The following regulations shall apply in all circumstances governed by the Subdivision Control Law.
Any person desiring to divide or subdivide land shall, before proceeding with the improvement or sale of lots in the division or subdivision, or the construction of ways or the installation of municipal services therein, submit to the Planning Board a plan of such division or subdivision pursuant to the Subdivision Control Law and the Regulations and secure approval or endorsement by the Planning Board as hereinafter provided.
Any application for approval or endorsement, required plan, required submittal, and required fee shall comply in all respects with the provisions of the Regulations. No plan shall be approved or endorsed by the Planning Board until said plan together with all required applications, forms, fees, lists and other items have been duly submitted by the applicant and are properly executed and fully completed in accordance with the Regulations. Where the applicant fails to comply with the Regulations, the Planning Board may reject the application after detailing the ways in which said application and plan do not conform as required under MGL c. 41, §§ 81P and 81U.
Any proposed division and any proposed subdivision of land shall comply in all respects with the Regulations, unless the Planning Board authorizes an express waiver therefrom in specified and authorized instances in accordance with the requirements set forth under MGL c. 41, § 81R, and does so in writing.
Strict compliance with the Regulations governing the subdivision of land may be waived under MGL c. 41, § 81R, provided that the Planning Board determines that, in its judgment, in the particular case at issue, waiver of strict compliance would be in the public interest and not inconsistent with the Subdivision Control Law.
As mandated under MGL c. 41, § 81Y, Paragraph 2, the Building Inspector/Zoning Enforcement Officer shall not issue any permit for erection of a building until first satisfied that the lot on which the building is to be erected is not within a subdivision that requires approval under the Subdivision Control Law, or that the way which furnishes the access to the lot within a subdivision as required by the Subdivision Control Law is shown on a plan recorded or entitled to be recorded under MGL c. 41, § 81X, and that any conditions endorsed on a subdivision plan that limit the right to erect or maintain buildings on such lot have been satisfied, or waived by the Planning Board, and in the event that the Planning Board has by rule or regulation required that not more than one building for dwelling purposes be erected or placed or converted to use as such on any lot without its consent, until the Building Inspector/Zoning Enforcement Officer is satisfied that such consent has been obtained.
The Planning Board shall be responsible for the division or subdivision of land, as set forth in MGL c. 41, § 81N.
A. 
Scheduling of meetings. The Planning Board shall schedule and hold regular meetings at such a place and on such dates and times as may be designated by notice filed with the Town Clerk at least 48 hours in advance as required under MGL c. 30A, § 20. Regular meetings of the Planning Board are open for the public to attend.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Amendment pending.
B. 
Appointments. Anyone desiring to initiate an action that is within the jurisdiction of the Planning Board shall do so by advance appointment only at a posted meeting, unless otherwise provided for by law. To secure an appointment, all applicants shall contact the Planning Board's staff at least four business days prior to a regularly scheduled meeting. The applicant shall provide the applicant's name, address and a brief outline of the nature of the business that is to be discussed with the Planning Board. The only exception to the four-day rule shall be that the nature of the business is confidential under MGL c. 30A, § 18 et seq.[2]
[2]
Editor's Note: Amendment pending.
C. 
Public meeting procedures.
(1) 
All meetings of the Planning Board shall be public, unless conducted in executive session, and shall be conducted formally under the direction of the Chair or the Chair's designee and only when a quorum of the Board is in attendance, other than to reschedule meetings or to take action that is required to indicate that a quorum was not present.
(2) 
All applicants and all other persons desiring to submit a petition or to be heard shall address the Planning Board only upon being properly recognized by the Chair and shall direct all testimony to the Chair. All spectators at a meeting of the Planning Board shall respect the desire of the Chair to conduct business in an orderly manner. No person shall address a public meeting of the Planning Board without permission of the presiding officer. All persons shall, at the request of the presiding officer, be silent. If, after warning from the presiding officer, a person persists in disorderly behavior, the presiding officer may order that person to withdraw from the meeting and, if the disorderly person does not withdraw, the presiding officer may order a constable or any other person to remove the disorderly person and confine said person in some convenient place until the meeting is adjourned. MGL c. 30A, § 20.[3]
[3]
Editor's Note: Amendment pending.
(3) 
Executive sessions. Executive sessions of the Planning Board may be held as authorized by the Open Meeting Law. MGL c. 30A, § 21.[4]
[4]
Editor's Note: Amendment pending.
D. 
Public hearing procedures. All comments or information, documents, plans and letters received during a public hearing shall be taken into consideration by the Planning Board in making a decision on a pending matter.
E. 
Records. The records of the Planning Board shall be public records as provided for under state law. Maintenance of such records shall be consistent with the requirements of MGL c. 30A, §§ 18 to 25.[5]
[5]
Editor's Note: Amendment pending.
[Amended 5-8-2021 ATM by Art. 11]
Pursuant to MGL c. 41, § 81Q, and MGL c. 44, § 53G, the Planning Board may assign as its agents appropriate Town officials and/or may hire professional technical consultants for the purpose of reviewing plans and inspecting improvements at the cost of the applicant. The selection of an outside consultant shall be subject to an administrative appeal to the Select Board, but such an appeal shall be limited to claims that the consultant selected has a conflict of interest or does not possess the minimum required qualifications as set forth under MGL c. 44, § 53G.
The fees appended hereto as Appendix V, Schedule of Fees, are hereby adopted under MGL c. 41 and MGL c. 44, § 53G, and shall apply to the submittal of application materials of the various plans specified in the Regulations, to cover the Planning Board's costs of processing applications, obtaining technical review, and inspecting work.
A. 
The Planning Board, on its own motion or on the petition of any interested person, shall have the power to modify, amend, or rescind its approval of a plan of a subdivision, or to require a change in a plan as a condition of its retaining the status of an approved plan, after due notice and opportunity to the owner to be heard in accordance with MGL c. 41, § 81W, as amended.
B. 
No modification, amendment or rescission of the approval of a plan of a subdivision or changes in such plan shall affect the lots in such subdivision which have been sold or mortgaged in good faith and for a valuable consideration subsequent to the approval of the plan, or any rights appurtenant thereto, without the consent of the owner of such lots, and of the holder of the mortgage or mortgages, if any, thereon; provided, however, that nothing herein shall be deemed to prohibit such modification, amendment or rescission when there has been a sale to a single grantee of either the entire parcel of land shown on the subdivision plan or of all the lots not previously released by the Planning Board.
A. 
Not more than one dwelling shall be erected, or placed, or converted to use as a dwelling on any lot in a subdivision or elsewhere in the Town without the consent of the Planning Board, and such consent shall be conditioned upon provision of adequate ways furnishing access to each site for such building in the same manner as otherwise required for lots within a subdivision. MGL c. 41, § 81Q, Paragraph 1, and § 81Y, Paragraph 2. This regulation applies to all land in the Town, even if it is not being subdivided.
B. 
Lot limitation. No lot may be added to an approved subdivision without obtaining further subdivision approval under MGL c. 41, § 81W.
Plans shall be endorsed as not requiring approval under the Subdivision Control Law and subdivision plans shall be approved only if each building lot to be created by such plan has adequate access as intended under the Subdivision Control Law, MGL c. 41, §§ 81K to 81GG.
A. 
Standards of adequacy of access. The following standards of adequacy of access shall be followed:
(1) 
Approval not required (ANR) site. A way providing access to lots proposed on a plan submitted under or pursuant to MGL c. 41, § 81P, shall be considered adequate access only if said way meets the requirements of MGL c. 41, § 81L.
(2) 
Within a subdivision. A street depicted on a proposed subdivision plan shall be considered adequate access only if it complies with the standards established in the Regulations or has received proper waivers therefrom.
(3) 
To a subdivision. Adjacent, existing ways that would provide access to streets within a proposed subdivision shall be considered to provide adequate access to the proposed subdivision only if such adjacent, existing ways meet the standards set forth herein for width of right-of-way, construction, drainage, pavement width, sight distance, and maximum grade.
B. 
Obligations of applicant to make improvements. The Planning Board may require appropriate and reasonable improvements in adjacent streets and ways to minimize congestion, to ensure safe and adequate access to the proposed subdivision and to ensure safe and adequate vehicular and pedestrian travel in a coordinated system of streets and ways in Norwell and connecting to adjacent municipalities. The Planning Board may require, as a condition of its approval of a definitive subdivision plan, that the applicant shall dedicate or acquire and then dedicate a strip of land for the purpose of widening existing ways to a width as required in the Regulations and that the applicant shall make physical improvements within such way or compensate the Town for the cost of such improvements in order to meet the standards specified above.