Town of West Bridgewater
Zoning audit
7 things worth a decision in
the Zoning Bylaw: places where it does not agree with something else in it, with
the contents, with the zoning map or with the Town's own record of what it has amended, and places where it would be easier to administer written another
way. Each names the evidence, and says whose decision it is.
None of them are corrected in the published text. The
bylaw on this site reads exactly as West Bridgewater prints it, and
changing any of this is an amendment rather than a correction.
Against the text current through 2026
Needs a drafting decision 2
The bylaw contradicts itself or is incomplete here. Only West Bridgewater can settle these, and only by amendment — correcting them here would state as law something West Bridgewater has never adopted.
§ 6.02 section number(s) appear more than once
[Automated statute and consistency scan, medium confidence.] Two provisions carry the same number, so a citation to it is ambiguous and the site can publish only one of them at that address. This may be the reader's fault (a running head taken for a heading) rather than the bylaw's; check the source.
- § 6.0 appears 2 times
- § 7.2 appears 2 times
Check the PDF at each number; if the duplication is real, renumber at the next amendment.
read from the Town's materials
2 cited section number(s) do not exist in the text (2 citations)
[Automated statute and consistency scan, medium confidence.] The bylaw cites sections by number that the converted text does not contain. Some are references to other bylaws or to a superseded numbering; some will be sections the PDF reader failed to recognise. Either way a reader who follows the citation finds nothing.
- § 7.5.3.3 cited 1 time(s); e.g. § 9: “Section 9A of Chapter 40A and Section 7.5.3.3 of this By-law, shall lapse within two (2) years from the grant there…”
- § 10.0 cited 1 time(s); e.g. § 5.2.2: “…Temporary Moratoria and further to amend the Table of Contents to add Section 10.0 “Temporary Moratoria” and add section entitled 10.1 Temporary Morator…”
For each number, decide whether it is a stale citation to amend or a section the conversion missed to re-read.
read from the Town's materials
Between the bylaw and the map 1
The bylaw and the zoning map are one instrument, and these are the places where they do not agree.
2 map district code(s) never appear in the bylaw text
[Automated statute and consistency scan, medium confidence.] The zoning map layer carries these district codes, and the converted bylaw text never writes them. Either the map uses abbreviations the bylaw does not (the bylaw may name the district in words), the layer is not the map of record, or the text is stale.
- Map code CD: no match in text
- Map code MPD: no match in text
Match each code to the district the bylaw establishes by name, in districts.yaml, or replace the layer.
read from the Town's materials
Against the enabling statute 3
Where the ordinance appears to require, permit or prohibit something the state act it is adopted under does not allow it to. These are readings of two published texts side by side, not legal advice, and each names the provision on both sides so counsel can check it rather than take our word.
§ 4.6 4.6.9.3A hearing deadline of 30 days differs from § 11's 65
[Automated statute and consistency scan, low confidence.] MGL c. 40A, § 11 requires the special permit granting authority to hold its public hearing "within 65 days after the filing of an application" and to act within 90 days after the hearing. A shorter local deadline is permissible only if the Town in fact meets it; a longer one is not.
- § 4.6 4.6.9.3: “After notice and public hearing, and after due consideration of any recommendations received from local boards within 30 days of the date copies were transmitted to them, SPGA may grant a special permit provided it makes a written find…”
Confirm whether the figure is the hearing deadline or something else.
read from the Town's materials
§ 7.5.4 7.5.4.3A special permit lapse period of one year is shorter than the statute allows
[Automated statute and consistency scan, high confidence.] MGL c. 40A, § 9, as amended by the Housing Choice provisions of St. 2021, c. 24, provides that a special permit lapses "within a specified period of time, not more than 3 years" and that the period runs from the grant plus any appeal time; a bylaw may set the period, but not below three years.
- § 7.5.4 7.5.4.3.: “Lapse of Permit: Any special permit granted hereunder for an adult entertainment use shall lapse after one year, including such time required to pursue or await the determination of an appeal from the grant thereof, if a…”
- MGL c. 40A, § 9: "not more than 3 years"
Amend the lapse period to three years, or confirm the Town is already administering it that way. A provision about a permit lapsing after a period of non-use (abandonment) is a different rule and may be what this is.
read from the Town's materials
§ 7.8.10A special permit lapse period of one year is shorter than the statute allows
[Automated statute and consistency scan, high confidence.] MGL c. 40A, § 9, as amended by the Housing Choice provisions of St. 2021, c. 24, provides that a special permit lapses "within a specified period of time, not more than 3 years" and that the period runs from the grant plus any appeal time; a bylaw may set the period, but not below three years.
- § 7.8.10: “A special permit issued under this By-law shall lapse if not exercised within one year of issuance and the RMD shall be required to remove all material, plants, equipment, and other paraphernalia…”
- MGL c. 40A, § 9: "not more than 3 years"
Amend the lapse period to three years, or confirm the Town is already administering it that way. A provision about a permit lapsing after a period of non-use (abandonment) is a different rule and may be what this is.
read from the Town's materials
Not published here yet 1
Ours, not West Bridgewater's: things this site does not carry yet.
The zoning map is not published here yet
The district pages read from the code alone. Until the layers are built, a reader cannot go from a place to the rules that govern it, which is half of what this site is for.
Ours.
found by comparison