Code of Massachusetts Regulations › 700 CMR - DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION › Title 700 CMR 13.00 - Approval of Access to Massachusetts Department of Transportation Highways and Other Property › Section 13.02 - Definitions

Current through Register 1525, July 5, 2024
Agent
. An individual or entity acting
				on behalf of the applicant. While the permit is issued to the applicant, the
				agent represents the applicant's interests during the permit review, permit
				issuing, and post-issue process.
Agent Letter
. A signed and notarized
				letter from the Applicant that is required to formally document that the Agent
				is authorized to act on behalf of the Applicant. The agent letter may represent
				multiple projects with the same Agent and must be renewed on an annual
				basis.
Americans with Disability Act (ADA)
.
				An act that prohibits discrimination and ensures equal opportunity for persons
				with disabilities in employment, State and local government services, public
				accommodations, commercial facilities, and transportation.
Annual Maintenance Permit
. A Permit
				issued on an annual basis, typically to municipalities, utilities and emergency
				response entities, allowing access to their infrastructure and our Right of Way
				to respond to emergencies, and to perform inspections and maintenance. This
				type of permit excludes roadway openings and capital improvements.
Applicant
. The person applying for a
				Permit, License, Lease, or other authorization to access MassDOT
				property.
Application
. A written submission,
				including in electronic format, requesting authorization to access MassDOT
				property.
Average Daily Traffic (ADT)
. The total
				trip generation of a proposed facility calculated using the techniques of the
				most recent Institute of Transportation Engineers Trip Generation Manual and
				expressed as passenger car equivalents to account for truck traffic.
Best Management Practices (BMPs)
.
				Activities or structural improvements that help reduce the quantity and improve
				the quality of stormwater runoff. BMPs include treatment requirements, and
				operating procedures and practices to control site runoff, spillage, or
				leaks.
Category I - Vehicular Access Permits with Minor
				Impacts
. Access Permits for Projects that require entry to the
				State Highway Layout, require little to no non-signalized modifications, and do
				not significantly alter the operating characteristics of traffic. These
				Projects ordinarily do not exceed the Massachusetts Environmental Policy Act
				(MEPA) transportation thresholds beyond the filing of an Environmental
				Notification Form (ENF), and they will be reviewed by the District Highway
				Director of the District within which the Project is located.
Category II - Vehicular Access Permits with
				Significant Impacts
. Access Permits for Projects that require
				significant non signalized modification, including roadway improvements, that
				may alter the operating characteristics of traffic at a residential or
				commercial driveway at its intersection with the State Highway Layout; that
				require significant non-signalized modifications that may alter the operating
				characteristics of traffic at any other intersection or roadway under the
				jurisdiction of MassDOT or upon any roadway under the jurisdiction of MassDOT;
				that require installation of a new traffic signal at a residential or
				commercial driveway at its intersection with the State Highway Layout or at any
				other intersection under the jurisdiction of MassDOT or upon any roadway under
				the jurisdiction of MassDOT; or that require modification of structures,
				equipment, or hardware at an existing traffic signal at a residential or
				commercial driveway at its intersection with the State Highway Layout or at any
				other intersection under the jurisdiction of MassDOT or upon any roadway under
				the jurisdiction of MassDOT. These Projects ordinarily require MEPA review, and
				the proposed Project will be reviewed by the District Highway Director of the
				District within which the Project is located and other appropriate sections of
				MassDOT.
Category III - Complex Vehicular Access
				Permits
. Access Permits for Projects that require a new or altered
				State Highway Layout; that require significant non-signalized and/or signalized
				modifications within the State Highway Layout over an extended distance or at a
				number of intersections that significantly alters the operating characteristics
				of traffic along a corridor; or that require the construction of a new, or
				modifications to an existing bridge. These Projects generally require MEPA
				review and may require Federal review. The proposed Projects will be reviewed
				by the District Highway Director of the District within which the Project is
				located, other appropriate sections of MassDOT, and the Federal Highway
				Administration (FHWA), if necessary.
Department
or
MassDOT
. The Massachusetts Department of
				Transportation as established by M.G.L. c. 6C.
DHD
. District Highway Director for
				MassDOT.
EEA
. The Executive Office of Energy
				and Environmental Affairs.
Event (Non-vehicular)
. This Permit
				type authorizes the grantee to enter upon or use MassDOT property for a public
				or private event or gathering of not more than one day in duration. Additional
				periods of time may be allowed in connection with an Event for set-up and
				removal of any furnishings or equipment related to the event.
Filming and Photography
				(Non-vehicular)
. This Permit grants authorization to enter upon or
				use MassDOT property for the purposes of filming, videotaping or photographing
				for commercial purposes. An Access Permit is not required for filming,
				videotaping or photographing for personal and/or recreational purposes on the
				Rose Kennedy Greenway.
Grantee
. The entity or person to whom
				the permit is issued.
Indirect Access (Vehicular)
. An Access
				Permit may be required when a property abuts and/or significantly impacts
				MassDOT-Highway roadways and infrastructure where access is not directly sought
				from a MassDOT-Highway roadway or facility.
License
. Authorization to enter upon
				or use MassDOT property for sustained types of uses or occupancy. The issuance
				of a License in
lieu
of or in addition to issuance of a Permit
				is within the sole discretion of the MassDOT and will be based on the
				particular circumstances and information provided in the Permit
				application.
MassDOT Interests
. Any interest,
				property, facilities, rights, duties or obligations of MassDOT, or the
				existing, contemplated or future use, operation, maintenance, repair,
				replacement, improvement, safety, layout or design of the State highway system,
				the Metropolitan Highway System, the Massachusetts Turnpike, or any federal
				highway, or any of their respective related components, facilities or systems,
				including any existing, contemplated or future easements, reservations,
				utilities, lighting, ventilation and life-safety systems, drainage facilities,
				tunnels, ramps, roadways or bridges.
MassDOT Property
. Real property under
				the custody and control of MassDOT, regardless of whether such property is
				being used and laid out for highway purposes.
MEPA
. The Massachusetts Environmental
				Policy Act (M.G.L. c. 30, §§ 61 through 62H) and implementing
				regulations (301 CMR 11.00:
MEPA
				Regulations
).
MHC
. The Massachusetts Historical
				Commission Act (M.G.L. c. 9, §§ 26 through 27C and implementing
				regulations (950 CMR 71.00:
Protection of Properties Included in the State Register of Historic
				Places
).
Non-vehicular Access Permits
include:
(a) Access to the State Highway Layout, or other MassDOT
				property for Projects that do not involve physical modifications;
(b) Connection to or discharge to any MassDOT drainage system
				(in cases where it can be shown that no practicable alternative exists);
(c) Construction or repair of utilities within the State
				Highway Layout;
(d) Tree cutting or landscaping within the State Highway
				Layout;
(e) The use of explosives to remove material from within 250
				feet of the State Highway Layout;
(f) Parking or storage of any vehicle or other personal
				property otherwise prohibited under
				700 CMR
				13.01;
(g) Temporary and permanent sign installations;
(h) Staging of equipment for MassDOT construction
				projects;
(i) Events such as parades or road races;
(j) Survey, borings, traffic counts, or other engineering
				services;
(k) Temporary traffic control devices for work on, or impacting
				the State Highway; and
(l) Various other types of work.
Office of Real Estate and Asset Development
				(OREAD)
. MassDOT office responsible for the management of MassDOT
				owned properties and layouts. Certain access permits may require separate land
				use agreements and/or leases issued by this office.
Owner
. The Person owning the land from
				which access is being sought to the State Highway Layout, or the abutter in
				cases where a utility service connection is sought. In certain cases it may
				define the owner of the infrastructure located in the right of way on which or
				in which, access is sought, typically seen with utility poles or utility
				structures.
Permit
. A Vehicular Access,
				Non-vehicular Access, or Small Wireless Facility Permit.
Person
. Any individual, corporation,
				partnership, trust, association, or other business or non-profit organization;
				any agency, department, board, commission, or authority of the Commonwealth;
				and any Federal, municipal, or regional governmental or intergovernmental
				agency, department, board, commission, authority, or other entity.
Project
. Any work or activity
				undertaken by a Person that requires or may seek vehicular and/or non-vehicular
				access.
Recreational Use (Non-vehicular)
. An
				access permit granting authorization to enter upon or use MassDOT property
				other than the Rose Kennedy Greenway for recreational, conservation,
				scientific, educational, environmental, ecological, research, religious, or
				charitable purposes as such uses are defined in M.G.L. c. 21, § 17C. In
				accordance with M.G.L. c. 21, § 17C, no charges or fees shall be imposed
				by MassDOT for such uses.
Right of Way (ROW)
. The area within
				the jurisdiction and control of MassDOT which:
(a) denotes land, property, MassDOT's Interest therein, usually
				in a strip of land acquired for or devoted to transportation purposes;
(b) MassDOT has designated as appropriate for utility
				easements; or
(c) is a public roadway, highway, street, sidewalk, or alley
				including, specifically, the area between the inner edges of any adjacent paved
				sidewalks paralleling said public roadway, highway, street, sidewalk, or alley
				or, where there is no paved sidewalk, the land paralleling said public roadway,
				highway, street, sidewalk, or alley in which, in MassDOT's reasonable
				determination, a Small Cell Facility or Small Cell Structure may be located
				without violating applicable health and safety codes, and applicable MassDOT
				polices.
Section 61 Findings
. The findings
				issued by MassDOT pursuant to M.G.L. c. 30, § 61.
Signature: Hand-written or Electronic
				Signature
. Electronic or E-signature to mean an electronic sound,
				symbol, or process attached to or logically associated with a record and
				executed or adopted by a person with the intent to sign the record.
Small Wireless Facility
. Facilities
				that meet the following conditions:
(a) The facilities:
1. are mounted on structures 50 feet or less in height
				(including the antenna);
2. are mounted on structures no more than 10% taller than other
				adjacent structures; or
3. do not extend existing structures on which they are located
				to a height of more than 50 feet or by more than 10%, whichever is
				greater;
(b) Each antenna associated with the deployment, excluding
				associated antenna equipment, is no more than three cubic feet in
				volume;
(c) All other wireless equipment associated with the structure,
				including the wireless equipment associated with the antenna and any
				preexisting associated equipment on the structure, is no more than 28 cubic
				feet in volume;
(d) The facilities do not require antenna structure
				registration under 47 CFR Part 17 ;
(e) The facilities are not located on Tribal lands, as defined
				under 36 CFR § 800.16(x); and
(f) The facilities do not result in human exposure to radio
				frequency radiation in excess of the applicable safety standards specified in
				47
				CFR 1.1307(b).
Small Wireless Permit
. An access
				permit issued by MassDOT to install a Small Wireless Facility in the Right of
				Way.
State Highway Access Permit System
				(SHAPS)
. MassDOT's online access permit submission, review, and
				issue tool available to permit Applicants and their Agents.
State Highway Layout (SHLO)
.
				Commonwealth property under the custody and control of MassDOT being used and
				laid out for highway purposes; this does not include parcels under the custody
				and control of MassDOT which are not being used for highway purposes.
Structure
. A pole, tower, building,
				bridge or other structure to which a Small Wireless Facility can be attached in
				compliance with the requirements contained herein and all other applicable
				health and safety codes and design and safety standards applicable to MassDOT
				Property
Substantial Increase in or Impact on
				Traffic
. A Project that meets or exceeds any of the following
				thresholds:
(a) Generation of 2,000 or more new ADT on roadways providing
				access to a single location;
(b) Generation of 1,000 or more new ADT on roadways providing
				access to a single location and construction of 150 or more new parking spaces
				at a single location;
(c) Construction of 300 or more new parking spaces at a single
				location; or
(d) Creation of a change in the type, pattern, or timing of
				traffic that is determined by MassDOT to generate a significant impact on
				traffic flow and safety.
Utility Accommodation Policy (UAP)
.
				MassDOT highway policy governing the acceptable use(s) of the State Highway
				Layout for various utilities and the procedures required for obtaining
				permitted access.
Vehicular Access Permit
. Vehicular
				Access Permits are required for:
(a) New residential or commercial driveways or streets
				intersecting the State Highway Layout;
(b) Existing residential or commercial driveways or streets
				that intersect the State Highway Layout that do not have a permit;
(c) Physical modifications to existing residential or
				commercial driveways or streets at their intersection with the State Highway
				Layout;
(d) Change in land use of an existing residential or commercial
				property with driveway onto State Highway Layout that results in a Substantial
				Increase in or Impact on Traffic over the current use; and
(e) Construction of new, or change in use of existing,
				residential or commercial driveway from properties that abut the State Highway
				Layout to serve a building or facility, or expansion of a building or facility,
				that generates a Substantial Increase in or Impact on Traffic.