To effect any variance in the application of the Zoning Bylaws, to reverse any order or decision of any administrative official, or to grant a special permit where so authorized by the Zoning Bylaw, the concurring vote of four members of the Board shall be necessary. The concurring vote of a majority of the Board shall be necessary to effect a decision on any other matter legally coming under the jurisdiction of the Board, such as a comprehensive permit. The Board shall cause to be made a detailed record of its proceedings, showing the vote of each member upon each question, or, if absent, or failing to vote, indicating such fact, and setting forth clearly the reason or reasons for its decisions, and of its other official actions, copies of all of which shall be filed in the office of the Town Clerk and shall be a public record.
An application may be withdrawn without prejudice by notice, in writing, to the clerk at any time prior to the publication of notice of the public hearing thereon. After publication of notice of the public hearing, a petition or application may be withdrawn without prejudice only with the consent of the Board.
When a petition or application has been voted upon and the meeting adjourned, there shall be no reconsideration of a decision of the Board except in accordance with MGL c. 40A, § 16.
In order to have any petition or application which has been unfavorably acted upon by the Board reconsidered by the Board within two years, the petitioner must follow the procedure outlined in MGL c. 40A, and the Zoning Bylaw.
A. 
The clerk of the Board will send notices of a decision forthwith to the applicant, to parties in interest and to every person present at the hearing who requests that notice be sent to him/her and states the address to which such notice is to be sent.
B. 
No variance, or any extension, modification or renewal thereof, shall take effect until a copy of the decision bearing the certification of the Town Clerk that 20 days have elapsed after the decision has been filed in the office of the Town Clerk and no appeal has been filed, or that if such appeal has been filed, that it has been dismissed or denied, or that if it is a variance which has been approved by reason of the failure of the Board to act thereon within the time prescribed, a copy of the petition for the variance accompanied by the certification of the Town Clerk stating the fact that the Board failed to act within the time prescribed, and no appeal has been filed, and that the grant of the petition resulting from such failure to act has become final, or that if such appeal has been filed, that it has been dismissed or denied, is recorded in the Worcester County Registry of Deeds and indexed in the grantor index under the name of the owner of record or is recorded and noted on the owner's certificate of title.
C. 
A special permit, or any extension, modification or renewal thereof, shall not take effect until a copy of the decision bearing the certification of the Town Clerk that 20 days have elapsed after the decision has been filed in the office of the Town Clerk and either that no appeal has been filed or the appeal has been filed within such time, or if it is a special permit which has been approved by reason of the failure of the Board to act thereon within the time prescribed, a copy of the application for the special permit accompanied by the certification of the Town Clerk stating the fact that the Board failed to act within the time prescribed, and whether or not an appeal has been filed within that time, and that the grant of the application resulting from the failure to act has become final, is recorded in the Worcester County Registry of Deeds and indexed in the grantor index under the name of the owner of record or is recorded and noted on the owner's certificate of title. The person exercising rights under a duly appealed special permit does so at risk that a court will reverse the permit and that any construction performed under the permit may be ordered undone. This section shall in no event terminate or shorten the tolling, during the pendency of any appeals, of the twelve-month periods provided under the second paragraph of MGL, c. 40A, § 6.
D. 
The applicant or petitioner is responsible for filing the certified decision in the Registry of Deeds and for paying the recording fees.
E. 
A certified copy of the recorded decision shall be provided to the clerk and is necessary before a building permit dependent on the Board's decision can be issued by the Building Commissioner.
No Board members shall provide any advice or express any opinion on any application outside of a public hearing. All communications, whether in writing or verbal, concerning a pending application must be presented to the Board at a public hearing in order for the Board to consider such communication in making its decision.
These rules may be amended by a majority vote of the members of the Board, provided that such amendment shall be presented in writing at a regular meeting and action taken thereof at a subsequent regular meeting. Any such amendment shall become effective upon filing with the Town Clerk and shall supersede any previously filed Rules.
These rules were adopted at a regular meeting of the Board on February 12, 2019, and became effective as of the date filed with the Town Clerk.