Code of Massachusetts Regulations › 974 CMR - DEVENS ENTERPRISE COMMISSION › Title 974 CMR 4.00 - Industrial Performance Standards And General Regulations › Section 4.04 - Illumination and Astrophysical Compatibility

Current through Register 1525, July 5, 2024
(1)
Overview
. The intent of 974 CMR 4.04 is to preclude or
			 significantly mitigate conditions that could cause nuisance impacts to area
			 residents and businesses or other users within the Devens Enterprise Zone
			 (DEZ).
It is recognized that the collective impact of illumination
				associated with all future uses and improvements in the Devens Enterprise Zone
				potentially could have an impact upon the surrounding communities in general,
				and the Harvard-Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory on Oak Hill in the Town
				of Harvard. In order to preclude any negative impacts, it is necessary to
				regulate the overall illumination level emanating from the Devens Enterprise
				Zone (DEZ) in the night sky. Said levels can be reasonably controlled by means
				of standards and criteria controlling light sources; illumination levels and
				types; reflective surfaces; signs; and the external lighting of building,
				landscaping, travel ways and parking lots. At the same time, it is necessary to
				assure that public safety concerns will be fully satisfied for night time
				activity within the DEZ.
While it is the intent of 974 CMR 4.04 to provide a local
				complaint mechanism in regard to illumination and astrophysical compatibility
				issues, it is also recognized that most interference problems can be precluded
				by addressing such concerns at the time of application for site plan approval
				with respect to facilities in proximity to the perimeter boundary of the DEZ or
				at the time of application for a building permit with respect to facilities
				that have the potential of exceeding the performance standards within the DEZ.
				Applicant/owners and engineers and architects should be made familiar with the
				standards to follow, as a supplement and enhancement to the complaint process,
				in order to incorporate them into the earliest stages of their project design
				process.
Should a complaint emanate, however, after a facility is
				established at Devens, then the procedures in 974 CMR 4.04(2) shall
				apply.
(2)
Complaint and Enforcement Process.
(a) Upon receipt of an interference complaint
			 from a receptor, the Building Inspector or other duly authorized Devens
			 Enterprise Commission (DEC) official shall respond to said complaint and
			 attempt, by means of circumstantial and field investigative evidence, to
			 attribute the illumination interference to a point source. Where such attempts
			 fail to reliably identify a point source
and
where the
			 pattern of interference is judged by the inspector to be of a repeated and
			 pronounced nature, then the inspection official may, at his or her discretion
			 and with the concurrence of the Land Use Administrator, acquire necessary
			 technical expertise to increase the likelihood of reliably attributing the
			 illumination interference to a particular user. Should the user be identified
			 beyond reasonable doubt as the source of interference, then the user may be
			 required to reimburse the DEC for the cost of using the services of this
			 technical consulting expertise.
Once there is reasonable certainty of the nuisance source, the
				violator shall be subject to provide reasonable mitigation measures that
				essentially resolve the difficulty. Refer to 974 CMR 4.04(2)(b) for a
				description of procedures relative to enforcement.
(b) Potential violators will be given 30 days
			 in which to respond to a complaint or otherwise provide reasonable confirmation
			 to the Building Inspector or other duly authorized DEC official, that the
			 problem did not exist or has been eliminated. If probable cause is determined,
			 a second 30 day time period will be granted in which to correct the nuisance or
			 to demonstrate that good faith efforts have been initiated. If such efforts are
			 not initiated, the violator may be subject to remedies in the Devens Zoning
			 By-laws, including levying of fines, requirements to post performance
			 guarantees, permit reconsideration by the DEC or legal action. Emergency
			 nuisance conditions may, at the discretion of the DEC inspection official,
			 require more expeditious remediation.