Dighton hearing Wednesday on stormwater bylaw rewrite and a one-acre permit trigger
The change heads to the Nov. 9 Special Town Meeting. Committee minutes cite a federal one-acre standard and record a developer's lawyer arguing the committee had no power to enforce the current bylaw.
DIGHTON Dighton's Stormwater Committee will hold a public hearing Wednesday, Oct. 21, on changes to the town's stormwater bylaw that would make the committee, not the Board of Health, the board that issues stormwater permits and enforces the rules. The same changes would raise the amount of land a project can disturb before it needs a permit, from 35,000 square feet to one acre.
An acre is 43,560 square feet, so a project that disturbs between 35,000 and 43,560 square feet would no longer reach the permit line under the draft, which goes to the Nov. 9 Special Town Meeting.
What would change
The hearing notice, stamped by the town clerk Oct. 8, describes the article this way: amend the bylaw "by replacing all references to the 'Board of Health' with 'Stormwater Committee;' deleting 'Thirty-five Thousand Square Feet (35,000)' and replacing it with 'One (1) Acre' of disturbance." Town Meeting adopted the bylaw March 10, 2008, and amended it June 8, 2010, the notice says.
The full draft appears as Article 22 of the draft Special Town Meeting warrant in the selectmen's Oct. 14 meeting packet. It says the committee "is responsible for coordinating the review, approval and permit process." A permit would be required for land disturbance "equal to or greater than one acre," or for a smaller piece of a larger plan that will eventually disturb an acre. The committee's regulations would have to require that permits be issued within 60 days of a complete application, and owners would have five calendar days to appeal an enforcement order to the committee.
Under the draft, a violation carries a criminal fine of up to $300. Under the noncriminal route, the fine would be $50 for a first violation, $100 for a second and $300 for each one after that, with each day counting as a separate offense. The posted draft does not mark which provisions are new.
How we got here
The town's engineering consultant, Weston & Sampson, briefed the committee on the rewrite June 17. Members discussed "increasing the area of disturbance from 35,000 sq. ft. to one acre, which is the federal requirement," the minutes say, and the consultant said many communities have moved to one acre, while some urban ones set lower thresholds.
The same minutes record a dispute over who holds the power. A lawyer for Zero Elm Street, LLC, the company behind a project at 2231 Elm St., wrote that the committee had no authority to enforce the bylaw or conduct inspections. The committee's minutes call that incorrect and explain that the selectmen were serving as the Board of Health when the bylaw was written. A separate appointed health board came later and asked the selectmen to create the Stormwater Committee. Committee Chairman Nancy Goulart also reported that the Board of Health had voted to ask the selectmen to make the committee a stand-alone body under them, and that Planning Board Chairman Jeff Carvalho had backed that change at his board's May 20 meeting.
At the Planning Board's July 1 meeting, Carvalho read a summary of a letter he had sent the selectmen recommending that the committee be disbanded and its work handed to other boards, according to the committee's July 21 minutes. At the committee's July 21 meeting, member Leonard Hull said the letter did not come from the Planning Board, which had never discussed it, and Town Administrator Ralph Vitacco said he wanted to meet with Goulart to take a fresh look at stormwater. Goulart said enforcement has to happen no matter who handles it, and the minutes add: "The lack of enforcement in the past led to the formation of the SWC."
The Elm Street project is on two agendas this week. The committee's Wednesday agenda includes the 2231 Elm St. buildings, and the Board of Health's Oct. 20 agenda lists a stormwater "Cease and Desist order" there, along with a "Stormwater Committee Memorandum."
What happens next
The selectmen will assign the final article number. Special Town Meeting is set for Monday, Nov. 9, at 7 p.m. in the Dighton-Rehoboth Regional High School auditorium, according to the draft warrant. The committee meets next Nov. 18.
How to weigh in
The hearing opens at 1:30 p.m. on the upper level of Old Town Hall, 1111 Somerset Ave., during a committee meeting that starts at 1 p.m. and is also on Zoom (meeting ID 841 3362 1603, passcode 734769). The full proposed text is at the town clerk's office in Town Hall, 979 Somerset Ave., and copies can be requested by email from the committee, the notice says. The committee's number in the town directory is 508-669-6431, ext. 400.
Label: Reported by us, from the town's posted records.
How we verified this
Every fact comes from the Stormwater Committee's Oct. 21 hearing notice and meeting agenda, the draft Special Town Meeting warrant in the selectmen's Oct. 14 packet, the committee's June 17 and July 21 minutes, the Board of Health's Oct. 20 agenda and the committee's directory listing, listed below. We read them on Oct. 18 and rechecked them Oct. 19. We checked each date and weekday against a calendar and checked each claim against the documents. Not heard: no one was contacted.
Corrections
No corrections to this story. If something here is wrong, tell us. Every correction is dated on the story and listed in our public log.
Sources (7)
- Town of Dighton Stormwater Committee, Notice of Public Hearing, Wednesday, October 21, 2026, 1:30 p.m.Town of Dighton Agenda Center; town clerk received stamp Oct. 8, 2026. Article summary, bylaw adoption dates, place, copies of text, office phone. Read Oct. 18, 2026.
- Stormwater Committee Regular Meeting agenda, October 21, 2026, 1 p.m.Town of Dighton Agenda Center. Start time, Zoom details, amended regulations, 2231 Elm Street item, next meeting Nov. 18. Read Oct. 18, 2026.
- Board of Selectmen Regular Meeting Agenda Packet, October 14, 2026 (56 pages)Town of Dighton. Draft Special Town Meeting warrant (pages 21 to 43), Article 22 stormwater bylaw text (pages 28 to 41), meeting date, time and place (page 21). Read Oct. 18, 2026.
- Stormwater Committee Minutes, Regular Meeting, Wednesday, June 17, 2026Town of Dighton. Weston & Sampson update, one-acre discussion, Zero Elm Street, LLC letter, Board of Health history. Read Oct. 18, 2026.
- Stormwater Committee Minutes, Regular Meeting, Tuesday, July 21, 2026Town of Dighton; town clerk received stamp Aug. 19, 2026. Planning Board chairman letter, enforcement quote, town administrator, draft distributed. Read Oct. 18, 2026.
- Stormwater Committee (town staff directory)Town of Dighton. Phone 508-669-6431, ext. 400; Nancy Goulart, chairman. Read Oct. 19, 2026.
- Board of Health Regular Meeting agenda, Tuesday, October 20, 2026, 2 p.m. (Zoom)Town of Dighton; originally posted Oct. 14, 2026. Stormwater Committee memorandum, 2231 Elm St. cease and desist item. Read Oct. 18, 2026.