It is required that the Applicant first read the Regulations
carefully and thoroughly and then meet informally with the Board and/or
its representative with a sketch plan of the area of a proposed subdivision
in order to obtain information about the subdivision requirements
for the area. Any uncertainties about the Regulations should be raised
during this initial consultation. Informal discussions with other
Town officials would prove helpful at this point; these would include
at a minimum the Director of Public Works, the Health Agent, the Conservation
Agent, the Principal Assessor, and the Board of Fire Engineers.
A Preliminary Plan of a residential subdivision may be, and
of a nonresidential subdivision shall be, filed for submission by
the Applicant with the Planning Board and with the Board of Health,
for discussion and approval, modification, or disapproval by each
Board. The submission of a Preliminary Plan will enable the Applicant,
the Board, other municipal agencies and owners of property abutting
the subdivision to discuss and clarify the problems of such subdivision
before a Definitive Plan is prepared. Therefore, it is strongly recommended
that the Preliminary Plan be filed in every case.
A. Submission: Any person who desires approval of a Preliminary Plan
for the subdivision of land shall:
(1) File with the Planning Board, at a regularly scheduled meeting, and
with the Board of Health, an application in the form appended hereto
marked Form B and obtain acceptance of said application;
(2) Submit a preliminary draft of an Environmental Analysis including a soils map in accordance with the provisions of §
117-18C. It is understood that most issues can be discussed only qualitatively at this stage of design;
(3) Submit an original Preliminary Plan, in the form hereinafter set
forth, and ten contact prints thereof to the Planning Board and two
contact prints thereof to the Board of Health; and one set, of electronic
files thereof in PDF format;
(4) File by delivery or by registered or certified mail, postage prepaid,
a written notice with the Town Clerk accompanied by a copy of the
completed application. If notice is given by delivery, the Town Clerk
will, if requested, give a written receipt therefore; and
(5) Submit, with the Preliminary Subdivision application, an application
fee in the form of a check or money order, payable to the Town of
Newbury, in accordance with the Town of Newbury Planning Board fee
schedule. The Applicant shall be responsible for additional costs
incurred relating to the preliminary subdivision plan. These costs
shall include, but not be limited to: legal advertising, notification
of abutters by registered and/or certified mail and any review fees
for technical consultants' review of the plans.
B. Form and contents of a Preliminary Plan: The Preliminary Plan shall
be drawn on a reproducible transparency at a suitable scale and shall
contain the following information:
(1) Proposed subdivision name or identifying title, boundaries, north
point, date, scale, legend and title "Preliminary Plan," and block
for approval;
(2) Names and addresses of Record Owner(s), Applicant(s), and Engineer,
Surveyor or other designer of the preliminary layout, with professional
stamp;
(3) Names and location of all abutters as they appear on the most recent
tax list, as certified by the Newbury Assessor's Office;
(4) Existing or proposed lines of streets, sidewalks, ways, lots, easements
and public or common areas within the subdivision in a general manner;
(5) Names, approximate location and widths of streets adjacent to the
subdivision;
(6) Approximate boundary lines of all proposed lots or divisions of land,
with their approximate areas and dimensions. Lots shall be numbered
in sequence;
(7) Proposed system of drainage, and all natural water and drainage systems
on the site, including, but not limited to the approximate location
of all swamp, salt marsh, and wetlands, water bodies, vernal pools,
perennial and intermittent streams, open drains and ditches, natural
or manmade, and flowage rights, public and private, adjacent to or
within the proposed subdivision, in a general manner;
(8) Zoning classification(s) and location of any Zoning District Boundaries,
including overlay zoning such as flood plain or wetlands, which may
lie within the subdivision;
(9) The existing and proposed topography of the land at 2 ft. contour
intervals;
(10)
The volume of earth to be removed, if applicable, or a statement
that no earth is to be removed from the subdivision in conjunction
with construction;
(11)
The existing tree line and the area(s) of trees to be removed;
(12)
The location, boundary lines, area and dimensions of all wetlands
(as defined in G.L., Chapter 131, Section 40, as amended) situated
on each lot within the subdivision; and
(13)
Boundaries of the 100 year flood plain according to the latest
FIRM maps and of the Great Marsh Area of Critical Environmental Concern
(ACEC).
C. Review of the Preliminary Plan: Upon acceptance of a Preliminary
Plan application, the Planning Board shall post one set of Preliminary
Plans in the Town Hall for public review and shall forward one set
of Preliminary Plans to the Conservation Commission, the Highway Department,
the Board of Fire Engineers, and the applicable Water District Commission.
Within 30 (thirty) days of receipt of the Preliminary Plan, each agency
shall report its findings and recommendations to the Planning Board.
If a department does not respond within this period of time, it will
be presumed that it has no objection to the Plan.
D. Approval, Modification or Disapproval: As soon as practicable after
accepting the submission, the Planning Board and the Board of Health
will study the Preliminary Plan and discuss it with the Applicant.
Within 45 (forty-five) days of submission the Planning Board shall
approve the Preliminary Plan with or without modifications suggested
by it or agreed upon by the Applicant, or shall disapprove the Preliminary
Plan, stating in detail the reasons for such disapproval. The Planning
Board shall send notice of its action to the Town Clerk and, by certified
mail, to the Applicant. Approval of the Planning Board does not constitute
approval of a Subdivision, but does facilitate the procedure in securing
approval of a Definitive Plan. No Register of Deeds shall record a
Preliminary Plan.