No Peeking, Horses On Sidewalks Or Late-night Dancing: Town’s Bylaws, Regulations Include Obscure Provisions That Are Often Not Enforced

CHATHAM – No “peeking” or “spying” is allowed in town. Neither is the sale of balloons, the use of plastic straws, riding a horse on a sidewalk, or throwing snowballs in a public street.

 And don’t even think of holding a public dance after 2 a.m.

 Like many towns whose history dates back a few centuries, there are laws on the books in Chatham that, to put it mildly, might raise some eyebrows were they to be strictly enforced. Some also contain internal contradictions and unintended consequences, or are so outdated, either in language or intent, that they are unenforceable. 

 A recent episode involving the town’s animal control bylaw is a perfect example. Somehow, language was added to the bylaw at some point in time — nobody seemed to remember when or why — that requires that the town reimburse the owner of chickens killed by a dog, rather than the dog’s owner. That prompted select board member Stuart Smith to suggest there needs to be a hard look at all of the town’s bylaws.

 “There’s a lot of contradictions throughout,” he said.

 The town’s general bylaws run just over 170 pages. Along with general provisions setting out definitions and fines for violations (a maximum of $300), the bylaw also includes routine provisions such as how town committees operate, budget and election procedures, and bylaws that address specific functions like historical preservation, fire protection, wetlands, waterways, stormwater management, licensing, parking, signs and road layouts. The most recent section to be adopted was a tree protection bylaw, which town meeting approved in 2024. The entire bylaw was reformatted and codified in 2006.

 It’s the section on “Peace and Good Order” where many of the more obscure bylaws are located, such prohibitions against throwing objects in public streets, “swine, horse, cow or other cattle” roaming, horses on sidewalks, and a ban on conducting a “dance, bowling alley or other public place of amusement” between 2 and 6 a.m. This section also prohibits sleeping in the open, having more than one ungaraged and unregistered vehicle on a property unless authorized, and “peeking or spying,” a section which exempts police officers.

 Also here are more recent bylaws that ban balloons and plastic straws and, of course, loitering.

 According to the bylaw, provisions are enforceable by the town manager or their designee, police officers and other town officials identified in the individual bylaws. Other than bylaws that are enforced by specific town departments — such as waterways or wetlands — most enforcement falls to the police department. While the bylaw authorizes criminal citations for violation, civil fines are the most common way of enforcing the measures. And even then, it often comes down to education, said Police Chief Michael Anderson.

 “Ninety-nine percent of the time, the public gets it,” he said when people are told they are violating a town bylaw. “They understand and cooperate.”

 Some obviously haven’t been enforced in years, if ever, like the prohibition against public dances after 2 a.m. “Nobody does that anymore,” Anderson said. Often police connect violators with the appropriate town department or official who can explain the reasons behind a bylaw. It’s not a matter of issuing tickets willy-nilly, he said.

 “We don’t want to be charging into a restaurant because somebody has a plastic straw,” he said.

 He added that the section on peeking and spying exempts police officers because they often have to enter a property without permission in the course of an investigation. These days, many people have doorbell or other surveillance cameras and will contact the department if a police officer shows up at a vacant house. Homeowners are usually appreciative when police explain the situation, Anderson said.

 Another set of regulations that is woefully out of date are the police department’s traffic rules and orders, which date from 1956. These provisions provide authority to officers to enforce traffic and parking regulations, and like the general bylaws, some are antiquated, such as prohibiting parking on specific side streets (as well as overnight parking on all town roads). Some of the regulations are vague, Anderson said, which can work to the department’s advantage. He said he’d like to see them modernized, but that would be a major undertaking.

 As would a wholesale revision of the town’s general bylaws.

 “It’s kind of a big job,” Smith said. Some towns hire a consultant for the task, but Smith suggested that a bylaw review committee might be the way to go. “I think there’s value to that.”

 One benefit to a revision might be to identify conflicts and bring related bylaws and regulations together in one place. For instance, there are sections of some town regulations that call for police enforcement, such as a park and recreation provision requiring that the police chief issue a permit for gatherings of more than 20 people on North Beach. But these are in separate documents, not incorporated into the town’s general bylaws.

 “We manage,” Anderson said of enforcing the disparate rules, regulations and bylaws. “And for the most part the public is satisfied, even though they might not be aware of the process behind it.”

 The bylaws can be viewed via a link on the town clerk page on the town’s website.