[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Appeals of the Town of Northborough.[1] Amendments noted where applicable.]
[1]
Editor’s Note: These rules and procedures were adopted in accordance with MGL C. 40A, § 12.
A. 
Chairman. A Chairman shall be elected annually by majority vote of the Board and will serve for the calendar year or until his successor is elected. He shall issue the call for and preside at all meetings and hearings and regulate their conduct; prepare and submit all reports required by law; and make and sign all purchase orders for expenditures by the Board. If the Chairman is absent from a meeting or a hearing, the senior member present, in point of service, shall be Acting Chairman.
B. 
Clerk. A Clerk shall be elected annually by majority vote of the board and will serve for the calendar year or until his successor is elected. He shall keep the minutes and records of the Board; conduct all correspondence, including notifications of hearings and decisions rendered; and certify all records. If the Clerk is absent from a meeting or a hearing, the Chairman or Acting Chairman shall designate an Acting Clerk.
A. 
Manner of filing. Each appeal, application or petition, referred to hereinafter as "application," shall be submitted on an approved form adopted by the Board for that purpose.
(1) 
Instruction sheets and forms will be available at the office of the Town Clerk. This form shall be filed in original and six copies, the original bearing the signature(s) of the appellant(s), applicant(s), petitioner(s) and his/their agent. All pertinent paragraphs in the form must be completed, and all information required by the form shall be concisely stated. Applications shall indicate the section of the Zoning Bylaw or the General Laws that the hearing is to consider.
(2) 
Seven copies of all attachments and exhibits, including the following, shall accompany the form (machine copies are acceptable):
(a) 
Prints of the latest recorded plan of the land which will be affected; or in cases where no such plan exists, prints of a plan of the land endorsed by a registered engineer or land surveyor.
(b) 
In cases pertaining to subdivisions of land, prints showing the proposed subdivision endorsed by a registered engineer or land surveyor, plus the requirements of Subsection A(2)(a) above.
(c) 
In cases pertaining to structures and signs, prints of the building plans plus the requirements of Subsection A(2)(a) above. (Paragraph 10 and the reverse side of page 2 of the official form have detailed instructions for the required sketches and diagrams.)
(d) 
Certification from the Board of Assessors listing the names and addresses, as they appear on the most recent tax list, of the owners of all abutting property and all property across any street(s) abutting the premises covered by the application.
(e) 
Copy of latest recorded deed to the property which will be affected.
(3) 
A filing fee of $40 for cases involving one single-family residency, and $90 for all other cases, shall accompany each application. If paid by check, said check shall be made payable to the Town of Northborough.
(4) 
The Board, in its discretion, may dismiss an application (without prejudice) for failure to comply with any of the foregoing rules.
(5) 
Additional documents may be submitted at the public hearing.
(6) 
If conditions of health are involved in allegations of substantial hardship in Paragraph 12(b) of the form, a physician’s signed statement specifying such conditions should be available at the public hearing.
B. 
Applications will be received at the office of the Town Clerk at the times and dates designated by that office.
C. 
A person dissatisfied with a decision of the Building Inspector, Planning Board or other administrative official, officer or board of the town, as provided in the Zoning Bylaw, § 7-24-040(1), may appeal therefrom to the Board of Appeals within 30 days from the date of said order or decision. (Zoning Bylaw, § 7-24-040E)
A. 
Notice of public hearing shall be published in a newspaper of general circulation in Northborough once a week for two consecutive weeks, and such hearing shall not take place less than 14 days after the first publication. These notices shall state the name of the applicant(s), the location of the property, the relief requested and the time and place of the hearing. A notice of the hearing shall be sent by mail to the parties in interest, as defined in MGL C. 40A, § 11, and to the Building Inspector.
B. 
Expenses of publication and mailing shall be borne by the Board of Appeals.
A. 
A quorum for a meeting of the Board shall consist of not less than two members.
B. 
A quorum for a public hearing shall consist of three members or duly appointed associate members. No member shall appear or represent any person in any matter pending before the Board. No member shall hear or decide a case in which he is directly or indirectly interested in a personal or financial sense.
C. 
The public hearing will proceed as follows:
(1) 
The Chairman will call the meeting to order and read the notice of hearing as published.
(2) 
The applicant or his representative shall present the case to the Board.
(3) 
Representatives of the town present at the hearing shall be heard (Planning Board, Selectmen, other boards and officials).
(4) 
The abutters to the property present at the hearing shall be heard.
(5) 
Any other interested parties present at the hearing shall be heard.
(6) 
The Chairman shall inform those present at the hearing as to the time requirement under the General Laws for appealing the decision of the Board.
A. 
All decisions of the Board of Appeals shall be made in writing and shall contain the following:
(1) 
Case number.
(2) 
Date decision rendered.
(3) 
Name of applicant(s).
(4) 
The time, date and place of the public hearing.
(5) 
Dates the hearing was advertised and name of publication.
(6) 
Statement that applicant, abutters and Planning Board were notified.
(7) 
Brief account of the hearing.
(8) 
Vote of the Board, stating specifically which members voted for and which against, whether the application was granted or denied in whole or in part, the reasons for granting or denying and the conditions imposed, if any.
B. 
The decision shall be filed with the Town Clerk and be effective when time-stamped by said Clerk. A copy of the decision shall be sent to the applicant or his agent or attorney, to the Planning Board and, when applicable, to the party whose decision was appealed. Notice of the decision shall be mailed forthwith to those property owners who were mailed notice of the public hearing and to every person present at the hearing who requests that notice be sent and states the address to which such notice is to be sent.
C. 
All decisions must be signed by the Chairman or the Clerk of the Board.
D. 
It is the responsibility of the petitioner to record a copy of the Board’s decision bearing the certificate of the Town Clerk and that 20 days have elapsed since the decision was filed in the office of the Town Clerk and no appeal has been filed, or, if such appeal has been filed, that it has been dismissed or denied, in the Worcester County Registry of Deeds, in accordance with the provisions of MGL C. 40A, § 11.