Whenever an article is proposed by petition to be included in any Town Meeting warrant which involves eminent domain proceedings (i.e., excluding articles submitted by departments, boards, commissions, committees, etc., of the Town not requiring petitions and articles agreed to be inserted in the warrant by the Select Board without the necessity of petition), no vote of the Town shall be permitted at the meeting wherein such article is proposed, including any adjourned sessions of such meeting, except to refer such proposal to a committee of five members to be appointed by the Select Board for study and to report its findings at the next Annual or Special Town Meeting. No members to be appointed to such committee by the Select Board shall be parties in interest to the proposal.
[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Meeting of the Town of Plymouth 4-16-1974 ATM by Art. 58 (Ch. 59 of the 1999 Code). Amendments noted where applicable.]
[Amended 4-5-2014 ATM by Art. 11; 10-18-2025 ATM by Art. 10]
A.
Whenever any article by petition, after the appointment of a committee under Rule 1, or without petition is to be presented at any Town Meeting involving eminent domain proceedings, the following are required:
(1)
Public hearings. A public hearing shall be called by the department, board, commission, etc., of the Town not requiring petition proposing a taking by eminent domain no later than three months prior to the Annual Town Meeting in any year or the date of any Special Town Meeting. In the case of a committee appointed by the Select Board, a public hearing shall be called by such committee no later than three months prior to the Annual Town Meeting in any year or the date of any Special Town Meeting.
(2)
Notice of hearing. Notice of such public hearing shall be given to all owners and abutters by registered or certified mail and by publication for three successive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation in the Town to be selected by the department, board, committee, etc., holding such hearing.
(3)
Posting of notice. Notice of the public hearing shall state the location, last known owner, size of the area and purpose of taking.
(4)
Use of plot plan. If it is desired to reproduce a plot plan or map for use at any hearing or any advertisement, such plot plan or map shall show the true scale of the plot plan or map, and not a photographic reduction or enlargement of an original plot plan or map, with a distorted scale. Such plot plan or map shall be examined by the Town Engineer, in the form in which it will be presented or appear, and shall bear his or her certification that the scale is correct.
(5)
Lot identification. Such plot plan or map shall show every lot in the taking area covered by such plot or map, without omissions or additions, and to that end the Assessor's Maps may be used, corrected if necessary, as a basis.
B.
The requirements of this Rule shall not apply to eminent domain proceedings incidental to the acceptance of a way as public, where the way has been constructed.
A.
Whenever any taking area is to be used for the erection of any building, parking lot, drainage canal, water collection basin or for any other construction of a building or facilities, the department, board, committee, etc., shall retain a registered architect, surveyor or engineer to draw the plans and specifications of such proposed construction, or, if in the opinion of such department, board, committee, etc., the expense is not warranted, then the Town Engineer shall either prepare such plans and specifications or certify on a plan and specifications submitted to him or her by such department, board, committee, etc., that such plans and specifications are, in his or her opinion, correct as to all measurements, including the scale thereof, if stated.
B.
Examination of plans. If such plans or specifications are to be published or presented at any hearing, other than the originals or exact duplicates thereof, such plans or specifications shall be examined by the Town Engineer, in the form in which they will be presented or appear, and he or she shall certify that the scale thereof is correctly stated.
[Amended 4-5-2014 ATM by Art. 11]
Prior to any taking not assented to in writing by the owners of property subject thereto, an appraiser shall be retained by the Town for the purpose of establishing the fair value of the property to be taken. In establishing such fair value the appraiser shall include, but not be limited hereby, the size of the parcel to be taken, the value of all structures, improvements of every description, trees, shrubs and all other plantings, utility pipes and wires and damage to the remainder of a parcel of land where only a portion is to be taken. The fair value of the taking as reported by the appraiser, together with his or her name and address, shall be included in the notice of taking required to be sent by the General Laws to the persons from whom land is to be taken.