The concurring vote of at least four members of the Board shall be necessary to grant a variance or special permit petition or to reverse any order or decision of any administrative official.
In the case of a variance or appeal, the Board shall make its decision within 100 days after the date of the filing of the application. In the case of a special permit application, the Board shall make its decision within 90 days of the beginning of the public hearing and within 155 days of the date of the filing of the application. These time limitations shall be extended only by written agreement in accordance with Chapter 171, Zoning.
Any application may be withdrawn without prejudice by notice, in writing, to the Clerk prior to the publication of a public hearing notice. After such publication, an application may be withdrawn without prejudice only if at least four members sitting for the case vote in favor of withdrawal. If an application is withdrawn, the filing fee shall be forfeited.
A. 
Notice of decision.
(1) 
A notice of decision shall be mailed forthwith to the property owner, to the applicant if other than the owner, to all other parties in interest and to every person present at the hearing who requested that notice be sent to him/her and stated the address to which such notice was to be sent. The notice of decision shall be prepared on the approved form adopted by the Board for that purpose and signed by the Clerk. Each notice shall specify that appeals, if any, shall be made pursuant to MGL c. 40A, § 17 and filed within 20 days after the Board files the written decision with the Town Clerk.
(2) 
Within 14 days of the decision, a copy of the notice of decision shall be filed with the office of the Town Clerk; in the case of an appeal, a copy also shall be filed with the Board or official from which the appeal is taken.
B. 
Record of proceedings.
(1) 
The Board shall make a detailed record of proceedings, indicating the vote of each member on each question or, if absent or failing to vote, including such fact and setting forth clearly the reasons for its decision and its official action. The record of proceedings shall contain information as noted on the approved form adopted by the Board and shall be signed by the Clerk.
(2) 
Within 14 days of the date of the decision, the detailed record of proceedings, together with all plans referred to in the decision, shall be filed in the office the Town Clerk and the Planning Board, and a copy of the detailed record of proceedings shall be provided to the property owner and to the applicant if other than the owner.
After 20 days have elapsed after the date the decision is rendered, the applicant shall request the Town Clerk to certify on a copy of the notice of decision that no appeal has been filed or that if such appeal has been filed, that it has been dismissed or denied, is recorded at the Registry of Deeds and is indexed in the grantor index under the name of the owner of record or is recorded and noted on the owner's certificate of title.
A decision shall not take effect until a certified copy is recorded in the Registry of Deeds by the owner or applicant. The owner or applicant shall pay the fee for such recording or registering. The Building Inspector shall not issue a building permit until proof of recording is presented.
A. 
In granting a variance, the Board may impose limitations both of time and use and may prescribe appropriate conditions and safeguards. Violation of such limitations, conditions and safeguards, when made a part of the terms under which the variance is granted, shall be deemed a violation of Article XI of Chapter 171, Zoning.
B. 
In granting a special permit, the Board may impose appropriate conditions, safeguards or limitations which shall be made a part of the building permit. The Board may, after due notice and public hearing, revoke any special permit upon specific finding that any condition of the permit has been violated by the recipient.
A. 
If the rights authorized by a variance are not exercised within one year of the date of the granting of such variance, they shall lapse and may be reestablished only after notice and a new hearing as provided elsewhere in these rules and regulations and in Chapter 171, Zoning.
B. 
A special permit shall lapse in two years from the date of expiration of the statutory appeal period for the permit if a substantial use or construction has not begun under the permit by such date.
Once a decision has been voted upon and the hearing adjourned, there shall be no reconsideration of the decision by the Board, except as provided in § 245-27 below.
A. 
No application that has been unfavorably acted upon by the Board shall be acted upon favorably within two years of the date of the decision unless the applicant submits new evidence that substantially alters the conditions of the application and requests consent from the Planning Board to reapply to the Zoning Board of Appeals.
B. 
The Planning Board shall give notice to the parties in interest regarding the time and place of the proceedings when the question of such consent will be considered. If all but one member of the Planning Board grants consent, the applicant shall submit the new evidence to the Zoning Board of Appeals, which may rehear the application if it finds by a vote of members sitting that there are specific and material changes in the conditions upon which the previous unfavorable action was based. The changes shall be described in the Board's record of proceedings.