Every application for action by the Board, including appeals from decisions of the Building Inspector and petitions for variances and special permits, shall be made on the official form of the Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA), which shall be furnished by the Town Clerk or the Building Inspector upon request. Any communication purporting to be an application shall be treated as merely advisory, and no notice shall be deemed to have been given until such time as it is made on the official application form and filed with the Town Clerk and the Building Inspector. Information called for by the form shall be furnished by the applicant in the manner therein prescribed.
Every application shall be filed with both the Town Clerk and the Building Inspector. The Town Clerk shall indicate the date on which the application was received and transmit a copy of the dated application to the applicant. The date of receipt as indicated by the Town Clerk shall be considered to be the date on which the application has been filed with the Board of Appeals. It shall be the responsibility of the applicant to furnish all supporting documentation with the application, and the dated copy received from the Town Clerk does not absolve the applicant from this responsibility.
Each application and petition to the Board shall be accompanied by three copies of the following described plan. Plans must be submitted to the office of the Town Clerk at the same time as the application. Failure to comply with the requirements of the application form and those listed below may result in a dismissal of an application as incomplete.
A. 
Size of plan: 8 1/2 inches by 11 inches or 11 inches by 17 inches drawn to scale, or a clear and reasonable representation of the proposal. Preferred scale: one inch equals 40 feet. Note: For projects the ZBA determines to be "major projects," plans must be of a size and scale to be determined in consultation with the Zoning Board of Appeals.
B. 
Features to be indicated on the plan:
(1) 
Site orientation:
(a) 
North point.
(b) 
Zoning district(s).
(c) 
Names of streets.
(d) 
Wetlands (if applicable).
(e) 
Names of owners of properties within a minimum of 300 feet as shown on the most recent tax list.
(f) 
Location of buildings on surrounding properties.
(g) 
Measurements of all relevant features, lot lines, etc.
C. 
Additional information required:
(1) 
Existing features are to be shown in black.
(2) 
Proposed features are to be shown in color.
(3) 
Setback, side and rear yard dimensions shall be indicated by dashed line.
(4) 
Graphic scale.
(5) 
Date of plan.
(6) 
Title of plan.
(7) 
Name of applicant, owner of record (if different) and designer or surveyor.
D. 
Special requirements for other projects. In addition to the above-mentioned features, plans for major projects must show detailed utilities and topographic information and must bear the stamp of a registered architect, engineer or surveyor. The ZBA may require further information to be shown.
E. 
The Board shall have the authority to alter or waive these requirements as it deems necessary or appropriate in particular cases.
A. 
All applications shall be accompanied by an applications fee in the form of cash or check, payable to the Town of Whately, according to the following schedule:
[Amended 4-25-2024]
(1) 
Residential/agricultural: $175.
(2) 
Commercial/industrial: $225.
B. 
When reviewing an application, the Board may determine that the assistance of outside consultants is warranted due to the size, scale or complexity of a proposed project or because of a project's potential impacts. The Board may require that applicants pay a review fee consisting of the reasonable costs incurred by the Board for the employment of outside consultants engaged by the Board to assist in the review of an application.
C. 
In hiring outside consultants, the Board may engage engineers, planners, lawyers, urban designers or other appropriate professionals who can assist the Board in analyzing a project to ensure compliance with all relevant laws, bylaws and regulations.
D. 
Funds received by the Board pursuant to this section shall be deposited with the Municipal Treasurer-Collector, who shall establish a special account for this purpose. Expenditures from this special account may be made at the direction of the Board without further appropriation. Expenditures from this special account shall be made only in connection with the review of a specific project or projects for which a review fee has been or will be collected from the applicant. Failure of an applicant to pay a review fee shall be grounds for denial of the application.
[Amended 4-25-2024]
E. 
Review fees may only be spent for services rendered in connection with the specific project from which they were collected. Accrued interest may also be spent for this purpose. At the completion of the Board's review of a project, any excess amount in the account, including interest, attributable to a specific project shall be repaid to the applicant or the applicant's successor in interest. A final report of said account shall be made available to the applicant or the applicant's successor in interest. For the purpose of this regulation, any person or entity claiming to be an applicant's successor in interest shall provide the Board with documentation establishing such succession in interest.