The Town Council shall, by majority vote at
its last meeting of each calendar year, designate a local newspaper
of general circulation in the Town which shall be utilized by all
boards, departments, agencies and agents of the Town to give notice
to the public of pending public hearings for the next calendar year.
In the event that any board, department, agency and/or agent shall
be required to hold a public hearing under this Code or state law
and in the event that procedures for giving notice are not articulated
or are less than the following standards, then the following shall
control, unless violative of state statute:
A. Notice of all public hearings shall be advertised,
at the expense of the applicant, in the newspaper designated by the
Town Council once at least 10 days prior to the public hearing.
B. The content of the notice shall include, at a minimum,
the name and address of the applicant; the location of the subject
parcel; the location, day, date and time of the public hearing; the
name, address and telephone number of the board, department, agency
and/or agent conducting the public hearing; the relief or permission
sought; and where and when the records of the filing may be viewed.
C. All property owners within a radius of 300 feet of
any subject parcel(s), as certified by the Office of the Board of
Assessors, shall be notified, at the applicant's expense, by USPS
first-class mail, postage prepaid, of the public hearing in a manner
and form consistent with the above, with such mailing to occur at
least 10 days prior to the date of the hearing, and the applicant
shall be required to submit proof of advertising and mailing prior
to the commencement of the public hearing.
D. The preceding requirements shall apply where a governmental body is legally required to hold a public hearing in connection with an applicant's request for a permit, approval, or relief from governmental regulation. In those cases where the Town Council or another governmental body is legally required to hold a public hearing in connection with adoption or amendment of a bylaw or local regulation, the preceding requirement shall not apply except that notice shall be advertised once in a newspaper as provided in Subsection
A. The preceding requirements shall not apply to adjudicatory proceedings held by the Town Council or other government body to address a violation of any local bylaw or regulation or of any condition of any license, permit or approval.