Finance Committee members on the Town of Danvers on Jan. 2025 reviewed and agreed to forward 10 warrant articles for the special town meeting scheduled for Feb. 3, 2025, covering zoning and bylaw updates, floodplain and groundwater map changes, rules for pets and kennels, and new outdoor-lighting standards.

The committee’s review prioritized an updated floodplain bylaw required by federal and state agencies to preserve eligibility for flood insurance and a groundwater protection district map change the Commonwealth issued. Both items will alter regulatory references for developers and property owners and were discussed with multiple questions from residents and committee members.

Why it matters: The floodplain update must reference the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) and Flood Insurance Study (FIS) numbers before the bylaw can take effect; without a compliant bylaw, affected property owners could face risks related to insurance eligibility. The groundwater map change removes a northern portion of the town from the local groundwater protection district to match the state’s map, which the town said limits what it can continue to regulate locally.

Key items and discussion

Floodplain bylaw and FEMA maps: Interim Town Manager Connolly told the committee that the bylaw replacement is based on FEMA and Massachusetts model language and that the town had just received the FIRM and FIS numbers needed to finalize the warrant. Planning staff said there are no proposed changes to the development standards; the update is to align Danvers’ bylaw with FEMA/DEP guidance so property owners remain eligible for flood insurance. A resident asked whether the maps account for future sea-level rise; staff said the current update does not appear to change the base flood elevation at the coast and that future updates will need to address longer-term coastal changes.

Groundwater protection district: Planning staff explained the Commonwealth’s updated groundwater map removes a northern area that previously had been included (an area that had been tied to a well in Wenham). Staff said they cannot keep a local groundwater overlay that the state no longer recognizes and that the district’s development constraints mainly limit heavy industrial uses (e.g., junkyards, landfills) rather than ordinary single-family homes.

Outdoor lighting (Article 10): The planning office proposed a new outdoor-lighting section to allow the town to enforce light trespass complaints (for example, bright floodlights in parking lots or motion-activated lights that shine into homes). After discussion about holiday lighting and seasonal decorations, a committee member moved to amend the holiday-lighting allowance so decorations may begin Oct. 15; the amendment passed. The planning director said the new rules are intended to give staff an enforceable standard rather than relying on repeated informal requests.

Leash law (Article 4): The committee considered an update to the town’s leash bylaw addressing electronic leashes and clarifying where a physical connection is required in parks and open spaces. Residents raised concerns about enforcement and a specific recurring problem at Plains Park. Planning staff noted the draft includes an exemption for a person with a disability and said, “Generally speaking, this would be if you have a handicap placard, we're probably going to not get into it with you if you have a handicap handicap placard.” Committee members pressed staff to make the exemption clearer and to confirm appeal procedures for fines; staff said they would follow up.

Kennel definitions (Article 5): Planning Director Brian Zakeli told the committee the zoning definitions will be brought into alignment with state law and will remove an older trigger that required a special permit for owners with four dogs; “The state law is 5,” he said, noting the functional change is raising the personal-use threshold from four dogs to five. The amendment also separates commercial kennels, boarding and daycare uses and assigns permitting authority by district (Zoning Board of Appeals for most residential special permits, Planning Board in commercial districts).

Periodic inspections and fees (Article 3): The committee approved a proposed ‘‘strike-and-replace’’ of the town’s periodic-inspection bylaw to match changes in the state building code and to insert the town’s inspection fee schedule. Aaron Henry, Director of Land Use and Community Services, said the town is “simply plugging in” the updated table and that “Generally speaking, it's a $100, for commercial applications, $50 for residential.”

Transportation-network funds and other routine articles: The committee moved an article transferring $22,288.70 in local transportation-network (‘‘paid-ride’’) receipts into the senior and social services transportation revolving fund; planning staff said the figure reflects more than 200,000 rides originating in Danvers in the last period. The committee also moved routine warrant articles including unpaid bills (annual special-town-meeting housekeeping), a garages definition update to allow and define garages in commercial zones, and a signage consolidation that gathers downtown signage rules into one section.

Public safety and resident comments: Bill Bates, a town meeting member (Precinct 4), urged that some transportation-network funds be directed to pedestrian safety improvements such as flashing beacons at dangerous crosswalks, noting, “These things cost about 8 to $10,000 a year.” Several residents and committee members pressed staff to clarify enforcement processes for leash, lighting and other bylaw violations.

Votes at a glance (moved by Finance Committee to advance to Special Town Meeting; voice votes recorded as "Aye/Opposed")
- Article 1, Unpaid bills — Motion to move article; outcome: approved (voice vote). Notes: routine fiscal housekeeping; specifics of invoices not discussed on record.
- Article 2, Transportation-network (paid-ride) funds — Motion to move article; outcome: approved (voice vote). Notes: $22,288.70 recommended to senior and social services transportation revolving fund; last-period rides reported at >200,000.
- Article 3, Periodic inspections (bylaw update) — Motion to move article; outcome: approved (voice vote). Notes: replaces existing text to match state building code; fee schedule inserted (commercial ~$100, residential ~$50).
- Article 4, Leash law (bylaw update) — Motion to move article; outcome: approved (voice vote). Notes: clarifies physical-leash requirements in open space; includes disability exemption language (discussion on clarifying reliance on placards and appeal process).
- Article 5, Kennel definitions/zoning — Motion to move article; outcome: approved (voice vote). Notes: aligns local definitions with state law; raises personal dog threshold to five under state law; no change to residential prohibition of boarding facilities.
- Article 6, Garage definition (zoning housekeeping) — Motion to move article; outcome: approved (voice vote). Notes: extends garage definition to commercial/industrial districts via special permit; no substantive change to size limits.
- Article 7, Floodplain bylaw (FEMA/DEP alignment) — Motion to move article with insertion of FIRM/FIS numbers; outcome: approved (voice vote). Notes: full replacement of local bylaw to match FEMA/DEP model language; required for flood insurance eligibility. Committee requested insertion of the newly provided FIRM and FIS numbers prior to finalization.
- Article 8, Groundwater protection district map update — Motion to move article; outcome: approved (voice vote). Notes: map revised to match Commonwealth of Massachusetts layers; northern portion removed where state no longer designates groundwater protection.
- Article 9, Signage consolidation — Motion to move article; outcome: approved (voice vote). Notes: downtown signage regulations folded into single zoning section; no substantive text changes.
- Article 10, Outdoor lighting (new zoning section) — Motion to move as amended (holiday-lighting allowance shifted to begin Oct. 15); outcome: approved (voice vote). Notes: establishes enforceable standards for light trespass and shielding; committee adopted amendment to allow holiday lighting starting Oct. 15 rather than the November date in the draft.

Speakers and attributions in this report
- Connolly, Interim Town Manager (Town of Danvers) — opened the session and noted the warrant and schedule for the special town meeting.
- Dan Bennett, Select Board Chair (Select Board, Town of Danvers) — present for the presentation and review.
- Aaron Henry, Director of Land Use and Community Services (Town of Danvers) — presented multiple bylaw and zoning items and described inspection fees and other technical details. Quoted: “Generally speaking, it's a $100, for commercial applications, $50 for residential.”
- Brian Zakeli, Planning Director (Town of Danvers) — explained zoning changes, including kennel definitions and the state threshold: “The state law is 5.”
- Bill Bates, Town Meeting Member, Precinct 4 (citizen) — urged funding for crosswalk flashing beacons and said, “These things cost about 8 to $10,000 a year.”
- Bill Bradstreet (resident) — asked whether the floodplain update accounts for future sea-level rise; staff replied that the current update does not appear to change the base flood elevation at the coast.
- Tony Bettencourt (resident) and other residents — raised questions about groundwater, contamination and specific sites; staff noted the changes track state mapping and existing wetland/DEP constraints.
- Chair (Finance Committee) and unnamed committee members — conducted votes and asked follow-up questions (voice votes recorded; individual vote tallies not recorded in the transcript).

Authorities and legal references in discussion
- 28 C.F.R. § 36.104 — cited in the leash-law discussion as a definitional reference for disability exemption language (transcript reference: “28 CFR 36104”).
- FEMA Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) and Flood Insurance Study (FIS) numbers — newly provided to the town and required to be referenced in the floodplain bylaw.
- 310 CMR (Massachusetts DEP regulations) — referenced for floodplain construction standards and state model bylaw language.
- Massachusetts state building code — referenced as the basis for updating the town’s periodic inspection table and related fees.

Clarifying details extracted from discussion
- Transportation-network receipts: $22,288.70 (period referenced) from >200,000 rides originating in Danvers.
- Flashing-crosswalk beacons: resident estimate of $8,000–$10,000 each.
- Periodic-inspection fee examples: ~ $100 for commercial inspections, ~$50 for residential (town intends to use its existing fee schedule and not revisit fees now).
- Kennel threshold: local trigger formerly at 4 dogs; state standard is 5 dogs for personal use (functional change to align with state law).
- Floodplain update: no change proposed to development standards; bylaw replaced to match FEMA/DEP model and must reference FIRM/FIS numbers recently received.
- Outdoor lighting holiday period amended to begin Oct. 15 (committee amendment to the proposed November date).

Meeting context and next steps
The committee opened the meeting noting the special town meeting date (Feb. 3, 2025) and previewed upcoming annual town meeting finance hearings. Each article the committee moved will appear on the special town meeting warrant; several items (notably the floodplain and groundwater map updates, and the outdoor-lighting bylaw) drew the most public and committee discussion. Staff committed to follow up on clarifications requested during the meeting (for example, precise FIRM/FIS numbers to be inserted into the floodplain article and clarification on enforcement and appeal procedures related to disability exemptions in the leash law).

Ending
The Finance Committee voted by voice to move all 10 warrant articles to the Special Town Meeting. The committee also reviewed and circulated proposed annual-town-meeting hearing dates for April. The full special town meeting will consider and vote on the articles on Feb. 3, 2025.