Following approval of the definitive plan and before actual construction begins on the roadway or utilities, the subdivider is required to submit a revised definitive plan to the Planning Board and the Department of Public Works, showing Planning Board approvals, waivers and conditions, and to schedule a meeting with the Department of Public Works Director and his staff. The subdivider is urged to bring his engineer and his roadway contractor to this meeting. The subdivider's attorney is also welcome to attend. Any problems contemplated in the construction phase, as well as inspection stages, contact persons, etc., will be discussed, as well as procedures to be followed. A summary of said meeting, as prepared by the Department of Public Works Director, shall be initialed by himself and the subdivider and forwarded to the Planning Board.
[Amended 8-22-1994 by S-94-13; 3-27-1995 by S-95-14; 2-1-1999 by S-99-20; 5-23-2011 by S-11-1]
A. 
General. The Franklin Department of Public Works Director, directly and through employees of the Department of Public Works and outside consultant services, shall act as the Planning Board's inspector to ensure that the construction of roadways and utilities is carried out in accordance with the Subdivision Regulations and the Franklin Department of Public Works construction specifications. All elements of work are to be at all times subject to inspection.
B. 
The Director shall require tests and interim as-builts to be done by the subdivider, at his expense, to demonstrate that these regulations and the construction specifications contained herein have been met. These tests shall include, as applicable, but are not limited to, the following: pressure and bacteriological test of the water lines; pressure and mandrill test of the sewer lines; vacuum test of the sewer manholes; thickness, gradation and compaction of the gravel road base; thickness, gradation and compaction of the binder coarse of pavement; certification by a licensed engineer or surveyor, in writing or on a plan, at any time during construction. The Director may approve deviations indicated by these tests or interim as-builts if they fall within acceptable engineering tolerances, if it maintains the intent of the Planning Board approval and the Department of Public Works Director informs the Planning Board in writing.
C. 
The Planning Board will use outside consultant services at the expense of the developer, in accordance with § 300-l8, to complete construction inspections upon the commencement of construction. Such consultants shall assist the Board and Department of Public Works Director with inspections and Planning Board approved plan specifications. Such assistance may include but not be limited to, analyzing an application, monitoring or inspecting a project or site for compliance with the Board's decisions or regulations, or inspecting a project during construction or implementation.
Such consultants shall be selected and retained upon a majority vote of the Planning Board, with actual and reasonable costs for their services to be paid by the applicant.
The requirement for the Board to use outside consultant services to complete construction inspections upon the commencement of construction applies to all subdivision plans submitted to the Board prior to the adoption of this bylaw amendment, as well as to subdivision plans previously approved by the Board where the timeline to complete construction is about to lapse, and the applicant requires Board approval of a renewal application.
D. 
Inspection form. The Department of Public Works Director shall maintain an inspection form (Form, I) for each subdivision.[1] At each critical step, the Director shall initial and date it to indicate completion and approval. Where appropriate, additional written reports shall be filed with the Planning Board.
[1]
Editor's Note: See Appendix 3 at the end of this chapter.
E. 
Notification. A minimum of 48 hours' notice shall be given to the Department of Public Works Director by any subdivider wishing an inspection.
F. 
Failure to comply. Failure to comply with the inspection procedure may necessitate removal of improvements, at the expense of the applicant, or rescission of the approval of the plan in accordance with MGL c. 41, § 81W, or withholding of the subdivider's posted bond. If work is not "authorized to proceed," the contractor will be notified, if violation is not known, and no inspections will be furnished. It will be the contractor's responsibility to prove quality of work through testing/certification or remove the improvements.
G. 
Determination of completion. The Department of Public Works Director shall, upon request of the subdivider and payment of any fees attendant thereto, cause the subdivision to be inspected for compliance with the Subdivision Rules and Regulations and the decision(s) of the Planning Board. If the Director is satisfied that the subdivision is in full compliance, he shall so certify on the determination of completion form, to which shall be appended the engineer's certification, and forward them to the Planning Board for acceptance.
Strict compliance with the requirements of these rules and regulations may be waived when, in the judgment of the Board, such action is in the public interest and not inconsistent with the Subdivision Control Law.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: See MGL c. 41, §§ 81K to 81GG, inclusive.
[Added 3-27-1995 by S-95-14.[1]; amended 2-1-1999 by Bylaw Amendment S-99-20]
A. 
Reasonable fees shall be imposed for the review of applications which come before the Planning Board, as set forth in Appendix A, List of Service Fee Rates, in Chapter 82 of the Code of the Town of Franklin.
B. 
Administrative fees.
(1) 
Applicability. An administrative fee shall be assessed to offset the expense of review by the Town with regard to all applications set forth in Appendix A, List of Service Fee Rates, in Chapter 82 of the Code of the Town of Franklin.
[Amended 5-23-2011 by S-11-2]
(2) 
Submittal. Administrative fees shall be submitted at the time of the submittal of the application. Any application filed without this fee shall be deemed incomplete and no review work shall commence until the fee has been paid in full.
(3) 
Fees for revised applications. Where an administrative fee has been calculated by the number of lots or units proposed, and the application is revised after payment of said fee, the following rules shall apply:
(a) 
If the number of proposed lots or units increases, the applicant shall pay a fee equivalent to the difference between the fee originally paid and the fee that would have been paid had the original submission included these additional lots or units. No review of these additional lots or units shall take place until this additional fee is paid to the Planning Board office, and failure to make this payment after requesting additional lots shall be grounds for denial of the application.
(b) 
If the number of proposed lots or units decreases, a refund of that portion of the application fee predicated on those lots or units shall be granted only if, in the judgment of the Planning Board, no cost associated with the review of those lots or units has been yet incurred.
(4) 
Fee waivers. The Planning Board may waive or reduce any administrative fee, if, in the opinion of the Board, unusual circumstances exist regarding the subject property or the applicant.
(5) 
Refund. Once the review process has been commenced, the Planning Board shall not refund administrative fees, including the case of withdrawal of the application by the applicant, except as provided in Subsection B(3)(b) above.
C. 
Project review fees.
(1) 
Applicability. The Planning Board, at its sole discretion, may determine that a proposed project's size, scale, complexity, potential impact or use of the land warrants the use of outside consultants (such as engineers, planners, lawyers, hydrogeologists or others). Such consultants shall assist the Planning Board, or any Town board or commission to which a matter is referred for review and comment prior to action by the Planning Board in plan review, impact analysis, inspection or other technical assistance necessary to ensure compliance with all relevant laws and regulations. Such assistance may include, but shall not be limited to, analyzing an application, monitoring or inspecting a project or site for compliance with the Board's decisions or regulations, or inspecting a project during construction or implementation. Such consultants shall be selected and retained by the Planning Board, with the actual and reasonable costs for their services to be paid by the applicant.
(2) 
Submittal. Project review fees shall be submitted upon receipt of notice of estimated consultant review cost for deposit in an account established pursuant to MGL c. 44, § 53G (53G Account). Any application filed without this fee shall be deemed incomplete and no review work shall commence until the fee has been paid in full.
(3) 
Those projects which are deemed by the Planning Board to require review by outside consultants shall be delivered to the selected consultant or consultants, who will submit a cost to the Planning Board. Where more than one type of application has been submitted for Planning Board action, only the largest of the applicable project review fees shall be collected for deposit into the 53G Account, and not the sum of those fees.
(4) 
Replenishment. When the balance in an applicant's 53G Account falls below 25% of the initial project review fee, as imposed above, the Planning Board shall consider whether to require a supplemental project review fee to cover the cost of the remaining project review.
(5) 
Inspection phase. After the granting of a definitive plan approval, the Planning Board may require a supplemental project review fee for the purpose of ensuring the availability of funds during the inspection phase of the review process.
(6) 
Handling of project review fees. The project review fee is to be deposited into a special account as set forth in MGL c. 44, § 53G.
(a) 
Outside consultants retained by the Planning Board to assist in the review of an application shall be paid from this account.
(b) 
Project review fees shall be turned over to the Town Treasurer by the Planning Board for deposit into a 53G Account.
(c) 
A copy of the latest statement from the banking institution handling the 53G Account shall be forwarded from the office of the Town Treasurer to the Planning Board office as soon as it is received for timely and accurate accounting.
(d) 
The Town Treasurer or Comptroller shall prepare a report on activity in the 53G Account on an annual basis.
[1] 
This report shall be submitted to the Town Council for its review.
[2] 
This report shall be printed in the Annual Report for the Town of Franklin.
(e) 
An accounting of an applicant's funds held in the 53G Account may be requested by the applicant.
[1] 
The Planning Board office shall respond to the request in a timely fashion.
[2] 
This accounting shall include the following information:
[a] 
The latest statement from the banking institution handling the account, which should include an accurate accumulated interest portion to the closing date of the statement if such statements are subdivided into individual applicants' account. Otherwise, a statement of principal and interest, prepared by the Planning Board office, based on the latest statement from the banking institution.
[b] 
A report of all checks authorized for issuance since that last banking statement.
(f) 
An applicant may request an estimate of bills pending from consultants for work completed, or in progress, but not yet invoiced.
(g) 
Excess fees in the 53G Account, including accumulated interest, shall be returned to the applicant or the applicant's successor in interest, at the conclusion of the review process, as defined below. For the purpose of this section, any person or entity claiming to be an applicant's successor in interest shall provide the Board with documentation establishing such succession in interest.
[1] 
With the approval or disapproval of a preliminary subdivision plan.
[2] 
With the disapproval of a definitive subdivision plan.
[3] 
With the release of the performance bond at the end of construction of an approved definitive subdivision plan.
(7) 
Selection appeal. The applicant shall be notified in writing of consultant selection at least seven days prior to the initiation of consultant efforts, unless this notice period is waived in writing by the applicant. As provided in MGL c. 44, § 53G, the applicant may administratively appeal the selection of the consultant to the Franklin Town Council, on grounds that the proposed consultant selected has a conflict of interest (A consultant shall not have a financial interest in the project under review, or be in a position to financially benefit in some way from the outcome of the pending review process. Consultants must be in compliance with the Massachusetts Conflict of Interest Law, MGL c. 268A.) or does not possess the minimum required qualifications of an educational degree or three or more years of practice in, or closely related to, the field at issue. Such an appeal may be initiated by the applicant filing notice with the Town Clerk within seven days of notice of the selection. Consultant efforts shall not begin until any appeal has been decided or until one month passes without Council decision, in which case the selection made by the Planning Board shall stand. The required time limits for action upon an application by the Planning Board shall be extended by duration of the appeal. This appeal shall not preclude further judicial review, if otherwise permitted by law, on the grounds provided for in this section.
(8) 
Remedy. Failure of an applicant to pay the consultant review fee determined by the Planning Board, or to replenish the special account when requested, shall be grounds for plan disapproval, denial of the application or permit or refusal to release development security.
[1]
Editor's Note: This resolution also provided for the renumbering of former § 300-18 as § 300-19.
[Amended 3-23-1998 by Bylaw Amendment S-98-19]
For matters not covered by these rules and regulations, reference is made to MGL c. 41, §§ 81K to 81GG inclusive.