Dear fellow Hanoverians:
I had the opportunity to talk to a friend the other day
about some proposed changes to the Hanover Board of Health regulations
regarding the keeping of animals. As I was poring through the Town’s
website looking for answers to his questions, I came upon the following existing
regulations: http://www.hanover-ma.gov/pdf/forms/healt h/Regulations/Hanover-Regulations-Domestic-Animals.pdf
.
Among other pieces of information, you will note that the current
regulations state the following in reference to fences, corrals, pens and other
types of enclosures for “cows, cattle, horses, goats, sheep, swine,
poultry, birds, or reptiles”:
“Any such enclosure must
be a minimum of 25 feet from a public way, 100 feet from a well, stream or
other domestic water supply and 100 feet from any wetland as defined M.G.L. 131
sec. 40, 75 feet from an abutter’s dwelling or commercial building, and
50 feet from a property line.”
After my inquiry this morning, the new proposed regulations have
also been posted to the Town’s website. They can be found at: http://www.hanover-ma.gov/pdf/forms/health/draft-animal-regs-feb09 .pdf
. You will note that at least one of the proposed changes refers to the
fence issue, and it reads as follows:
“Corrals or any other type of enclosure meant for
animal containment shall be a minimum of three (3’) from the property
line.” There are additional setbacks for structures, too.
There’s lots more of potential significance in the
draft regulations, but this issue is the one that caught my friend’s attention.
This proposed change has implications for homeowners and animal lovers
alike. I encourage those with interest regarding this subject to be heard
at the Tuesday, February 10th public meeting of the Board of Health.
It will be held in the upstairs hearing room of Town Hall at 7:00 p.m.
For "Around Town on the Web",
Cathy H-B
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