Saugus By-Laws

The general By-Laws book covers both the general organization of the town government and all the day-to-day things like barking dogs and throwing snow onto the street. It also covers less common things like the closing of streets for construction. It can be changed only by Town Meeting, and is done so publically during either the annual or special Town Meetings. Unlike the other books, the general By-Laws book does not currently have a color nickname in common use.

View the Town By-Laws online

Download it as a PDF file
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The Zoning By-Laws book is frequently called the "Red Book". It covers all aspects of zoning, ranging from lot usage to sign restrictions. It is the only source book for the Zoning Board of Appeals (usually referred to more simply as the Board of Appeals). Unlike some of the other books it includes no forms, just regulations. It can be changed only by Town Meeting, and is done so publically during either the annual or special Town Meetings.

View the Zoning By-Laws online

Download it as a PDF file
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The current Subdivision Rules & Regulations book is often called the "Green Book". The older version used to be known as the "Yellow Book". It completely covers the rules & regulations governing the subdivision of land in Saugus. It is under the control of the Planning Board, and along with the "Red Book" serves to govern their actions. All changes made to it are done publically during Planning Board meetings. It also contains copies of all the subdivision related forms (only embedded in the PDF version because they are only useful in that format).

View the Subdivision Rules & Regs online

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The Guide To Inspectional Services is frequently called the "Blue Book". It is quite different from the other two books; its primary purpose is not so much to state what is and is not legal but rather to help guide one through the process of obtaining a permit from the Inspectional Services office. All manner of permits, ranging from dog licenses to gasfitting are covered in this book. The book also includes copies of all the forms themselves (only embedded in the PDF version because they are only useful in that format). The only common town forms not included with the book are the ones related to subdivisions; those are found instead in the "Green Book".

This book has been obsoleted by the Town. It is included here because it is still sometimes useful for guidance or informational purposes as the current way of doing things is not too different from the way presented in the book. There is currently no official replacement.

View the Guide to Inspectional Services online

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A couple of pages providing charts and tables relevant to the way Town Meeting conducts its business. Here you will find information on what votes take a simple majority, which votes are debatable, which can be amended, etc. These are not true by-laws per se, but rather the conventions followed by Saugus Town Meeting.

These should be useful not only to Town Meeting Members, but also to Town Meeting spectators and people interested in the Town Meeting process.

Note that Saugus Town Meeting (as well as all of Saugus' other government bodies) follows Robert's Rules of Order. This can be downloaded as a Newton book offsite from Newton's Library.

Download it as a PDF file
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