Substandard lot of record
(a) No lot area shall be so reduced that lot area and other dimensional regulations shall be less than prescribed for the district in which the lot is located.
(b) Where no adjacent land is in the same ownership so as to form a larger land parcel, a lot smaller than the minimum dimensions and area required by this chapter which was a lot of record on the effective date of the ordinance from which this chapter derives may be used for a permitted use.
(c) Minimum building setbacks, lot frontage, and lot width requirements for a lot which is nonconforming in area shall be reduced by applying the building setback, lot frontage, and lot width requirements from another zoning district in the town in which the subject lot would be conforming as to lot area. If the subject lot is not conforming as to lot area in any zoning district in the town, the setbacks, lot frontage, and lot width shall be reduced by the same proportion that the area of such substandard lot meets the minimum lot area of the zoning district in which the lot is located. By way of example, if the lot area of a substandard lot only meets 40 percent of the minimum lot area required in the district in which it is located, the setbacks, frontage, and width shall each be reduced to 40 percent of the requirements for those dimensional standards in the same district.
(d) Maximum lot building coverage for lots that are nonconforming in area shall be increased by the inverse proportion that the area of such substandard lot meets the minimum area requirements in the zoning district in which the lot is located. By way of example, if the lot area of a substandard lot only meets 40 percent of the required minimum lot area, the maximum lot building coverage is allowed to increase by 60 percent over the maximum permitted lot building coverage in that district.
(e) All proposals exceeding such reduced or increased requirement shall proceed with a modification request under G.L. § 45-24-46 or a dimensional variance request under G.L. § 45-24-41, whichever is applicable.
(f) No building permit shall be issued on such a lot without certification in writing from the town's building official that said lot is a substandard lot of record. In the event that a dimensional variance is necessary, the official shall certify that the lot is a substandard lot of record as part of application to the zoning board of review.
(Ord. of 6-23-1994, art. V, § 1; Ord. of 6-25-2015(2); Ord. of 2-8-2024(1); Ord. of 3-13-2025(4))
State Law reference— Substandard lots of record, G.L. 1956, § 45-24-38.