Strict compliance with the requirements of these rules and regulations
may be waived only by a recorded vote of the Board, when, in the opinion
of the Board, such action is in the public interest and not inconsistent
with the Subdivision Control Law. All waiver requests shall be in
writing and shall specify the section of these regulations for which
a waiver is requested.
For matters not covered herein, reference is made to the Subdivision
Control Law.
The applicant is responsible for ensuring all construction is
properly inspected by the Board or its agent. Inspections shall be
made by the Board or its agent to ensure that construction conforms
to the approved plans. Copies of all inspection reports will be made
available to the applicant. As a minimum, the inspections listed below
shall be performed for all subdivisions. The order and number of inspections
may vary or overlap depending upon site conditions. Adequate notification
for inspection requests shall be given to the Board. Notification
shall be a minimum of 48 hours (excluding Saturdays, Sundays and legal
holidays) in advance of the time inspection is needed. Neither inspections
by the Board or its agents nor inspections, tests or approvals by
others shall relieve the owner from the owner's obligations to perform
the work in accordance with the approved plans and these rules and
regulations. Work that has been determined to be defective as the
result of evidence discovered subsequent to opinions of conformance
shall be corrected prior to final acceptance of the work at the owner's
expense.
A.
Clearing, grubbing and excavation. Inspection(s) shall be made of
the work after clearing, grubbing and rough grading of the subdivision
but prior to placement of any fill required for street or way construction.
At this time any areas of unsuitable material for street or way construction
will be identified for subsequent removal. Reinspections shall be
made after removal of unsuitable material.
B.
Fill. Inspection(s) of compacted fill in place shall be made. Fill
may be tested for conformance of material and required compaction
at this time. Fills placed in more than one lift may require multiple
inspections.
C.
Underground utilities. Regardless of the underground utility involved,
the backfilling of all trenches requires inspection.
(1)
Drainage.
(a)
Outfalls of all drainage shall be staked with location and cut
or fill to invert clearly marked thereon prior to any further drainage
construction. Location and grade shall then be inspected by the Board
or its agent for conformance with the approved plans.
(b)
Inspection shall be made by the Board or its agent of all drainage
pipe and structures prior to backfilling. Prior to inspection, grade
and location stakes shall be provided or other arrangements made so
that checks on elevation or location can be performed by one man.
(c)
Inspection of castings shall be conducted prior to application
of the surface pavement course.
(2)
Sewer system. Inspection shall be made by the Sewer Department or
its agent. Inspection shall be coordinated with the Board. No pipe
or structure excavations shall be covered prior to inspection. Appropriate
leakage tests for structures and pipes shall be made on all components
of the sewer system. Appropriate field control shall be supplied to
enable checking of grades and location by one man. If required by
the inspector, water lines shall be uncovered at the owner's expense
in the vicinity of the sewer system to verify that proper clearances
have been maintained.
(3)
Water system. Inspection shall be made by the Water Department or
its agent. Inspection shall be coordinated with the Board. No pipe
or structure excavations shall be covered prior to inspection. Appropriate
leakage tests for pipes shall be made on all components of the system.
Appropriate field control shall be supplied to enable checking of
grades and location by one man. If required by the inspector, sewer
lines shall be uncovered at the owner's expense in the vicinity of
the water system to verify proper clearances have been maintained.
(4)
Other utilities. Other utilities shall be inspected by the utility
company with jurisdiction; however, the Board shall be given notice
of such inspections as indicated above.
D.
Trench backfill. Inspections shall be made on trench backfill for
all underground utilities. Inspection shall be for conformance of
material and compaction of material. Frequency of this inspection
shall depend upon outcome of initial inspections and experience with
contractor on this and other aspects of construction.
E.
Roadway and sidewalk foundation. Inspection shall be for conformance
of material and compaction of material. Samples of material in roadway
and sidewalk foundation shall be taken for laboratory testing. Field
compaction tests shall be performed on material taken from roadway
foundation. Compaction tests shall be performed at least every 100
feet and at utility structures as required.
F.
Bituminous concrete pavement. Inspection shall be made on the binder
course and the surface course of roadway paving and the binder course
and surface course of sidewalk paving. Ninety-six hours prior to placement
of any material, the contractor shall submit to the Board or its agent
for approval mix specifications, name of supplier of mix and name
of subcontractor installing the mix. At the time of paving the Board
may make any tests or take samples it deems appropriate to check conformance
with the approved plans and these rules and regulations.
G.
Curbing. Prior to backfill of granite curbing, an inspection shall
be made.
H.
Loam and seed. Prior to seeding loam shall be inspected for depth
and material conformance.
I.
Other improvements. Inspection(s) shall be made of all other improvements
such as castings, grass plots, side slopes, monuments, street signs,
lighting, street trees, walls, guardrails, etc., for conformance with
the approved plans. Timing of inspection(s) shall be as required to
ensure proper inspection.
J.
Final inspection(s). Inspection(s) shall be made of the entire work
including cleanup. If items of nonconformance are discovered, they
shall be listed by the Board and a reinspection of the subdivision
shall be made. Reinspection will not be limited to listed items; if
evidence of faulty or substandard construction appears between inspections
it shall be listed and must be repaired. At the time of request for
final inspection, the contractor shall present the following:
(1)
Copies of written approvals for underground utilities inspected by
other agencies. Said approvals shall be in a form acceptable to the
Board.
(2)
As-built plans (three sets) indicating as-built locations of all
monuments and structures, said plans to be stamped by a Massachusetts
registered professional land surveyor and in a form acceptable to
the Board.
A.
Inspectors or agents shall render opinions to the Board on conformance
of work inspected with approved plans. Inspectors or agents designated
by the Board do not have the authority to waive any requirements of
the approved plans unless such authority is granted to them by the
Board. Inspectors may interpret plans when requested by the contractor;
such interpretation shall be made either verbally or in writing.
B.
Inspectors or their agents may offer opinions to the Board regarding
changes required to be made in the field due to errors in the original
approved plans or errors made during construction. Such opinions shall
be made solely as a means of expediting resolution of a problem and
shall not be construed as authorization to proceed with changes or
modifications to the approved plans. The Board is the only body empowered
to allow modification of the approved plans; any conditions that require
modification shall be presented to the Board for approval. Any deviations
from the approved plans constructed without approval of the Board
are constructed at the owner's risk and shall be removed and replaced
at his own expense if deemed unsatisfactory by the Board.
