A.
The work connected with the items mentioned in Article IV shall proceed in the following order, each item to be accomplished so as not to interfere with previous work:
(1)
Prior to any construction, the developer, project engineer, and contractor
must meet with the Planning Board and other appropriate Town parties
for a pre-construction conference to review the subdivision permit
and conditions at a time agreeable to the Planning Board or its representative.
The applicant/developer must provide evidence that all required documents
have been recorded and adequate copies of all documents have been
provided to the Planning Board. After the pre-construction conference,
the applicant/developer shall notify in writing the Planning Board
and Planning Board agents at least five (5) business days in advance
of the date of commencement of construction and for each subsequent
phase of construction.
(2)
The roadway shall be brought to subgrade.
(3)
Water, gas lines, cable utilities and drains shall be placed with
related equipment. All service connections shall be installed to the
lot lines unless jacking across the street is feasible without breaking
or weakening road pavement.
(4)
Base gravel shall be placed.
(5)
Surfacing shall be placed with sidewalks and curbs.
(6)
Monuments and street signs shall be placed.
B.
The work shall proceed as above, with exceptions only by order of
the Planning Board. After approval of the definitive plan, the location,
material and specifications of all roads, improvements, and infrastructure
subject to the Subdivision Control Law shall not be changed unless
1) the applicant/developer files a written request to amend the plan,
with ten (10) copies of the original plan showing proposed changes
drawn on the plan in red; 2) the applicant/developer pays the amended
plan fee (plus the application fee per lot if new lots are being added);
and 3) Such amendments are approved by the Planning Board (see also
MGL c. 41, § 81W). If the Planning Board approves the change,
the applicant/developer shall cause such approved changes to be shown
on the record plans. At the Planning Board's discretion, minor "field
changes" may be approved with a simple vote and letter from the Board.
D.
Inspection shall be made and the project shall be certified in writing
to the Planning Board by a registered professional chosen by the applicant/developer,
who shall certify that all work was done in accordance with the approved
subdivision plans, except as noted, and shall provide a detailed list
and plan of changes between the approved plan and what was built.
An engineer or engineer's agent shall be on site during the entire
construction process to ensure compliance with the design. The certification
must be clear and not include such limits or qualifiers as "to the
extent of my knowledge."
A.
Approval of a subdivision plan, regardless of what is shown on the
plan, does not relieve an applicant/developer from complying with
the Subdivision Rules and Regulations except as specifically provided
for in any Planning Board issued waiver of those rules and regulations.
B.
The Planning Board may, in special and appropriate cases, waive strict
compliance with such portions of these rules and regulations, as provided
for in MGL c. 41, § 81R, where such action is in the public
interest and consistent with the purpose and intent of the Subdivision
Control Law. The Planning Board shall only grant such waivers when,
in its sole opinion, the waivers will result in clear and significant
improvements to the quality of a project compared with a project which
meets the minimum of the subdivision regulations. In making this finding,
the Board may, at its discretion, consider the recommendations from
a third-party engineering review.
C.
Such limited waivers shall only be granted when appropriate to encourage
development which:
(1)
Expands pedestrian-scale village center as a traditional neighborhood
development, not surburban-style development; or
(2)
Significantly increases the amount of permanently protected open
space and public trails beyond that otherwise required in the zoning;
or
(3)
Creates a greater amount of MGL c. 40B-defined affordable housing
than is required by zoning within the development.
D.
A request for a waiver of a requirement, rule, or regulation shall
be made in writing and submitted, whenever feasible, with the preliminary
plan. If the Planning Board approves the request for a waiver, it
shall endorse conditions of such waiver (if any) on the plan or set
them forth in a separate instrument attached to and referenced to
the plan, which shall be deemed a part of the plan. The Planning Board
shall notify the applicant/developer in writing of its approval, disapproval,
or approval with conditions.
Not more than one (1) building designed or available for dwelling
purposes shall be erected or placed or converted to use as such on
any lot in a subdivision or elsewhere within the Town without the
consent of the Planning Board. Consent shall be granted only for structures
in compliance with zoning restrictions and only upon the Board's finding
that adequate ways and utilities servicing such site for such building
having been provided in the same manner as otherwise required for
lots within a subdivision.
For matters not covered by these rules and regulations, reference
is made to MGL c. 41, §§ 81K to 81GG, inclusive.
A.
As provided by MGL c. 44, § 53G, the Planning Board may
impose reasonable fees for the employment of outside consultants,
engaged by the Planning Board for specific expert services that the
Board deems necessary to reach a final decision on an application
pursuant to the requirements of the Subdivision Regulations and any
other Town bylaws, regulations, or rules as they may be amended or
enacted from time to time.
B.
Funds received by the Planning Board pursuant to these rules shall
be deposited with the Town Treasurer, who shall establish a special
account for this purpose. Expenditures from this special account may
be made at the direction of the Planning Board without further appropriation
as provided in MGL c. 44, § 53G. Expenditures from this
account shall be made only in connection with the review of a specific
project or projects for which a consultant fee has been collected
from the applicant/developer.
C.
Specific consultant services may include but are not limited to the
engineering of roads, walkways, private and public utilities, driveways,
grades, grading, and sanitary systems; hydrogeologic and drainage
analysis; impact analyses of various kinds; and environmental and
land use law. The consultant shall be chosen by, and report only to,
the Planning Board.
D.
The Planning Board shall give written notice to the applicant/developer
of the selection of an outside consultant, which notice shall state
the identity of the consultant, the amount of the fee to be charged
to the applicant/developer, and a request for payment of said fee
in its entirety. Such notice shall be deemed to have been given on
the date it is mailed or delivered. No such costs or expenses shall
be incurred by the applicant/developer if the application or request
is withdrawn within five days of the date notice is given.
E.
The fee must be received in its entirety prior to the initiation
of consulting services. The Board may request additional consultant
fees if necessary review requires a larger expenditure than originally
anticipated or new information requires additional consultant services.
Failure by the applicant/developer to pay the consultant fee specified
by the Board within ten (10) business days of the request for payment
shall be cause for the Board to determine that the application is
incomplete (except in the case of an appeal). The Board shall state
such in a letter to the applicant/developer, copied to Town Counsel.
No additional review or action shall be taken on the application until
the applicant/developer has paid the requested fee. For applications
to be considered under the local bylaw regulations only, failure by
the applicant/developer to pay the consultant fee specified by the
Board within ten (10) business days of the request for payment shall
be cause for the Board to deny the application.
F.
The applicant/developer may appeal the selection of the outside consultant
to the Selectboard, who may disqualify the outside consultant selected
only on the grounds that the consultant has a conflict of interest
or does not possess the minimum required qualifications. The minimum
qualifications shall consist of either an educational degree or three
or more years of practice in the field at issue or a related field.
Such an appeal must be in writing and received by the Selectboard
and a copy received by the Board within ten (10) days of the date
consultant fees were requested by the Board. The required time limits
for action upon the application shall be extended by the duration
of the administrative appeal.
[Amended by Ch. 141 of the Acts of 2019, approved 12-12-2019]
The applicant may, upon partial completion and installation
of required improvements in a subdivision, the security for the performance
of which was given by bond, deposit of money, letter of credit or
covenant, make formal application, in writing, to the Planning Board
for partial release of the performance guarantee, in accordance with
the procedures set forth herein:
A.
Financial performance guarantee. The amount of such bond, or deposit
of money, or letter of credit or three-party agreement for lender
fund retention held may, from time to time, be reduced by the Planning
Board. To request a reduction fee, the applicant shall present to
the Planning Board the appropriate fee and a list of all construction
items performed and/or completed, said list to be based on the subdivision
approval and the subdivision regulations in their entirety. The amount
to be reduced by the Planning Board, after consultation with its agents
and advisers, shall be based upon state prevailing wage construction
costs at the time the application for reduction is made. The Planning
Board shall withhold adequate funds to complete the project but shall
withhold a minimum of twenty percent (20%) of the original approved
cost estimate or fifty thousand dollars ($50,000), whichever is greater.
At the completion of the project (based on a written acceptance from
the Planning Board that the project has been completed) and after
a one-year warranty period, the amount withheld shall be released.
B.
Covenant. The applicant/developer may request a release of conditions
for lots where the required improvements have been completed for that
section of roadway beginning at any intersection with an accepted
road and abutting lots up through the last lot to be released. Lots
may only be released if they abut the completed portion of the road.
No partial release from the covenants will be approved if the total
length of roadway abutting said designated lots, including a temporary
turnaround, exceeds the maximum allowable length for dead-end roads,
unless the Planning Board has already approved within the limits of
the development a dead-end road exceeding said limits.
C.
In the absence of financial performance guarantees, adequate covenants
will be held to insure completion of the project, including record
plans, road layout plans, site inspections, and legal work. In addition,
a covenant on two lots which can be built on will be held until all
work in the subdivision, including the signing of all necessary legal
documents, has been completed.
The applicant may, upon the completion and installation of required
improvements in a subdivision, the completion of record plans and
road layout plans as specified in these rules and regulations, and
the completion of a one-year labor and materials warranty period (two
years for trees), make formal application, in writing, to the Planning
Board for full release of any outstanding performance guarantee. Before
the Planning Board releases its full interest in said performance
guarantee, the Planning Board shall:
A.
Obtain from the applicant/developer's professional engineer a written
certificate of statement certifying that all work required by these
rules and regulations has been constructed in conformance with the
approved construction plans.
B.
Obtain from the applicant/developer letters from the electric, telephone,
gas, cable TV or Internet, and fiber optic/broadband companies, as
applicable, stating that their respective underground systems have
been installed to their satisfaction.
D.
Obtain from the applicant/developer, where applicable, a deed or
easement, in a form approved by the Planning Board, transferring to
the municipality or to an approved public utility company, without
cost, valid unencumbered title to any sanitary sewers, water mains,
and appurtenances thereto, and other utilities constructed and installed
in the subdivision or approved portion thereof. Such deed or easement
shall include perpetual rights and easements to construct, inspect,
repair, renew, replace, operate and forever maintain such sanitary
sewers, water mains and other utilities, with any manholes, conduits,
and other appurtenances, and to do all acts incidental thereto, in,
through, and under the whole of all roads in the subdivision or approved
portion thereof. If any such utility has been constructed and installed
in land not within such roads, then the deed or easement shall include
a strip of land extending a minimum of fifteen (15) feet in width
on each side of the center line of all such utilities. The Planning
Board may require greater than fifteen (15) feet in width on each
side of the center line where it deems necessary.
E.
If the
Planning Board determines that all improvements as shown on the endorsed
definitive plan and all required plans and legal documents have been
completed satisfactorily, it will release all the interest of the
municipality in such performance guarantee and return the bond to
the person who furnished the same, or release the covenant, by appropriate
instrument, duly acknowledged, which may be recorded.
F.
If the
Planning Board determines after inspection that said construction
or installation has not been completed, or that said construction
or installation fails to comply with these rules and regulations,
it will send by registered mail to the applicant/developer and to
the Town Clerk the details wherein said construction or installation
fails to comply with its rules.
G.
The applicant/developer
shall have thirty (30) days after receipt of such notice to correct
all problems mentioned above, unless a written extension is requested
and approved by the Planning Board. Failure of the applicant/developer
to finish all the necessary work within said time period shall authorize
the Planning Board to draw upon the performance guarantee.
H.
Any such
performance guarantee may be enforced and any such deposit may be
applied by the Planning Board for the benefit of the municipality,
as provided in MGL c. 41, § 81, upon failure of the performance
for which any bond or deposit was given to the extent of the reasonable
cost to the municipality of completing such construction and installation.
