As used in these rules and regulations, the following terms
shall have the meanings indicated:
The total number of vehicles that pass over a given point
on an average day. Trip generation projection shall be determined
by use and based on the most recent edition of the Institute of Transportation
Engineers (ITE) Trip Generation Manual.
The Planning Board of the Town of Great Barrington.
The front yard setback required in the zoning district.
The Zoning Code of the Town of Great Barrington.
See § 240-8.
Department of Public Works.
The area within which all construction activity will occur.
Massachusetts Highway Department, also known as "Mass Highway."
Land that is protected from development in perpetuity by
deed restriction, including, but not limited to, land dedicated for
communal purposes, farming, forestry, or passive recreation. The erection
of any structure, other than that erected for the purpose of, or associated
with, communal recreation or agriculture, shall be prohibited in open
space.
Open space residential design. A form of development placing
a premium on the conservation of open space and allowing dwellings
to be placed on lots smaller than zoning minimums, thereby reducing
infrastructure and development costs. See § 171-79 of the
Zoning Code of the Town of Great Barrington.
"Parties in interest," as used in this chapter, shall mean
the petitioner, abutters, owners of land directly opposite on any
public or private street or way, and abutters to the abutters within
300 feet of the property line of the petitioner as they appear on
the most recent applicable tax list, notwithstanding that the land
of any such owner is located in another city or town, the planning
board of the city or town, and the planning board of every abutting
city or town.
See § 240-7.
Planned unit residential development. See § 171-78
of the Zoning Code of the Town of Great Barrington.
A road within a subdivision is a public or private way open
to travel by the general public or a way shown on a plan of a subdivision
duly approved by the Planning Board. A subdivision road is private
unless accepted by the Town.
There are four roadway types based on the average daily traffic
to be accommodated: small lane, minor way, major way, and collector
road. These roadway types are defined in Table 1.0, Subdivision Roadway
Types.[1]
The division of a tract or parcel of land into two or more
lots, including resubdivision, and when appropriate to the context,
shall relate to the process of subdividing or to the land or territory
subdivided; provided, however, that the division of a tract of land
into two or more lots shall not be deemed to constitute a subdivision
within the meaning of the Subdivision Control Law if, at the time
when it is made, every lot within the tract so divided has frontage
on:
A public way, or a way which the Town Clerk certifies is maintained
and used as a public way; or
A way shown on a plan approved and endorsed in accordance with
the Subdivision Control Law; or
A way in existence prior to January 14, 1970, when the Subdivision
Control Law became effective in the Town of Great Barrington, having,
in the opinion of the Board, sufficient width, suitable grades and
adequate construction to provide for the needs of vehicular traffic
in relation to the proposed use of the land abutting thereon or served
thereby, and for the installation of municipal services to serve such
land and the buildings erected or to be erected thereon.
The portion of a road right-of-way, whether paved or not,
open to vehicular traffic.
A.
Application; submission of digital files.
(1)
Any person who wishes to cause to be recorded in the Registry of
Deeds or to be filed with the Land Court a plan of land and who believes
that such plan does not require approval under the Subdivision Control
Law may submit a copy of his application to the Board accompanied
by the necessary evidence to show that each lot has adequate access
and that the plan does not constitute a subdivision and therefore
does not require approval. Said person shall file with the Board one
Mylar and three prints of the plan, an application (Form A[1]), and the filing fee in accordance with Article VII. Said person shall file, by hand delivery or registered mail, a notice with the Town Clerk stating the date of submission for such determination accompanied by a copy of said application. If notice is given by hand delivery, the Town Clerk shall, upon request, provide a written receipt.
[1]
Editor's Note: A copy of Form A is on file in the Town
offices.
(2)
Submission of digital files.
(a)
To facilitate maintaining the Town of Great Barrington records,
such as the Assessors' Tax Maps, an electronic file (the standard
digital file) that complies with Level III of the current version
of the MassGIS "Standard for Digital Plan Submission to Municipalities"
(hereafter, "the standard") shall be filed within 15 business days
of the plan being endorsed by the Planning Board. The standard is
available on the Internet at: http://www.mass.gov/mgis/standards.htm.
The standard digital file submitted shall comply with Level III of
the standard; the vertical datum shall be the North American Vertical
Datum, 1988.
(b)
Upon written request, the Planning Board may waive the requirement
for submitting the standard digital file or for complying with Level
III of the standard. In place of the Level III requirement, the Planning
Board may allow submission of a standard digital file that complies
with Level I. Any request for a waiver shall include a statement indicating
why submitting a digital file is not possible or why the requirement
should be for Level I of the standard.
B.
Requirements; failure to comply.
(1)
Requirements.
(a)
A plan believed not to require subdivision approval shall be
prepared by a land surveyor registered in Massachusetts and shall
be clearly and legibly drawn to the requirements of the recording
rules adopted by the Registries of Deeds in Massachusetts.
(b)
The plan shall clearly show all zoning district(s) and their
boundaries that fall within the property.
(c)
The plan shall include the following note: "Planning Board endorsement
does not imply that the lots or parcels shown hereon are building
lots nor that they comply with the Zoning Code of the Town of Great
Barrington, wetlands regulations, Title 5 of the State Environmental
Code, or other local, state or federal regulations."
(d)
The plan shall include the following:
[1]
Property boundaries, North point, date and scale.
[2]
Zoning districts, and their boundaries if applicable.
[3]
Locus plan drawn at a scale no smaller than one inch equals
1,000 feet showing the location of the property and the vicinity.
[4]
The area of each lot being created.
[5]
The location of any structures on lots created by the plan and
on parcels altered by it.
[6]
The location of easements or ways, public or private, across
the land, with a designation as to use.
[7]
The names of the record owners and the applicant, and the name,
seal and signature of the registered surveyor who prepared the plan.
[8]
Suitable space to record the endorsement of the Board that approval
is not required and the signatures of the members of the Board.
(2)
The Planning Board may reject a plan that does not show the required
information adequately or accurately.
C.
Determination.
(1)
In determining whether a plan complies with the purpose of the Subdivision
Control Law[2] as to the provision of adequate access to all of the lots
by ways that are safe and convenient to travel, the plan must show
that a buildable portion of each lot is accessible from the frontage
shown on the plan and that there is no intent to provide access to
any lot by a way not shown on the plan, as such access would constitute
a subdivision within the meaning of the Subdivision Control Law.
[2]
Editor's Note: See MGL c. 41, §§ 81K through
81GG.
(2)
When, in the opinion of the Planning Board, access may be questionable
or illusory, the Planning Board may require additional documentation,
such as driveway configurations, to demonstrate accessibility.
D.
Board action.
(1)
If the Planning Board determines that the plan does not require approval
under the Subdivision Control Law, it shall, without a public hearing
and within 21 days, endorse on the plan the words "Approval under
the Subdivision Control Law not required." The Planning Board may
add to such endorsement a statement of the reason approval is not
required. The plan will be returned to the applicant, and the Planning
Board shall notify the Town Clerk of its action.
(2)
If the Planning Board determines that the plan does require approval
under the Subdivision Control Law, it shall, within 21 days of submission
of said plan, so inform the applicant and return the plan. The Board
shall notify the Town Clerk of its action.
(3)
If the Planning Board fails to act upon a plan submitted under this
section within 21 days after its submission (unless the twenty-one-day
period has been extended in writing by the applicant), it shall be
deemed to have determined that approval under the Subdivision Control
Law is not required, and the Board shall forthwith make such endorsement
on said plan, or, on its failure to do so forthwith, the Town Clerk
shall issue a certificate to the same effect.
A.
If the Planning Board determines a plan requires approval, said plan
may not be recorded until such approval is obtained in accordance
with the provisions of these regulations. After the Planning Board
approves such plan, or modification thereof, it shall be recorded
in the Registry of Deeds within six months of the date of endorsement.
If the plan is not recorded within six months of endorsement, it shall
have endorsed thereon, or recorded therewith and referred to thereon,
a certificate from the Planning Board or the Town Clerk, dated within
30 days prior to the recording, that the approval has not been modified,
amended or rescinded, nor the plan changed, in accordance with MGL
c. 41, § 81X of the Subdivision Control Law.
B.
To facilitate maintaining the Town of Great Barrington records, such
as the Assessors' tax maps, an electronic file (the "standard
digital file") that complies with Level III of the current version
of the MassGIS "Standard for Digital Plan Submission to Municipalities"
(hereafter, "the standard") shall be filed within 15 business days
of the plan being endorsed by the Planning Board. The standard is
available on the Internet at: http://www.mass.gov/mgis/standards.htm.
The standard digital file submitted shall comply with Level III of
the standard; the vertical datum shall be the North American Vertical
Datum, 1988.
C.
Upon written request, the Planning Board may waive the requirement
for submitting the standard digital file or for complying with Level
III of the standard. In place of the Level III requirement, the Planning
Board may allow submission of a standard digital file that complies
with Level I. Any request for a waiver shall include a statement indicating
why submitting a digital file is not possible or why the requirement
should be for Level I of the standard.
A.
No person shall make a subdivision, within the meaning of the Subdivision
Control Law, of any land in the Town of Great Barrington or proceed
with the improvement or sale of lots in a subdivision or the construction
of ways or the installation of utility services therein unless and
until a definitive plan of such subdivision has been approved and
endorsed by the Planning Board as hereinafter provided.
B.
The Board will not approve a subdivision unless the plan is in compliance with these Subdivision Rules and Regulations and with all applicable zoning bylaws. The applicant shall also submit information showing that the subdivision will comply with other local, state and federal regulations, and that the proposed subdivision complies with the intent of these Subdivision Rules and Regulations as previously set forth in § 240-1, Authority; and purpose, and shall adhere to principles of environmentally sensitive land use planning and accepted engineering practice.
