Town of North Andover, MA Article IV Preliminary Subdivision Plans

§ 255-4.1 Purpose.

A. The submission of a preliminary plan enables the applicant, the Board, other municipal agencies and officials and the owners of property abutting the subdivision to discuss and clarify any problems the proposed subdivision may present before a definitive plan is prepared.

B. The applicant must read these rules and regulations carefully and thoroughly and then meet informally with the Town Planner with a sketch of the area of the proposed subdivision to obtain information about the subdivision requirements of the area. Any uncertainties and ambiguities about the rules and regulations or the requirements in the appendices should be raised during this initial consultation.[1] After such initial consultation with the Town Planner, the applicant may meet before the Board.

(1) Such preapplication consultation shall be informal, nonbinding, and directed toward:

(a) Reviewing the basic concepts of the proposal;

(b) Reviewing the proposal with regard to the Master Plan and Zoning Bylaw;[2]

[2] Editor's Note: See Ch. 195, Zoning.

(c) Explaining the state and local regulations that may apply to the proposal.

(2) Preliminary discussion shall not bind the applicant or the Board.

[1] Editor's Note: The appendices are included as attachments to this chapter.

C. It is strongly recommended that a preliminary plan be filed in every case. In accordance with MGL c. 41, § 81S, in the case of a nonresidential subdivision, the submission of a preliminary plan is required. However, the submission of a preliminary plan for subdivisions showing lots in a residential zone is left to the discretion of the applicant.

§ 255-4.2 Application procedure; fees.

Any person who desires approval of a preliminary plan for the subdivision of land shall:

A. File Form B with Board and Board of Health. File an application (Form B) with the Board and with the Board of Health.[1]

[1] Editor's Note: Form B is included as an attachment to this chapter.

B. Required sets of plans with submission. Submit with the application a reproducible preliminary plan, prepared in accordance with the form described under § 255-4.3, and nine contact prints to the Board. A plan shall be submitted under this section when delivered at a meeting of the Board or when sent by registered mail to the Planning Board, care of the Town Clerk. If so mailed, the date of mailing of the plan by the applicant shall be the receipt date stamped by the Town Clerk's office. Two contact prints shall be submitted by the applicant to the Board of Health simultaneously with the submittal to the Town Clerk. Please refer to § 255-4.4 for additional prints which need to be submitted to other departments for the submission to be approved by the Planning Board.

C. Filing fees.

(1) Base filing fee. Submit with the application a base filing fee of $275 plus $70 per each building lot shown on the plan.

(2) Project review fees. See Project Review Fees Schedule.[2]

[2] Editor's Note: The Project Review Fees Schedule is on file in the Town offices.

(3) Failure to pay fees. Failure to pay all fees listed above in Subsection C(1) and (2) at the time of submission of the definitive plan will result in the plan being denied.

D. Filing notice with Town Clerk. File, by delivery or registered mail, a written notice to the Town Clerk, stating the date of submission of the preliminary plan.

§ 255-4.3 Form and contents.

The preliminary plan should contain sufficient information about the subdivision to form a clear basis for discussion and for the preparation of the definitive plan. The plan shall, at a minimum, provide the following; plans that do not include the following will not be considered submitted:

A. Shall be prepared by a registered professional engineer or registered land surveyor and shall bear a professional seal and signature. The plan shall be drawn clearly and legibly on Mylar sheets that are 24 inches by 36 inches, with a 1 1/2-inch left-hand margin and all others 3/4-inch, and contain the following information:

(1) Subdivision name, boundaries, North arrow (indicate whether true, magnetic, or grid), locus, date, legend, and the title "Preliminary Subdivision Plan."

(2) Names and addresses of the record owner, the subdivider, the designer, and engineer or surveyor.

(3) Names of all abutting property owners taken from the certified list of abutters. Abutting properties shall be labeled as to ownership.

(4) Location, names, improved widths, and exterior lines of existing streets abutting, providing access to, or approaching in close proximity to the proposed subdivision. The existing streets shall be marked as to whether they are accepted or unaccepted ways.

(5) Location names, proposed improved width, and exterior lines of all proposed streets within the subdivision. State whether the proposed streets will be offered for acceptance to the Town.

(6) Boundaries and character of all existing and proposed easements within or immediately adjacent to the subdivision.

(7) Boundaries of any existing or proposed areas dedicated to public use.

(8) The entire parcel being subdivided shall be shown on the preliminary subdivision plan. The parcel shall include all contiguous property in the ownership of the subdivider or in the same ownership as any of the land being subdivided. If the applicant wishes to have some portion of such land designated in the preliminary subdivision plan as not a part of the subdivision, the applicant must submit to the Planning Board a determination from the Inspector of Buildings that the land so excluded is a legally separate and buildable lot.

(9) Proposed boundary lines of lots, with dimensions and areas indicated.

(10) Layout of proposed storm and surface drainage system. This shall include the general location and size of drain lines, culverts, trenches, catch basins, manholes, and other structures in the proposed drainage system. The proposed drainage plan shall indicate the location of bodies of water and wetland resource areas, both within and adjacent to the subdivision, particularly if they will be receiving drainage discharge from the subdivision. The applicant shall submit sufficient information to indicate the general volumes, rates, flows that would be generated by the subdivision and must be accommodated by the drainage system.

(11) The topography shown with contour intervals of not greater than two feet. Figures of elevation to represent the natural surface may be provided in addition to contours.

(12) A copy of the deed demonstrating ownership of the property and reference to any and all deeds, encumbrances and easements shall be listed on the plan and depicted on a separate sheet.

B. Subdivision name, plan legends. Subdivision name, boundaries, North arrow, date, zoning district(s), legend, scale and title "Preliminary Plan";

C. Names of owner, applicant, engineer, registered land surveyor (RLS). Name(s) and address(es) of record owner(s), applicant(s), engineer and land surveyor;

D. Requirement of registered professional engineer (RPE)/RLS stamp. The original Mylar and Form B[1] shall bear the original seal and signature of the professional(s) responsible for the preparation of the plan;

[1] Editor's Note: Form B is included as an attachment to this chapter.

E. Names of abutters. Names of all abutters to the lot which is the subject of the application, as they appear on the most recent tax list;

F. Location of streets, scenic roads, and all utilities. Location, names and present exterior pavement and right-of-way widths of existing and proposed streets and ways within the plan and in the immediate vicinity. Indication of whether the existing street is subject to the Scenic Roads Act (MGL c. 40, § 15C); location and identification of all existing utilities within the plan and immediate vicinity;

G. Lot lines and numbers. Lot lines with approximate dimensions, CBA areas, and total frontage. Each lot shall be numbered. This information must also appear in a table on the cover sheet;

H. Public areas abutting or within the subdivision;

I. Existing and proposed topography at two-foot intervals sufficient to establish drainage patterns and profiles and water bodies. The topography shall include a sufficient length of the existing street(s) to which the proposed subdivision street(s) will connect to determine the available sight distances for all vehicle turning movements at the street intersection(s) and the location, size and type of existing utilities and street trees. The topography shall also include a sufficient length of the natural watercourse(s) that will receive runoff and drainage system discharge from the site to determine hydraulic characteristics and flooding potential beyond the subdivision boundaries;

J. Major features of the land, such as existing structures, wells, septic systems, walls, fences, monuments, wooded areas, outcroppings, ditches, swamps, water bodies, wetland resource areas and natural waterways intended to receive drainage effluent;

K. A statement describing cut and fill operations, including a general assessment of the net import or export of fill from the subdivision;

L. Areas of the plan designated as floodplain, in accordance with the Federal Insurance Rate Maps (FIRMs);

M. Existing and proposed center-line profiles of all proposed streets and ways;

N. Existing and proposed drainage systems, sewer and water pipes, hydrants, valves, gas lines, and other utilities; layout of proposed storm and surface drainage system. This shall include the general location and size of drain pipes, culverts, trenches, catch basins, manholes, and other structures in the proposed drainage system. The proposed drainage plan shall indicate the location of bodies of water and wetland resource areas, both within and adjacent to the subdivision, particularly if they will be receiving drainage discharge from the subdivision. The applicant shall submit sufficient information to indicate the general volumes, rates, flows, etc., that would be generated by the subdivision and must be accommodated by the drainage system;

O. Existing and proposed easements and rights-of-way applicable to the area shown on the plan;

P. Locus map at a scale of 600 feet to the inch and a key map shown at a scale of 200 feet to the inch.

§ 255-4.4 Review by other bodies.

One set of prints and supporting documentation of the preliminary plan shall be forwarded forthwith by the applicant to the Fire Chief, Conservation Commission, Board of Health, Department of Public Works, Open Space Committee, Police Department and Building/Zoning Department and any other applicable Town board and/or commission for their information and review. Proof of receipt of these plans by a signature of the appropriate staff of each of the above-named departments must be provided to the Planning Department in order for a submittal to be reviewed.

§ 255-4.5 Approval.

A. The Planning Board, in considering a preliminary subdivision plan, shall first determine whether the applicant's submission constitutes a proper submittal. If the Planning Board determines that the application is not a proper submittal, the application shall be denied without prejudice. If the application is determined to be a proper submittal, the Planning Board may consider the application.

B. Within 45 days after submission of a preliminary plan, the Board shall notify the applicant and the Town Clerk, by certified mail, either that the plan has been approved, or that the plan has been approved with modifications suggested by the Board or agreed upon by the person submitting the plan, or that the plan has been disapproved. In the case of disapproval, the Board shall state in detail its reason therefor. The approval of a preliminary plan does not constitute approval of a subdivision but does facilitate the procedure in securing the approval of a definitive plan. Except as otherwise provided, the provisions of the Subdivision Control Law relating to a plan shall not be applicable to a preliminary plan, and no Register of Deeds shall record a preliminary plan.

§ 255-4.6 Relationship to definitive plan.

Approval of a preliminary plan does not constitute approval of a subdivision and a preliminary plan cannot be recorded in the Registry of Deeds or the Land Court.