Bellingham Board of Health Adopts Livestock Rules and $25 Permit Fee

BELLINGHAM — July 15, 2025 — Bellingham Board of Health adopts livestock acreage limits, $25 permit fee, and state tobacco fine schedule. The board voted unanimously Tuesday to enact regulations tying the number of animals residents may keep to property acreage, with variances requiring a public hearing; existing permit holders are grandfathered but may not replenish animals that die back to their prior count. A new $25 annual permit fee, effective August 1, 2025, will fund physical coop inspections at $10 per visit paid to the inspector. Health Agent Bill Lanti, midway through inspecting all 27 licensed tobacco retailers, told the board the town's written fine schedule of $100, $200, and $300 violated state law, which requires minimums of $1,000, $2,000, and $5,000; the board adopted the state schedule unanimously. The board also voted to send a registered letter demanding certified mold clearance before lifting an occupancy hold on a residential property, and authorized up to $710 per person for the Massachusetts Environmental Health Association conference in Plymouth in September.