Stormwater bylaws and ordinances grant a municipality the authority to establish standards for discharge of stormwater runoff.  These controls can be structured to promote Low Impact Development, minimizing site alteration and stormwater pollution.  Numerous municipalities in the region have already adopted stormwater regulation; there are numerous models available and lessons learned regarding adoption and implementation.  It is necessary to catalog the bylaws that have been adopted and to develop a next generation of model bylaws.  

Municipalities should also adopt stormwater bylaws as part of a comprehensive review of existing development controls, in order to reduce barriers to application of low impact techniques, such as excessive roadway width requirements, parking requirements, dimensional standards, or landscaping requirements. MAPC has prepared a development controls checklist that municipalities can use to assess their existing regulations.  It is available on the Massachusetts Low Impact Development Toolkit: www.mapc.org/lid.

33.a    MAPC should summarize lessons learned and recommendations for expanded adoption of stormwater bylaws

Add Comment