Every application for relief shall be submitted through the online portal operated by the Building Office. Any communication purporting to be an application shall be treated as mere notice of intention to seek relief until such time as it is submitted through the online portal and accepted by the Building Office as a completed application. All information called for by the online portal shall be furnished by the applicant in the manner therein prescribed before it will be accepted as a completed application.
A. 
An application for relief, or an appeal from a decision of the Building Commissioner, Zoning Administrator, or their designees shall be initiated through the online portal. The application for a variance shall include the identification of the applicable hardship.
B. 
Prior to filing with the Town Clerk, all applications for relief shall first be reviewed by the Building Office, in consultation with the Chair if needed, to assure their compliance with the law and the regulations of the Board. Any communication purporting to be an application shall be treated as mere notice of intention to seek relief until such time as it is submitted through the online portal and accepted by the Building Office as a completed application.
C. 
The filing fee shall be paid online or in the form of a check made out to the Town of Lexington. The filing fee required hereunder is not in lieu of any other fee required by law. If relief is granted hereunder, the applicant shall pay the fee required for a building or other permit at the time of submission of detailed plans and specifications to the Building Commissioner or designee. (See Board of Appeals Fee Schedule.)
D. 
Once the application is completed, it is deemed to be filed with the Town Clerk and the Board.
A. 
Each application for relief shall be accompanied by the following described plan of the current layout of the land, dated, signed and bearing the seal of a registered surveyor or engineer.
(1) 
The size of the plan shall be no smaller than 8 1/2 inches by 11 inches nor larger than 24 inches by 36 inches, drawn to scale, and shall be submitted as a pdf file through the online portal unless the Zoning Administrator or Chair determines that the complexity of the proposal requires full size plans on paper.
(2) 
It shall have a North point, names of streets, zoning districts, names of owners of adjoining properties, property lines and location of buildings on adjacent properties.
(3) 
The location of buildings and distances from adjacent buildings and property lines shall be verified in the field and shown on the plan.
(4) 
The dimensions of the lot, the percentage of the lot covered by the principal and accessory buildings, the required parking spaces, entrances, exits, driveways, etc., shall be shown when pertinent to the granting of the relief requested.
B. 
In appropriate instances the Board, upon request by the applicant, may waive or modify these plan requirements.
C. 
Site plan review (§ 135-9.5). The following additional stipulations shall apply to all cases involving site plan approval under § 135-9.5 of the Zoning Bylaw:
(1) 
The plan shall be submitted in accordance with the procedures set forth in § 135-9.5.4 and shall delineate all features required by § 135-9.5.
(2) 
The plan shall be drawn by a registered professional engineer, land surveyor or architect and be based on applicable deeds or plans recorded in the Middlesex Registry of Deeds and shown on the plan. Any inconsistency or ambiguity in the deeds or plans shall be referred for ruling to the Town Counsel or to counsel designated and retained by the Board of Appeals at the expense of the petitioner.
(3) 
If the plan is submitted in multiple sheets, each sheet shall be identified to show its relation to the whole, e.g., "Sheet 2 of 4," etc.
(4) 
Each sheet of plans shall bear a legend stating its purport, the names of the owner and petitioner, the name of the engineer who made the plan with his registration number, the scale and the date.
(5) 
The site plan shall be accompanied by a plan or plans depicting each structure and its surroundings with the detail prescribed in § 138-9A. The floor area of each floor of each structure shall be calculated. The plans shall show clearly the number of parking spaces, driveways, drainage and provision for sewerage.
(6) 
Site plans shall be accompanied by written reports from the Lexington Health Department and Town Engineering Department and the Conservation Commission's order of conditions under the Wetlands Protection Act.[1] The Health Department shall certify the adequacy of provisions for disposal of sewage, surface water and other waste incident to the proposed use. This report shall be based on test borings, percolation tests or other substantial findings. The Town Engineering Department shall certify as to adequacy of driveways and parking. Reports shall be subject to review and acceptance by the Board of Appeals.
[1]
Editor's Note: See MGL c. 131, § 40.
D. 
Upon the receipt of a complete application and all required documentation, the Board shall distribute the application and all supplementary material to other local boards and agencies as follows:
(1) 
To the Select Board.
(2) 
To the Planning Office.
(3) 
To the Health Office.
(4) 
To the Building Commissioner or designee.
(5) 
To the Town Engineer or designee.
E. 
The Chair of the Board or Zoning Administrator may also send copies of all or any of the plans and of the supplementary material to such other agencies as deemed appropriate, including but not limited to the Town Counsel, the Fire Department, the Police Department, the Conservation Commission, the Traffic Safety Committee, the Historic Districts Commission, the Tree Warden, the Historical Commission, the Metropolitan Area Planning Council, the Massachusetts Department of Natural Resources, the Massachusetts Department of Transportation, and the Federal Aviation Administration.
F. 
For a special permit dealing with signage:
(1) 
If the Historic Districts Commission must review a proposed sign, its certificate of appropriateness shall be submitted to the Board.
(2) 
Otherwise, the Board requests submission of the written recommendation of the Design Advisory Committee as an attachment to the special permit application whenever possible.
All applications shall be paid online or by a check, payable to the Town of Lexington, for the filing fee as determined from time to time by the Board of Appeals and the Select Board.