Do Cambridge and Somerville permits differ from Boston's?

Which cities and towns set their own rules?

Cambridge, Somerville, Brookline, Chelsea, Revere, Everett, Malden, Medford, Lynn, Quincy, Milton, Waltham, Watertown, Newton and Arlington each govern their own streets, parks and event permits.

The list covers the cities and towns closest to Boston. Each governs its own public way, and a permit from one does not carry over to another.

Some of these places are very different from one another. Cambridge is a separate city with the universities at its center, while Milton is a town with the Blue Hills Reservation along its border. The rules are not the same, and the organizer should not assume they are.

Lynn, Quincy and Revere are shoreline places, and their beach and reservation grounds have their own routes on top of the city's permits.

• Cambridge and Somerville
• Brookline and Newton
• Chelsea, Revere, Everett and Malden
• Medford, Arlington and Watertown
• Lynn, Quincy and Milton
• Waltham

How do I find which city a spot is in?

Use the parcel line or the exact address, not the name of the neighborhood. A spot near a boundary is checked with the city's assessor or permit office before the filing.

Neighborhood names do not always match city lines. A place called Charlestown, Dorchester or Somerville Hill may fall on a line that the name does not show, so the address decides the jurisdiction.

For a spot on a boundary street, the permit may be needed from the city on each side of the line, or from the city that governs the larger part of the event. The office should be asked which applies.

The provider confirms the jurisdiction before the booking. The site lead should send the address of the exact spot, not only the nearest intersection.

What should I ask each city office?

Ask whether a permit is needed for portable toilets, how far ahead it must be filed, what the plan must show, whether the city has its own accessibility condition, and whether the city requires written consent for private ground.

Write the questions down and ask for the answers in writing. A written requirement is the safest record for the file, and it is the document an inspector is most likely to ask for.

Ask also who issues the permit and who reviews the plan. In some places the permit and the review are in different offices, and both need to be satisfied.

Keep the answers with the rental file, so the provider and the organizer work from the same requirement.

What about boundary events and routes?

An event that crosses a city line is filed with each city that governs part of it, and the units are shown on each part of the plan.

A race or parade that starts in Boston and finishes in a neighboring city has more than one permit office to satisfy. The organizer should ask each office what it needs and keep the file for each.

The plan for each part should show the units for that part, so that the reviewer for each city can see its own share of the arrangement.

Where a route runs along a boundary street, the units are placed on the side that the permit covers, and the plan marks the line.

How does the state rule apply in each city?

The Massachusetts accessibility rule for temporary events, under 521 CMR 30.1.2, applies across the state. A city can add conditions, and the state rule is the floor, not the whole requirement.

The state rule sets at least 5% accessible units, and never fewer than one, at a temporary event with clustered units. Each city applies that rule within its own permit, and the count is the same in principle wherever the event is held.

Hauling is also a state matter with local boards. A Board of Health in each town issues the hauler permit for work in that town, so the hauler's permit must be checked for every town the crew works in.

A city's permit office may ask for more detail than the state text, and the organizer should plan for that detail from the start.

Which office handles a park on a town line?

A park that sits on or near a town line may be governed by one town, by both, or by a reservation that has its own route. The parcel record shows which, and the reservation office confirms any part it runs.

The first step is to find the parcel and the owner of the ground the units will stand on. A park owned by one city but lying close to the line of another still falls under the owning city's routes for the work on it.

Where ownership is shared or unclear, both offices should be asked. Each will say what it requires for its part, and the organizer files the plan with each.

What about private land in a neighboring city?

A unit placed on private land in a neighboring city needs the owner's written consent and the city's own rules for the placement, which may include a permit even on private ground.

The owner's consent says who may place the unit and for how long. It does not take the place of any city requirement, so the city's office is asked whether a permit applies to a unit on that kind of ground.

A consent letter should name the spot, the dates and the owner, and it should be kept in the rental file with the city's answer.

How do neighboring cities affect waste hauling?

Waste hauling is licensed by the Board of Health of the town where the work happens, so a hauler working across two towns holds a permit for each.

The hauler should be asked which towns its permit covers and whether it has been issued for the town where the unit stands. A permit for Boston does not cover a visit in Cambridge.

Where a unit is in one town and the disposal site is in another, the disposal is the hauler's responsibility under its own permits, and the record of disposal should show the site used.

How do you handle a unit that stands across a line?

A unit that straddles a boundary is avoided where possible. Where it cannot be avoided, the spot is shown on the plan as two parts, each filed with the city that governs it.

A unit placed with its center on a line still needs the permit of the city that governs the part where its door opens. The door side is the safer thing to check first.

Ask both offices in writing and keep both answers with the rental file, so the placement can be defended if the line is questioned later.