For the purposes of these rules and regulations,
the following words and terms used herein are hereby defined or the
meaning thereof explained, extended or limited as stated in Chapter
41 of the General Laws, as amended. Other terms or words and phrases
not defined herein or in the Subdivision Control Law shall be construed
according to the common and approved usage of the language, but technical
words and phrases and such others as may have acquired a particular
and appropriate meaning in law shall be construed and understood according
to such meaning.
The owners of land sharing a common property line with the
owner of land referred to in a subdivision application and the owners
of land directly opposite on any public or private street or way,
and abutters to the abutters within 300 feet of the property line
of land referred to in the application as they appear on the most
recent applicable tax list, notwithstanding that the land of any such
owner is located in another city or town.
[Amended 11-3-1994]
The owner of the land referred to in an application filed
with the Board or the owner's duly authorized representative.
Any application form specified herein must be signed by both
the applicant and the landowner of record at the time of submission
of the application.
[Added 7-5-2000]
The Planning Board of the Town of Groton.
An area shown on the plan within which any principal building(s)
shall be located.
[Added 7-5-2000]
Sharing a common lot line or touching at any point.
A subdivision is considered to be under construction when
the clearing and grubbing (removal of stumps and topsoil) have been
initiated.
[Added 5-2-1996]
A right acquired by a public authority or other person for
use or control of property for utility or other designated public
purpose.
The length of common boundary between a lot and a way legally qualifying to provide frontage for the division of land (see Chapter 218, Zoning, of the Code of the Town of Groton, § 218-22A, and MGL C. 41, § 81L), to be measured continuously along the street line between side lot lines and their intersection with the street line, which provides safe and adequate vehicular access from said way to the principal use of the lot.
[Amended 5-2-1996]
Calculated using the tangent of the curve.
The General Laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, with
all additions thereto and amendments thereof. In case of a rearrangement
of the General Laws, any citation of particular sections herein set
forth shall be applicable to the corresponding sections in the new
codification.
An area of land in one ownership, with definite boundaries,
used or set aside and available for use as the site of one or more
buildings.
A lot or parcel of land abutting upon two or more streets
at their intersection or upon parts of the same street having street
side lines or tangents to side lines forming an interior angle of
less than 135°. A corner lot with frontage on an existing public
way and a new subdivision road must have a combined frontage of twice
the required frontage. Small parcels used to circumvent this provision
shall not be allowed. Corner lots with frontage on two existing public
ways or two new subdivision roads shall be required to have the minimum
frontage on each street.
[Amended 11-3-1994]
Sewers, surface water drains and other private or public
utilities, including water pipes, gas pipes, electric lines, telephone
lines, fire alarm lines and their respective appurtenances.
As applied to real estate, the person (as hereinafter defined)
holding the ultimate fee simple title to a parcel, tract or lot of
land as shown by the record in the appropriate Land Registration Office,
Registry of Deeds or Registry of Probate.
A permanent reference point with the elevation accurately
established by stone bounds and referenced to the United States Coast
and Geodetic Survey datum.
An individual, partnership, corporation or two or more individuals
or a group or association of individuals having common or undivided
interests in a tract of land.
That portion of the way, right-of-way or street layout which
has been prepared and constructed for vehicular traffic.
A native, introduced or naturalized tree which is important
because of its impact on community character, its significance in
the historic or cultural landscape or its value in enhancing wildlife
habitat. Any tree with a DBH of six inches or larger is eligible to
be considered a specimen tree. Trees that have a small height at maturity
or are slow growing with a DBH of four inches or larger are eligible
to be considered specimen trees.
[Added 7-5-2000]
COLLECTORA street with anticipated traffic equivalent to that generated by 50 homes or more or which serves abutting land zoned for business or industry.
DEAD-ENDA street or street system which has only one means of ingress from or egress to a collector or minor street.
LANEA dead-end street or loop street which cannot serve as access to more than 12 dwelling units and cannot be extended.
[Amended 11-3-1994]
MINORA street which cannot qualify as a "lane" but which can be expected to handle less traffic than a collector street and which serves no abutting land zoned for business or industry.
PAPERAny way or right-of-way shown on a plan or sketch but which has not been constructed or otherwise prepared for vehicular traffic.
The division of a tract of land into two or more lots and
shall include resubdivision and, when appropriate to the context,
shall relate to the process of subdivision or the land or territory
subdivided; provided, however, that the division of a tract of land
into two or more lots shall not be deemed to constitute a subdivision
within the meaning of the Subdivision Control Law if, at the time
when it is made, every lot within the tract so divided has frontage
on a public way or a way which the Clerk of the city or town certifies
is maintained and used as a public way, or a way shown on a plan theretofore
approved and endorsed in accordance with the Subdivision Control Law,
or a way in existence when the Subdivision Control Law became effective
in the city or town in which the land lies, having, in the opinion
of the Planning Board, sufficient width, suitable grades and adequate
construction to provide for the needs of vehicular traffic in relation
to the proposed use of the land abutting thereon or served thereby
and for the installation of municipal services to serve such land
and the buildings erected or to be erected thereon. Such frontage
shall be of at least such distance as is then required by the zoning
or other ordinance or bylaw, if any, of said city or town for erection
of a building on such lot, and, if no distance is so required, such
frontage shall be of at least 20 feet. Conveyances or other instruments
adding to, taking away from or changing the size and shape of lots
in such a manner as not to leave any lot so affected without the frontage
above set forth, or the division of a tract of land on which two or
more buildings were standing when the Subdivision Control Law went
into effect in the city or town in which the land lies into separate
lots on each of which one of such buildings remains standing, shall
not constitute a subdivision. See MGL C. 41, § 81L.
MGL C. 41, §§ 81K to 81GG, inclusive, and
any amendments thereof, additions thereto or substitutions thereof.
The Town of Groton.
A right-of-way adequate in width and design, not to exceed
20 feet, which provides passage through a development or neighborhood
for wildlife and permitted recreational use.
[Added 7-5-2000]
The full strip of land designated as a way, consisting of
the roadway and any planting strips and sidewalks. A way so designated
shall be available only for such uses as are customary for ways in
the Town and shall not be available for any private construction such
as buildings, fuel tanks, septic tanks, fences or walls.
Land extending across the required width of the lot and lying
between the street line of the lot and the nearest line of the building.
The depth of the front yard shall be the minimum distance between
the building and the front lot line.
A.Â
All plans and all procedures relating thereto shall
in all respects comply with the provisions of these rules and regulations,
unless the Board authorizes a variation therefrom in specified instances.
B.Â
Any person desiring to make a subdivision, within
the meaning of the Subdivision Control Law, of any land within the
Town shall, before proceeding with the improvement or sale of lots
in a subdivision, the construction of ways or the installation of
municipal services therein, submit to the Board a plan of such subdivision
and secure approval by the Board of a definitive plan as hereinafter
provided.
C.Â
The Board will not approve or modify and approve any plan of a subdivision of land unless all lots and other proposals shown on said plan comply with Chapter 218, Zoning, of the Code of the Town of Groton or a variance from the terms thereof has been granted by the Board of Appeals.
D.Â
The official in Groton authorized to issue building
permits shall not issue any permit for the erection of a building
until first satisfied that the lot on which the building is to be
erected is not within a subdivision or that a way furnishing the access
to a lot within a subdivision as required by the Subdivision Control
Law is shown on a recorded plan and that any conditions endorsed thereon
limiting the right to erect or maintain buildings on such lot have
been satisfied.
E.Â
The Board may assign, as its agents, appropriate Town
agencies or officials and may from time to time hire professional
assistance to review plans and inspect improvements at the cost of
the applicant.
F.Â
The Board, on its own motion or on the petition of
any interested person, shall have the power to modify, amend or rescind
its approval of a plan of a subdivision, or to require a change in
a plan as a condition of its retaining the status of an approved plan,
after due notice and opportunity to the owner to be heard in accordance
with MGL C. 41, § 81W, as amended. The time requirements
shall be the same as in the case of the definitive plan.
G.Â
Plans intended for review at a regular meeting of
the Planning Board shall be filed with the Town Clerk during regular
office hours and forwarded to the Planning Board office prior to such
meeting. The day of filing with the Town Clerk shall be deemed the
date of submission for all plans, except that the date of mailing
shall be the date of submission for definitive plans sent by registered
mail to the Planning Board in care of the Town Clerk. Plans shall
not be considered submitted until all required documentation has been
received.
A.Â
Any person who wishes to cause to be recorded in the Registry of Deeds or to be filed with the Land Court a plan of land and who believes that said plan does not require approval under the Subdivision Control Law may submit to the Board said plan, five prints thereof, a filing fee as specified in Part 3, Fees, of this chapter, and two copies of a properly executed Form A, Application for Endorsement of Plan Not to Require Approval, accompanied by the necessary evidence to show that the plan does not require approval. Said person shall file, by delivery or registered mail, a notice with the Town Clerk stating the date of submission for such determination. The Board will review the plan to determine whether it is a subdivision.
B.Â
Information.
(1)Â
Said plan shall be of minimum dimensions of 9Â 1/2
inches by 14 inches but a maximum size not to exceed 24 inches by
36 inches and shall contain the following information:
(a)Â
Identification of the plan by name of owner
of record and location of the land in question.
(b)Â
The statement "Approval Under Subdivision Control
Law Not Required" and sufficient space for the date and the signatures
of all members of the Board.
(c)Â
Zoning classification and location of any zoning
district boundaries, including Conservancy District, Floodplain District
and Water Resource Protection Overlay District that may lie within
the locus of the plan.
(d)Â
In the case of the creation of a new lot or
lots, parcel or parcels, the total frontage, total area, and total
upland area shall be shown on the plan. The remaining land area and
frontage of the land in one ownership shall be shown on the plan.
[Amended 5-2-1996; 7-5-2000; 4-3-2003]
(e)Â
Notice of any decisions by the Zoning Board
of Appeals, including but not limited to variances and special permits
regarding the land or any buildings thereon.
(f)Â
Names of abutters from the latest available
Assessors' records unless the applicant has knowledge of any changes
subsequent to the latest available Assessors' records.
(g)Â
Distance to the nearest permanent monument.
(h)Â
Location of all existing buildings, including
setback and side and rear yard designation and location of any easements.
(i)Â
Assessors' map and parcel number for the locus.
(j)Â
A locus map at 1,000 feet to the inch.
(k)Â
A copy of the plan at a scale of one inch equals
200 feet showing boundaries of the lots (to be used by the Assessors
to update the Town maps).
(l)Â
There shall be a note on the plan stating, "Such
endorsement shall not be deemed to constitute any determination of
compliance with the requirements of the Zoning Bylaw."
[Added 4-3-2003]
(2)Â
Although not required, the Board strongly recommends
that the following information be shown on the plan:
[Added 11-3-1994]
(a)Â
Any areas subject to protection under the Wetlands
Protection Act, MGL C. 131, § 40, as may be amended from
time to time.
[Amended 8-7-1997]
(b)Â
Certification by a registered land surveyor or registered professional engineer that each lot complies with Chapter 218, Zoning, § 218-22G, Computation of lot area, of the Code of the Town of Groton. The one-hundred-fifty-foot-diameter circle within which there is no area subject to protection under the Wetlands Protection Act, MGL C. 131, § 40, as may be amended from time to time, shall be shown on the plans. All easements, except easements specifically serving the individual dwelling, shall not intersect with the one-hundred-fifty-foot-diameter circle.
[Amended 8-7-1997]
(c)Â
Certification by a registered land surveyor or registered professional engineer that each lot complies with Chapter 218, Zoning, § 218-22J, Lot shape, of the Code of the Town of Groton.
(d)Â
The proposed building numbering system shall be shown on the "approval not required" (ANR) plan. Endorsement of said plan by the Planning Board shall constitute the assignment of building numbers to the lots shown on the plan. The building numbering shall follow the numbering system as provided in the Street Naming and Building Numbering Regulations promulgated pursuant to Chapter 119, Buildings, Numbering of.
[Added 4-22-2010]
C.Â
If the Board determines that the plan does not require approval, the Board or its agent shall forthwith, without a public hearing, endorse on the plan the words "Approval Under Subdivision Control Law Not Required," or words of similar import. Such endorsement shall not be deemed to constitute any determination of compliance with the requirements of Chapter 218, Zoning. The original tracing of said plan shall be returned to the applicant.
D.Â
If the Board determines that the plan does require
approval under the Subdivision Control Law, it shall forthwith so
inform the applicant and return the original tracing of the plan.
The Board shall also notify the Town Clerk of its determination.
