer (with conditions)

  New or existing buildings inside Milton town where a public sewer is available.

  • Availability: the property abuts a street, easement or right-of-way in which a public sewer is located.
  • Board of Health requires connection at sale or when a septic system or cesspool fails, if sewer is available; a sewer connection is required regardless of Title 5 inspection results when a sale is anticipated.
  • Owners may apply to have the sewer declared not available if the building is more than 150 feet from the nearest public sewer.
  • Owners with special circumstances may request relief in writing with a cost estimate and a passing Title 5 report.

  distance to public sewer for waiver request: > 150 ft (application to the Board to declare sewer not available)

  “article i, section 3, defines "available" when: the property upon which a building is situated abuts a street, easement or right-of-way in which a public sewer is located.”

Still unanswered

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

• Building permit — Building permit for a new home inside Milton town.
• Owner-builder exemption — Owner-builder permit for a home inside Milton town.
• Building code adopted — Building code applied to new homes inside Milton town.
• Inspections — Building inspections for a new home inside Milton town.
• Certificate of occupancy — Certificate of occupancy for a new home inside Milton 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.

Off-grid gear

Going off-grid in Town of Milton 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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