A. 
As used in these regulations, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
APPLICANT
Includes an owner or his agent or representative or his assignee.
AS-BUILT PLAN
A final plan submitted after construction, stamped and certified by a registered engineer or surveyor, that shows the actual location of all construction elements as opposed to the approved plan.
BOARD
The Planning Board of the Town of Sturbridge.
CERTIFIED BY (ENDORSED BY)
As applied to a plan or instrument required or authorized by the Subdivision Control Law to be recorded, shall mean bearing a certification or endorsement signed by a majority of the members of the Planning Board.
DEAD-END STREET
A permanent or temporary street to provide a single access to and from an existing or proposed through street. This definition is intended to include culs-de-sac. The total length of road shall be measured to the end of the turnaround area.
DEFINITIVE PLAN
The plan of a subdivision meeting the requirements of the subdivision regulations for submission, with appropriate and complete application submitted to the Board for approval, to be recorded in the Registry of Deeds or filed with the Land Court when approved and endorsed by the Board, all as distinguished from a preliminary plan.
DESIGNER
A professional engineer or land surveyor, or both, registered to practice in Massachusetts. All work defined by MGL c. 112, § 81D as professional engineering or surveying shall be done under the direct supervision of a registered professional engineer or registered land surveyor, respectively.
DEVELOPER
A person (as hereafter defined) who develops, under a plan of subdivision approved under these rules and regulations, and may also be referred to as the applicant, contractor or subdivider.
DRAINAGE
The control of surface water within the tract of land to be divided.
FRONTAGE
For the purposes of these regulations, physical access, or the demonstrated feasibility for physical access, to a property from a street designed for such purposes.
ITE
Institute of Transportation Engineers.
LAYOUT
The full strip of land designated as a way or street, as distinguished from the roadway or traveled way.
LOT
An area of land under one ownership, with definite boundaries, used, or available for use, as a site for one or more buildings.
MUNICIPAL SERVICES
Public utilities furnished by the Town of Sturbridge; or other services provided by the State of Massachusetts.
OWNER
As applied to real estate, the person or persons holding the fee simple title to a parcel, tract or lot of land, as shown by the record in the Registry of Deeds or Probate Records.
PARCEL
A contiguous lot or tract of land owned and recorded as the property of the same persons or controlled by a single entity.
PERSON
An individual, or two or more individuals, a partnership, corporation or trust having common or undivided interest in a tract of land.
PRELIMINARY PLAN
A plan showing the proposed layout of lots and infrastructure within a proposed subdivision, submitted for preliminary approval only.
REGULARITY FACTOR
A calculated relationship, expressed as a decimal, between the lot perimeter and required lot area. See Appendix.[1]
RESIDENTIAL SUBDIVISION
A subdivision lying entirely within the Rural Residential or Suburban Residential Zones as established by the Sturbridge Zoning Map and Bylaw.[2]
ROADWAY
The area within the limits of the traveled way.
STANDARD SPECIFICATIONS
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts Department of Transportation Standard Specifications for Highways and Bridges, 2020 Edition, including all revisions thereto and the Construction Standards Details, Highway Division of the MassDOT October 2017, including all revisions thereto.
STREET
A public or private way, either shown on a plan approved in accordance with the subdivision control law, or otherwise qualifying a lot for access and frontage under MGL c. 41, § 81L.
SUBDIVISION
The division of a tract of land into two or more lots in such a manner as to require provision for one or more new ways, not in existence when the Subdivision Control Law became effective in the Town of Sturbridge, to furnish access for vehicular traffic to one or more of such lots, and shall include resubdivision, and, when appropriate to the context, shall relate to the process of subdivision or the land or territory subdivided; provided, however, that the division of a tract of land into two or more lots shall not be deemed to constitute a "subdivision" within the meaning of the Subdivision Control Law if, at the time when it is made, every lot within the tract so divided has frontage on a public way, or a way shown on a plan theretofore approved in accordance with the Subdivision Control Law, of at least such distance as is then required by zoning or other bylaw, if any, of the Town for erection of a building on such lot and, if no distance is so required, has such frontage of at least 20 feet. Conveyances or other instruments adding to, taking away from or changing the size and shape of lots in such a manner as not to leave any lot so affected without the frontage above set forth, or the division of a tract of land on which two or more buildings were standing when the Subdivision Control Law went into effect in the Town, into separate lots on each of which one of such buildings remains standing shall not constitute a "subdivision."
SUBDIVISION CONTROL
The power of regulating the subdivision of land granted by the Subdivision Control Law.
THROUGH STREET
A street within or outside of the boundaries of a subdivision with a minimum of two points of egress on which vehicular traffic is given preferential right-of-way and intersecting subdivision streets are required to yield the right-of-way in obedience to a stop sign, yield sign or other traffic control device.
TOWN
The Town of Sturbridge.
TRAVELED WAY
That part of the roadway provided for the movement of vehicles, exclusive of shoulders and auxiliary lands.
[1]
Editor's Note: See Appendix 6, included as an attachment to this chapter.
[2]
Editor's Note: See Ch. 300, Zoning, of the Town bylaws.
B. 
Other words shall have the meaning assigned to them in the Subdivision Control Law and the Sturbridge Zoning Bylaw;[3] and if not within these regulations, then by those definitions contained in the most recent edition of The New Illustrated Book of Development Definitions, by Harvey S. Moscowitz and Carl G. Lindbloom.
[3]
Editor's Note: See Ch. 300, Zoning, of the Town bylaws.
Only those plans which constitute subdivisions, as that term is defined in § 350-2.1, require the approval of the Planning Board. However, all plans that show new parcel, lot or property lines or new ways, whether subdivisions within the meaning of the law or not, must have either approval as a subdivision or endorsement that they do not require approval before they will be accepted for recording at the Worcester County Registry of Deeds or for registering at the Land Court.
No person shall make a subdivision, within the meaning of the Subdivision Control Law, of any land within the Town or proceed with the improvement or sale of lots in a subdivision or the construction of ways or the installation of municipal services therein, unless and until a definitive plan of such subdivision has been submitted to and approved by the Planning Board as hereinafter provided.
No subdivision plan shall be approved unless all the building lots located therein comply with the Town of Sturbridge Zoning Bylaw as relates to size, width, area, access, frontage and all other requirements in effect at the time of plan submittal.
[1]
Editor's Note: See Ch. 300, Zoning, of the Town bylaws.
A. 
Any person who wishes to cause to be recorded in the Registry of Deeds or to be filed with the Land Court a plan of land and who believes that his plan does not require approval under the Subdivision Control Law may submit his plan and Application Form A (see Appendix)[1] to the Planning Board, accompanied by the necessary evidence to show that the plan does not require approval and the filing fee as established by the Town of Sturbridge. Said person shall also file, by hand delivery or registered mail, a notice with the Town Clerk stating the date of submission for such determination and accompanied by a copy of said application.
[1]
Editor's Note: See Appendix 5, Forms, included as an attachment to this chapter.
B. 
Three paper prints shall be submitted to the Planning Board. If the plan has been prepared in CAD format, one digital copy of the plan shall also be submitted.
C. 
Plan contents. The plan shall be legibly drawn at an appropriate scale, but no smaller than one inch to 100 feet, and shall contain the following:
(1) 
Identification of the plan by name of owner of record and location of land in question, locus, the scale, North arrow, legend and date; and plan and deed references.
(2) 
The statement "Approval Under Subdivision Control Law Not Required" above the endorsement box and sufficient space for the date and signatures of the Board.
(3) 
Zoning classification and location of any zoning district boundaries that may lie within the locus of the plan. The Assessor's map, block and lot numbers shall be shown.
(4) 
Notice of any proceedings and copies of decisions by the Zoning Board of Appeals, including but not limited to special permits and variances, regarding the land or any buildings thereon.
(5) 
In the case of the creation of a new lot, any remaining land area and frontage in the ownership of the applicant shall be shown.
(6) 
Names and status of public or private street(s) and easements, to include the surface materials and condition of the street(s); and the width of the right-of-way and traveled way of the street or easement. In cases where the accessibility of a roadway is in question, the applicant shall obtain a certification from the Director of Public Works.
(7) 
Location of all existing buildings, including setbacks on the land under consideration.
(8) 
Location of all bounds on land under consideration.
(9) 
Location of all wetland resource areas on the land under consideration, upland areas and percent; and notice of any matters submitted or to be submitted to the Sturbridge Conservation Commission.
(10) 
Slopes in excess of 8% where they may affect driveways or access to the structures.
(11) 
Names of owners and deed references for abutting parcels.
(12) 
Lot area, frontage and regularity factor.
(13) 
All plans shall be annotated above a signature block with the following statement: "Planning Board endorsement is not a determination as to conformance with the Zoning Bylaw." If the plan is a revision or modification of a recently submitted plan, that previous plan shall be presented for reference.
(14) 
All plans shall bear the stamp and signature of a Massachusetts-registered land surveyor and a certification of conformance with the standards of the Worcester County Registry of Deeds.
D. 
The plan must be submitted at least five days in advance of the Board meeting for consideration at that meeting. It is strongly recommended that the owner or owner's representative attend the meeting to support the application; otherwise the plan review may be deferred to a later date.
E. 
If the majority of the members of the Board determines that the plan does not require approval, the Board shall forthwith, without a public hearing, endorse on the plan the words "Planning Board Approval Under the Subdivision Control Law Not Required." The endorsed plan shall be returned to the applicant, and the Board shall notify the Town Clerk of its action, both within 21 days of submittal of the plan.
F. 
If the Board determines that the plan does require approval under the Subdivision Control Law, it shall, within 21 days of submittal of the plan, so notify both the applicant and the Town Clerk and return the plan to the applicant.
G. 
The applicant shall file the approved plan at the Registry of Deeds and shall notify the Board by presenting written evidence of recording of said plan documents within six months of approval.