Town of Abington, MA Procedure for Submission and Approval of Subdivision Plans

Any person submitting a preliminary plan shall give written notice to the Town Clerk, by delivery or registered mail of a Form B;[1] such notices shall identify the tract, the date of submission to the Planning Board, and the name and address of the owner. A plan shall not be deemed to have been submitted unless it has been delivered at a scheduled meeting of the Board or when sent by certified mail to the Board, care of the Town Clerk. If so mailed, the date of mailing shall not be the date of submission of the plan, but the date of the next scheduled Board meeting shall be deemed to be the date of submission.

[1]

Editor's Note: Form B is included at the end of this chapter.

In order for an application to be deemed complete the applicant shall file:

Two copies of a Form B application, each with original signatures.

A list of abutters certified by the Board of Assessors.

The required filing fee as set forth in Appendix C of these Regulations.[2]

[2]

Editor's Note: Appendix C is included at the end of this chapter.

Eighteen sets of prints filed with the Planning Board and one print filed with the Board of Health.

Addressed and stamped envelopes in a quantity sufficient to deliver a first-class mail notice to each abutter regarding the scheduling of the Board's meeting to discuss the preliminary plan.

The Planning Board shall file within 14 calendar days copies of the plan with the Conservation Commission, Water Department, Sewer Department, Highway Department, Building Inspector, the Board of Selectmen, the Police Department, and Fire Department, for their review and written comments.

Contents. A preliminary plan shall be at a scale of one inch equals 100 feet or larger. The preliminary plan shall identify all easements, rights-of-way, covenants, or restrictions applying to the proposed subdivision. In addition, the preliminary plan shall provide the following information:

The subdivision name, boundaries, magnetic North point, date, scale, legend, and the title "Preliminary Plan;"

The name(s) of the owner of record, the applicant; the stamp and signature of a registered land surveyor if surveying information is shown and the stamp and signature of a registered professional engineer if the plan shows the design of road pavements, water pipes, sewerage or other utilities;

The existing and proposed lines of streets, ways, easements, and any public areas within and adjacent to the subdivision in a general manner;

(4)

The proposed system of drainage and utilities, including adjacent existing natural waterways, showing the approximate locations of all inlets, outlets, pipes and drains and other appurtenances to the proposed drainage system;

(5)

The approximate boundary lines of all existing and proposed lots within and abutting the tract, with approximate areas and dimensions;

(6)

The names, location, approximate area, and approximate dimensions of existing and adjacent streets, ways, easements and public areas;

(7)

The proposed locations and depths of other municipal services and utility installations where possible;

(8)

The topography of the land in a general way, footprints of existing buildings and significant structures, site features such as ledge outcroppings, bodies of water, streams or other waterways, walls, fences, existing easements, delineated wetlands, and predominant vegetation;

(9)

Zoning classification(s) of the area and the approximate location of any zoning district boundaries.

Key plan. The plan shall also include a copy of the Town Zoning Map at a scale of one inch equals 600 feet showing the location of the proposed subdivision drawn to scale.

Planning Board action on preliminary subdivision plans.

The Planning Board will meet with the applicant to discuss the proposed plan and any modifications or corrections to the preliminary plan. The Board may also visit and inspect the property proposed for subdivision under the provisions of Section 81CC of Chapter 41 of the General Laws as amended. Furthermore, the Planning Board will notify the applicant as well as all abutters to the proposed subdivision by regular mail of the date, time and place at which the Board will discuss the preliminary plan.

The Board may approve, disapprove, or approve with modifications in writing such preliminary plan within 45 days after submission of the plan. In case of disapproval, the Planning Board shall advise the applicant in writing of the specific reasons for which the plan is disapproved, thus enabling the applicant to resubmit the plan.

The rules and regulations of the Planning Board in effect at the time of submission of the preliminary plan shall govern the definitive subdivision plan evolved from such preliminary plan provided such definitive plan is submitted within seven months of the date of the submission of the preliminary plan. Further, approval of a preliminary plan does not constitute approval of a subdivision or waivers of the regulations, but it shall be deemed an expression of approval to the layout submitted on the preliminary plan as a guide to the applicant's preparation of a definitive plan.

(4)

Written notice of the Board's actions must be given by the Board to the applicant, and Town Clerk within 45 days of the date of submission. Failure to act within that time shall be considered as an approval of the preliminary plan.

Preliminary sketch. A preliminary sketch, showing less information than required for a preliminary plan, may be submitted by an applicant for an informal review and comments from the Board. Such preliminary sketch will not have the status of a preliminary plan, and the comments or the recommendations of the Board shall be conditioned on the extent of information shown on the sketch. Applicants are urged to submit such preliminary sketches in order to obtain the Board's comments regarding the overall layout and the location of proposed streets in a future subdivision, thus avoiding the expense and delays necessitated by changes in a definitive plan, if submitted without such preliminary plan review.

General. The subdivision rules and regulations and the Zoning By-Law in effect at the time of the submission of the preliminary plan shall govern the definitive plan if said plan is duly submitted within seven months of the date of the filing of the preliminary plan. If a preliminary plan has not been submitted, the Subdivision Rules and Regulations and the Zoning By-Law in effect at the time of submission of the definitive plan to the Planning Board shall govern the definitive plan until final action has been taken by the Planning Board or the time for such action has elapsed.

Filing procedure.

In order to be deemed complete, applicants submitting a definitive plan of a subdivision for approval, or for approval of a street profile, or for approval of improvements to so-called "paper streets," or for a revision of a subdivision previously approved, where such revision requires a public hearing shall submit to the Planning Board the following:

Two copies of a properly executed Form C application,[1] provided by the Planning Board, each with original signatures.

[1]

Editor's Note: Form C is included at the end of this chapter.

A list of abutters certified by the Board of Assessors.

Addressed and stamped envelopes in a quantity sufficient to deliver first-class mail notice to each abutter regarding the scheduling of the Board's meeting to discuss the definitive plan.

The required filing fee as set forth in Appendix C.[2]

[2]

Editor's Note: Appendix C is included at the end of this chapter.

Eighteen sets of prints filed with the Planning Board and one print filed with the Board of Health.

(f)

Three copies of any supplemental materials relating to the definitive plan, including but not limited to drainage calculations, traffic studies, etc.

The definitive plan shall not be deemed to have been submitted unless it has been delivered to the Planning Board at a scheduled meeting or has been sent via registered mail to the Planning Board care of the Town Clerk. If so mailed, the date of mailing shall not be the date of submission of the plan, but the date of the next scheduled Board meeting shall be deemed to be the date of submission.

Simultaneously, a complete set of prints of such definitive plans will be submitted to the Board of Health, the Conservation Commission, the Sewer Commissioners, the Water Commissioners, Highway Department, Building Inspector, Selectmen, Police Department, and Fire Department by the Planning Board. The applicant shall also by delivery or registered mail file written notice to the Town Clerk stating the date of submission of the definitive plan accompanied by a copy of the receipted completed application (Form C)[3].

[3]

Editor's Note: Form C is included at the end of this chapter.

Contents.

All sheets of the definitive plans shall be clearly and legibly drawn in accordance with the current rules and regulations of the Registry of Deeds. The plans shall be drawn in waterproof ink (or an ink with equivalent cohesiveness) on polyester film, single matte with a thickness of 0.004 mils, and must have an opacity so as to allow consistent diazo and microfilm reproduction or any other material as required by the Registry of Deeds or Land Court. Plan sizes shall be 24 inches by 36 inches with three-fourths-inch border. The minimum letter size on plans presented for recording shall be 1/8 inch.

Drafting standards shall include the following: dimensions shall be in feet and decimals to the nearest hundredth; bearings in degree, minutes, and seconds; the boundary of the subdivision to be indicated in a solid heavy line; existing topography in dashed lines; proposed topography in solid lines; and if multiple sheets are used, they shall be accompanied by an index sheet showing the entire subdivision with match lines and with a key plan on each sheet properly orientated and a title block on each sheet properly labeled.

A list of abutters certified by the Board of Assessors shall accompany the definitive plan and shall include the name and mailing address of all the abutters as they appear on the most recent tax list.

(4)

A vicinity map shall be drawn at a scale of one inch equals 600 feet to show on one sheet all of the proposed subdivision, all of other adjacent land of the applicant and other adjacent properties to the nearest existing street in every direction. Important ground features such as brooks, public areas, lot lines, easements and streets only need be shown in a general manner and labeled. No dimensions need be given except where of specific importance in evaluating the subdivision. The limits of the proposed subdivision shall be indicated by a heavy line or by use of color. Existing and proposed features should be distinguished by different lines, labeling or other methods.

(5)

Each sheet of the definitive plans shall contain the following information:

Subdivision name, boundaries, magnetic North, date of submission (and revision dates), legend and scales, suitable space to record the action of the members of the Planning Board. A three-and-one-half-inch square reserved for Registry of Deed use and a certification clause signed by the preparer stating that he/she has conformed with the rules and regulations of the Registry of Deeds in preparing the plan shall be provided on all sheets to be recorded.

Name and address of the record owner(s) and applicant; the stamp and signature of a registered land surveyor and registered professional engineer.

Suitable space to record the notice of the Planning Board covenant and the date thereof as well as the Town Clerk certificate of no appeal shall be provided on each of the lotting sheets.

Existing and proposed lines of streets, ways, lots, easements, waterways and public or common areas within the subdivision. The purpose of all easements shall be clearly indicated.

Location of all permanent monuments properly identified as to whether existing or proposed. All benchmarks shall be tied to and employ the NAVD datum system if possible.

(f)

Location, names and present width of streets, bounding, approaching or within 300 feet of the subdivision.

(g)

Existing and proposed topography at one-foot contour intervals; existing contours to be shown by dashed lines and proposed contours to be shown by continuous solid lines, properly labeled.

(h)

Lengths, radii, bearings, and central angles to determine the exact location, direction, and length of every street and way line, lot line, easement line and boundary line.

(i)

Zoning classifications, including FEMA floodplain zones. Wetlands as defined by the Wetlands Protection Act shall also be shown along with the name of the firm responsible for the delineation and the date of the delineation.

(j)

Watercourses, marshes, ledge outcrops, walls, fences, and trees over 10 inches in diameter at six feet above grade and other significant natural features.

(k)

Size and location of existing and proposed storm drainage, sanitary sewerage, and water supply systems. Existing and proposed electric/telephone/gas/CATV and other utilities shall also be shown.

The following items shall be submitted and must be prepared and/or certified by a registered professional civil engineer.

(l)

Soil conditions in a general way, using if desired, the U.S. Department of Agriculture Soil Conservation Study for Plymouth County, latest edition, to describe the relationship of soils to seasonal high-water table, soil limitations for roads and soil limitations for house sites, and hydrologic soils group.

(m)

Storm drainage system including invert and rim elevations of all catch basins and manholes together with surface elevations of all waterways within the subdivision at one-hundred-foot intervals and approximate depth of water at these points. Surface elevation and approximate depth of water shall be shown at each point where a drainage pipe ends at a waterway.

(n)

Location of all the following improvements unless specifically waived in writing by the Board: street paving, sidewalks, and street signs, including but not limited to stop, warning, directional, and speed limit signs, streetlighting standards, all utilities above and below ground, curbs, gutters, street trees, storm drainage, public sewerage if appropriate, all easements, and the fire alarm boxes.

(o)

Profiles of the proposed streets and drainage/sewer lines outside of the street layout indicating the following information:

[1]

A horizontal scale of one inch to 40 feet.

[2]

A vertical scale of one inch to 4 feet.

[3]

Existing center line in fine dashed line with elevations shown at fifty-foot stations.

[4]

Proposed center-line grades and elevations, with elevations shown at twenty-five-foot stations, except that in vertical curves elevations shall be shown at fifty-foot stations, and at all high and low points.

[5]

All existing intersecting walks and driveways shown on both sides.

[6]

Rates of gradient along with vertical curve data shall be shown.

[7]

Size and location of existing and proposed water mains and their appurtenances and surface drains and their appurtenances.

[8]

Profiles shall show vertical location of waterlines, drainage lines, sewer lines and other utilities as well as required new waterways. Sizes of all pipes shall be shown as well as inverts of all pipes at each manhole or catch basin, together with center-line stations, rim and invert elevations of all catch basins, and manholes; and invert elevations of all cross drains, sanitary sewers, or culverts. Complete profiles shall be included for each proposed main water line, all proposed sewerage system lines, all proposed drainage lines, whether or not within the subdivision or in the roadways.

(p)

Cross section of typical catch basins and sewer and drainage manholes.

(q)

Three copies of all computations and worksheets originally sealed and endorsed by a registered civil engineer, used in designing the storm drainage system.

(r)

Any special construction details or detailed drawings or other pertinent information that the Planning Board may request as is necessary to evaluate the feasibility of the proposed design of the subdivision.

(s)

Detail drawings: Any special construction features, deviating from or not covered by standard specifications, shall be shown on detail drawings. Such detail drawings may be incorporated as part of a utility plan or profile or may be executed on separate sheet or sheets and shall provide information as to dimensions, locations, inverts, rim elevations, elevations, materials, etc., of the construction details involved. The requirement for detail drawings shall be applicable, but not limited to, bridges, culverts, structurally stabilized slopes, utility piping encased in concrete, ditches and brooks shaped or constructed to a definite cross section, dams and spillways, stormwater management devices, detention basins, steps within the exterior lines of the street and similar construction features.

(t)

The applicant shall provide base flood elevation (level of one-hundred-year flood) data for any land being developed within the federal flood insurance district, as shown on the latest FEMA mapping. For subdivisions in an unnumbered "A" Zone, the applicant shall be responsible for establishing the base flood elevation as required by the latest FEMA regulations.

Earth removal. The approval of a subdivision by the Planning Board does not constitute an authority to remove earth materials from the site. The developer shall be required to comply with the provisions of all by-laws, and with any other laws and regulations relative to the removal of soil, loam, sand, gravel, rock, and other earth materials.

Review by the Board of Health as to suitability of the land. The Board of Health shall report to the Planning Board, in writing, its approval or disapproval of said plan. The Board of Health shall make its report to the Planning Board within 45 days after the filing of the definitive plan. In case of disapproval, it shall make specific findings, the reasons for them, and, where possible, make recommendations for adjustments. Any special conditions imposed by the Board of Health, such as lots which cannot be used for building sites, shall be either inscribed on the plan or contained in a separate document. The applicant shall abide by the Board of Health regulations pertaining to subdivisions and should consult with the Board of Health for a copy of its current rules and regulations and for other requirements necessary for Board of Health review prior to drafting definitive plans.

Public hearing. Before approval, modification and approval, or disapproval of the definitive plan is given, a public hearing shall be held by the Planning Board. Notice of such hearing shall be given by the Board at the expense of the applicant in each of two successive weeks by advertisement in The Enterprise and The Patriot Ledger or any other newspaper of general circulation in the Town of Abington as determined by the Planning Board. The first notice being not less than 14 days before such hearing; the second notice being not less than seven days before such hearing. The Planning Board shall notify by first-class mail the abutters (as provided by the developer in the submission of the definitive plan) to the proposed development. If the proposed definitive subdivision plan contains or abuts land in an adjacent community, the Board shall also notify the Planning Board of that community.

Certificate of approval.

The action of the Board in respect to such plan shall be by vote, copies of which shall be certified and filed with the Town Clerk and sent by delivery or registered mail to the applicant. If the Board modifies or disapproves such plan, it shall state in its vote the reasons for its actions. Final approval, if granted, shall be endorsed on the original drawing(s) of all of the sheets that constitute the definitive plan by the signature of a majority of the Board but not until the statutory twenty-day appeal period has elapsed following the filing of the certificate of the action of the Board with the Town Clerk, and said Clerk has notified the Board that no appeal has been filed. Final approval of the definitive plan does not constitute the laying out or acceptance by the Town of streets within a subdivision.

The Board may, as a condition of granting approval impose reasonable requirements designed to promote the health, convenience, safety, and general welfare of the community and to benefit the Town. In such event, the Board shall endorse such conditions on the plan to which they relate, or set forth a separate instrument attached thereto, to which reference is made on such plan and which shall for the purpose of the Subdivision Control Law be deemed to be a part of the plan.

The following shall constitute standard conditions applicable to all approvals. Additional specific conditions may also be included by the Board as part of its approval of a definitive subdivision plan.

Prior to endorsement of the plan by the Planning Board, the applicant must sign a covenant (see Form F[4]) and reference to the covenant shall be clearly shown on the definitive plan;

[4]

Editor's Note: Form F is included at the end of this chapter.

Prior to endorsement of the plan by the Planning Board, notification of the expiration of the statutory twenty-day appeal period must be received from the Town Clerk's office;

Prior to endorsement of the plan by the Planning Board, the applicant shall provide the Planning Board with a copy of any and all "Order of Conditions" relative to the subdivision construction as issued by the appropriate agency, and recorded by the applicant, pursuant to the Wetlands Protection Act. Proof of recording shall be provided to the Planning Board. Any changes to the definitive plan, required under the "Order of Conditions," shall be presented to the Planning Board, by the applicant, for review and approval as a modification to the definitive plan. Except for very minor changes to the approved plan, a public hearing will be held on the modification plan. The Planning Board reserves the right to negotiate with the issuing authority any mutually acceptable modifications to the "Order of Conditions" that may be deemed appropriate by the Planning Board and the Planning Board's consulting engineer. After the public hearing and acceptance of the modifications to the plan, the Planning Board shall take action on the plan, reporting said action to the Town Clerk. The notification of the expiration of the statutory twenty-day appeal must be received from the Town Clerk's office for the modification.

The waivers, as voted by the Planning Board, shall be listed in detail on the plans being recorded at the Registry of Deeds;

Prior to the endorsement of the plan by the Planning Board, the applicant shall provide the final revised plans that incorporate the items as presented in the conditions of approval voted by the Planning Board and all required documentation to the Board and it consultant for review; and

(f)

The applicant shall provide a copy of the receipt from the Registry of Deeds indicating that the endorsed plan and covenant if applicable have been duly recorded.

Performance guarantee. Before endorsement of approval of a definitive plan of a subdivision the subdivider shall either file a performance bond or deposit money or negotiable securities in an amount determined by the Board or its agent to be sufficient to cover the cost of all or any part of the improvements shown on the definitive plans, the maintenance of such improvements for two years, and include a percentage contingency factor per year, at the discretion of the Planning Board, or follow the procedure outlined in § 200-14 below.

Final approval with bonds or surety. Such bond or security if filed or deposited shall be approved as to form and manner of execution by the Town Counsel and as to sureties by the Town Treasurer and shall be contingent upon the completion of such improvements within two years of the date of the bond. The Board may decide at any time during the term of the performance bond that:

The improvements have been installed in a satisfactory manner in sufficient amount to warrant reduction in the face amount of such bond, or

The costs of the improvements have risen substantially and the performance guarantee is no longer sufficient to cover the costs, then the Board may modify its requirements for any or all such improvements and the face value of such performance bond shall thereupon be increased by an appropriate amount.

Final approval with a covenant.

Instead of filing a bond or depositing surety, the subdivider may request approval of his definitive plan on condition that a covenant running with the land has been duly executed and recorded and inscribed on the plan, or a separate document referred to, on the plan, in accordance with Section 81U of Chapter 41 of the General Laws. Such covenant shall provide in part that no lot may be built upon or sold until all of the improvements as required in this regulation have been completed and approved as provided hereafter. The Board may set a two-year or other approximate time limit within which all construction must be completed. An applicant may request a time extension subject to Planning Board review and approval.