1.1.
Membership, requirements, duties, conduct, & officers.
A.
Membership and terms.
(1)
Town Code § 5-4-1: Five Planning Board members shall be elected for five-year overlapping terms.
(2)
Town Code § 5-4-2: Two alternate members shall be appointed jointly by the Select Board and the Planning Board for one-year terms. The Chairperson of the Planning Board may designate an alternate member to sit on the Planning Board to vote and act on all matters in the event of a Board member's absence, inability to act, conflict of interest or vacancy on the Board.
B.
Vacancies. The process to fill a vacancy on the Planning Board, other than the expiration of a term, is governed by MGL c. 41, § 11. Within one month of any vacancy, the Planning Board must give written notice to the Select Board. After one week's notice, the Select Board, with the remaining members of the Planning Board, by roll call vote, may act to fill any vacancy to perform the duties of the office until the next Town election. This vote requires a majority of the two boards; i.e., a vote of at least five of nine to fill a vacancy. The appointee must be a registered voter of the Town.
C.
Member requirements. Before any full or alternate member takes their place on the Board, they will receive communication from either the Town Clerk or Select Board to be sworn in as a Planning Board member by the Town Clerk. Written notification of appointment will be issued to newly appointed members and reappointed members. Appointees must report to the Town Clerk's office, within two weeks of being appointed, to be sworn to faithful performance of their duties prior to taking any official action as a member of the Board. Members must be sworn in before sitting on the Board. The Town Clerk will provide each member being sworn in with a copy of the Open Meeting Law Guide. Members must complete a "Certificate of Receipt of Open Meeting Law Materials" that certifies that the member understands the requirements of the Open Meeting Law and the consequences for violating it and return it to the Town Clerk's office. Within 30 days of becoming a Board member each member is also furnished with a summary of the Conflict-of-Interest Law and signs an acknowledgment to be filed with the Town Clerk's office. Board members must also biennially complete an on-line conflict of interest training exercise.
D.
Duties. The Board has the duties and rights assigned to it by General Laws, Chapters 40A (The Zoning Act) and 41 (Subdivision Control Law), as amended, and any other duties and rights as may be directly, or indirectly, assigned to it by General Laws, by the action of the General Court, or by a vote of the Town Meeting. Below are duties assigned to the board by Town Meeting.
(1)
Town Code § 8-1-1: The Planning Board shall make recommendations to the Select Board on all matters concerning the physical, economic, and environmental development of the Town, as prescribed by General Law, and this Charter.
(2)
Town Code § 8-1-2: The Board shall be responsible for the development and periodic updating of a Comprehensive Plan, which shall be utilized as the basis of all planning activities, procedures, and recommendations in the Town.
(3)
Town Code § 8-1-3: A copy of the Comprehensive Plan shall be kept available for inspection at the office of the Town Administrator, Town Clerk and Public Library.
(4)
Town Code § 2-4-9: Town Meeting Articles involving planning, zoning, subdivision control, land acquisition, conservation, extension of sewer lines, and all other matters relating to the environment shall not be voted on by the Town Meeting unless they have been considered previously and a recommendation issued thereon by the Planning Board.
E.
Conduct. No Board or staff member may represent, act, speak for, or express the opinion of the Board, except in accordance with a general or specific vote or decision of the Board. To avoid confusion with any official position of the Board, members and staff must clearly identify personal opinions as their own. Members shall conduct themselves in accordance with MGL Ch. 268A (conflict of interest) and not take any action that could create an appearance of conflict unless a proper public disclosure has been properly filed with the Select Board.
F.
Officers.
(1)
At the first regularly scheduled meeting in May of each year, or at the first regularly scheduled meeting following annual Town elections, the Board must elect from its members: a Chair, and a Vice-Chair, and a Clerk. In the event of a vacancy in office due to resignation or otherwise, the Board must promptly elect a successor to hold such office for the remainder of the term. Officers serve until a successor is elected. Each member of the Board must be eligible for election or re-election to each such office. Alternate members are not eligible. The offices of Vice-Chair and Clerk may be held by the same member.
(2)
The Chair of the Board presides at its meetings, calls special meetings of the Board, appoints study committees, and makes oral or written statements and agreements on behalf of the Board, as authorized by and within the limits of a vote or a decision of the Board. The Vice-Chair of the Board performs the duties of the Chair in the latter's absence and performs other duties as may be delegated by the Chair. The Clerk shall be responsible for taking Planning Board meeting minutes in the absence of the Planning Board staff.
1.2.
Minutes.
A.
Minutes of all Planning Board meetings shall be prepared by the Clerk or Planning Board staff in accordance with the provisions of the Massachusetts Open Meeting Law. Written format to be used shall be provided by the Administrative Coordinator.
B.
Minutes of open sessions shall become public record immediately, regardless of form. Minutes should be marked "DRAFT" until they are officially adopted by the Planning Board. The state encourages minutes to be approved at a public body's next meeting whenever possible; therefore, members may vote on minutes of meetings they were not present at.
C.
Executive Session minutes remain closed to the public for as long as their publication would defeat the purpose of the session. Executive Session minutes must be made public as soon as the reason for secrecy no longer applies.
1.3.
Meetings: time, location, quorum.
A.
Regular meetings of the Board are typically held on the second Wednesday of each month, in the Fuller Meadow School at 7:00 p.m. Special meetings may be called by the Chair or by a majority of Board members, who must notify all members in person or in writing at least 48 hours in advance of such special meeting, if possible.
B.
Persons wishing to meet with the Board may obtain an appointment through the Planning Office staff or the Chair. Any group of persons securing an appointment with the Board should designate a single point of contact to represent the group. Persons wishing to meet with the Board on matters other than routine submission of plans under the Subdivision Control Law, site plan reviews, or special permits should secure an appointment no later than 4:00 p.m. on Thursday of the preceding week and inform the Board at that time, through the Planning Director, of the subject matter to be discussed or presented.
C.
Except for emergencies or compliance with legal requirements, the agenda for each meeting will be closed at 4:00 p.m. on Thursday of the week preceding such meeting. The only exception to this rule is for properly filed Approval Not Required plans.
D.
The Board will generally not take action on or respond to plans, proposals, or other material presented by applicants or others with business before the Board which has not been filed with the staff by the time the agenda closes and is not distributed to Board members in advance of the meeting. Action or discussion of previously unseen material will be deferred to a subsequent Board meeting.
E.
Three members of the Board constitutes a quorum, and the concurring vote, upon a motion duly made and seconded, of at least three members is required for any decision or action of the Board. If not unanimous, the vote of each member must be recorded in the minutes of the meeting, or by means of a specific instrument or plan endorsed by vote, decision, action or intention to act, or policy of the Board. Remote participation by members of the Planning Board at a public meeting is authorized by 940 CMR 29.00 and the Select Board's "Remote Participation Policy" (8-12-2014).
F.
Planning Board members present may be counted to determine whether a quorum is present, even if they abstain from voting affirmatively or negatively. Exception: If the Planning Board member is abstaining due to conflict of interest, they cannot be counted as being present for the quorum for that portion of the meeting for which they are disqualified by reason of conflict of interest.
G.
Public hearings are conducted formally under the direction of the Chair, or Acting Chair, of the Board, who must open the hearing, explain the procedure to be followed, and describe the proposal. Anyone wishing to speak must be recognized by the Chair and all remarks must be addressed to the Chair, although the Chair may permit others to answer questions. Customary parliamentary procedures will normally be followed, except where the number of people attending a hearing is so small as to permit a less formal procedure.
1.4.
Planning Staff.
A.
The Town Planner makes studies and recommendations to the Planning Board, manages the office of the Board, assists other Town agencies and civic groups in matters related to municipal planning and land development, promulgates and implements the decisions of the Board and carries out other specific tasks assigned by the Board.
B.
If voted by the Board, and the vote is recorded in the Southern Essex Registry of Deeds, the Town Planner is authorized to sign plans and instruments to certify action taken by the Board relative to such plans and instruments in accordance with General Laws, Chapter 40A and Chapter 41, Sections 81-K to 81-GG, inclusive.
C.
The Town Planner may make recommendations to the Board on any matter to come before the Board for action or decision, including, where appropriate, the preparation of proposed correspondence, resolutions, and votes to be taken by the Board.
D.
The Town Planner ensures that Board meeting minutes are taken and prepared. The Planning staff must make available to each member copies of the agenda, together with such explanatory notes, recommendations as to the action to be taken by the Board as may be appropriate and such copies of correspondence or other material relevant to the agenda as may be available. This should occur on the Friday preceding each regular meeting of the Board.
1.5.
Site visits. A "site visit" is defined as a visit by the Planning Board to a location that is the subject of an application before the Planning Board. All site visits will be announced at a regular public meeting of the Planning Board. The visit shall be in the company of the owner, applicant, and/or the applicant's representative when it involves visiting areas which are not customarily available for public inspection. The purpose of the site visit is to understand the proposal before them and to ask the applicant questions specific to the land and/or proposal. The applicant and members shall both refrain from any discussion that could be viewed as a deliberation of the proposal.