A.
There are three steps recommended for subdivision
planning; the submission of a sketch, a preliminary plan and, finally,
the definitive plan.
B.
Before preparation of a preliminary plan, it is strongly
recommended that the subdivider submit a sketch plan of the proposed
subdivision to the Planning Board, and consult with the Board informally
regarding the procedures, design standards and required improvements
in order to save time and avoid costly mistakes.
C.
Before preparation of a definitive subdivision plan, it is again strongly recommended that the subdivider submit a preliminary plan for a residential development, as defined in § 501-8 below. However, for nonresidential development, a preliminary plan shall be submitted.
D.
A subdivision plan shall be considered as submitted
to the Planning Board when delivered at a meeting of the Board or
when sent by certified or registered mail to the Planning Board, care
of the Town Clerk, together with a properly filled out application
form, fee and supporting documents.
E.
Time for actions on such plans are as follows (MGL
c. 41, § 81U):
(1)
If the applicant chooses to file a preliminary plan
for a residential subdivision and the Board acts within 45 days, or
fails to act, and the definitive plan is submitted, the Board has
90 days to take final action.
(2)
If the applicant did not choose to file a preliminary
plan for residential subdivision and starts by filing a definitive
plan, the Board has 135 days to take final action.
(3)
When the applicant files a preliminary plan for nonresidential
subdivision and the Board acts within 45 days, or fails to act, and
the definitive plan is submitted, the Board has 90 days to take final
action.
(4)
In all cases the applicant may make a written request
to extend the time.
A.
Planning Board, Board of Health and Conservation Commission
for discussion and approval, modification or disapproval by each board.
The submission of such a preliminary plan will enable the subdivider,
the Planning Board, the Board of Health, the Conservation Commission,
other municipal agencies and owners of property abutting the subdivision
to discuss and clarify the problems of subdivision before a definitive
plan is prepared. A properly executed application Form B (See Appendix.)
shall be filed with the preliminary plan, along with a filing fee
of $300 plus $50 per lot, to the Planning Board.
B.
Contents.
(1)
The preliminary plan shall be drawn on Mylar at a suitable scale, and 14 prints shall be filed at the office of the Planning Board. Said plan shall be identified as a preliminary plan and shall show the proposed names of streets or ways as well as all information described below so as to form a clear basis for discussion of its problems and for preparation of the definitive plan. During discussion of the preliminary plan, the complete information required for the definitive plan (§ 501-9, Definitive plan) will be developed.
(2)
The preliminary plan shall contain the following information:
(a)
The subdivision name, boundaries, north point,
date, scale, legend and title "Preliminary Plan."
(b)
The name(s) of record owner(s) and the applicant
and the name of the designer and professional civil engineer and land
surveyor registered in Massachusetts.
(c)
The names of all abutters from the most recent
local tax list.
(d)
The existing and proposed lines of streets,
ways, easements, and any public areas within the subdivision in a
general manner.
(e)
The proposed system of drainage, including adjacent
existing natural waterways in a general manner.
(f)
The approximate boundary lines of proposed lots
with approximate areas and dimensions.
(g)
The names, approximate location and widths of
adjacent streets.
(h)
The topography (US Geodetic Survey) of the land
in a general manner.
C.
Action. The Planning Board has 45 days in which to
approve or disapprove a preliminary plan and notify the applicant
(by registered mail) and the Town Clerk of its action. The plan may
be approved with or without modification. In the case of approval,
such action does not constitute approval of a subdivision. In the
case of disapproval, the Board shall state in detail its reasons therefor.
A.
General.
(1)
Any person who submits a definitive plan of a subdivision
to the Planning Board for approval shall file with the Board the following:
(a)
An original drawing of the definitive plan and
14 contact prints thereof, dark line on white background. The original
drawing will be returned after approval or disapproval.
(b)
A property executed application Form C. (See
Appendix.)
(c)
An application fee of $3,000 plus $150 per lot,
payable to the Town of Dalton. In addition thereto, the cost of publication
of legal notice and of mailing of all notices shall be charged to
the applicant.
(2)
The applicant shall file by delivery, or certified
mail, a notice with the Town Clerk stating the date of submission
for such approval, accompanied by a copy of the completed application.
(Form C)
B.
Contents.
(1)
The definitive plan shall be prepared by a professional
civil engineer and land surveyor registered in Massachusetts and shall
be drawn on Mylar. When multiple sheets are used, an index shall be
provided. The definitive plan shall contain the following information:
(a)
Subdivision name, boundaries, north point, date,
scale and legend.
(b)
Names and address of record owner(s), subdivider,
engineer and surveyor.
(c)
Names of all abutters as they appear on the
most recent local tax list.
(d)
Lines and widths of existing and proposed streets,
ways, easements and public or common areas within the subdivision,
and names of proposed streets.
(e)
Boundary lines, areas and dimensions of all
proposed lots, designated numerically and in sequence.
(f)
Sufficient data to determine the location, direction
and length of every street and way line, lot line, and boundary line,
and to establish these lines on the ground.
(g)
Location of all permanent monuments properly
identified as existing or proposed.
(h)
Location, names and present widths of streets
bounding, approaching or within reasonable proximity of the subdivision.
(i)
Indication of the purpose of easement and/or
restrictions.
(j)
Suitable space to record the action of the Planning
Board, Board of Health and Town Clerk.
(2)
The following items shall be submitted on separate
sheets.
(a)
Existing and proposed topography at two-foot
contour intervals sufficient to determine any significant change in
existing grade between and drainage onto abutting land.
(b)
Location of floodplains and wetland areas.
(c)
Plan and profile of proposed municipal sewage
and water systems if municipal sewage and water systems are to be
installed.
(d)
Overall plan for drainage of surface water including, but not limited to, the impact on abutting lands. (See § 501-15, Surface drainage.)
(e)
Directly above or below the layout plan of each
street a profile showing existing and proposed grades along the center
line and sidelines of that street together with figures of elevation
at the top and bottom of all even grades and at twenty-five-foot intervals
along all vertical curves. Intersecting streets shall be clearly indicated
on the profile. The horizontal scale of the profiles shall be 40 feet
to one inch, and the vertical scale shall be four feet to one inch.
Only one street plan and profile shall be drawn on a sheet except
by permission of the Planning Board.
(f)
Location and species of trees intended for preservation
within the streets rights-of-way and actions to be taken to insure
their preservation.
(g)
Any other information pertaining to the natural
characteristics of the site, such as major features of the land such
as existing walls, fences, monuments, buildings, trees 24 inches in
caliper measured four feet above the ground, wooded areas, outcroppings,
ditches, swamps, water bodies and natural waterways that may be required
by the Planning Board or the Board of Health for determination of
the suitability of the land for proposed purposes, shall be furnished
at the developer's expense.
C.
Impact statement. Any land subdivision plan consisting
of an area exceeding the minimum requirements for more than five lots
in the affected zoning district must be accompanied by an impact statement
which details the probable effects of the proposed subdivision on
the zoning district in which it is located on the following aspects
of concern to the Town:
D.
Board of Health.
(1)
When a definitive subdivision plan is submitted to
the Planning Board, two copies shall be filed with the Board of Health.
The Board of Health shall report its findings to the Planning Board,
in writing, within 45 days. In the event of disapproval, the Board
of Health shall make specific findings as to which areas on the definitive
plan cannot be used for building sites without injury to the public
health and include the reasons therefor and shall make recommendations
thereof. A copy of this report shall be sent by the Board of Health
to the applicant.
(2)
When the definitive plan shows no municipal sewage
system is to be installed to serve any lot thereon, approval by the
Board of Health shall not be treated as, nor deemed to be, an application
for a permit, or approval of a permit for construction and use of
any lot, for a subsurface sanitary disposal system.
(3)
Every lot not served by a municipal sewage disposal
system shall meet the requirements of 310 CMR 15:00, the State Environmental
Code, Title 5, Minimum Requirements for the Subsurface Disposal of
Sanitary Sewage. Every lot not serviced by a municipal water system
shall comply with MGL c. 40, § 54.
(4)
The Board of Health may establish conditions it believes
necessary to insure a minimum amount of injury to the public health
such as surface or subsurface water runoff, or dust, or land damage
such as fill, slough, loss of growth, lawn, trees and shrubs, or vibration
or noise, or negligence, or work outside of normal work hours. When
such conditions are established, the Board of Health may require a
bond, which shall be separate from the bond requirements of the Planning
Board.
E.
Public hearing.
(1)
Before taking action on a definitive plan, a public
hearing shall be held by the Planning Board. Notice of such hearing
shall be given by the Planning Board by advertisement in a newspaper
of general circulation in the Town once in each of two successive
weeks, the first publication being not less than 14 days before the
day of such hearing (the day of the hearing shall not be counted in
the 14 days) or if there is no such newspaper in the Town, then by
posting in the Town Hall for a period of not less than 14 days before
the day of such hearing and by mailing a copy of such advertisement
to the applicant and to all owners of land abutting upon the land
included in such plan as appearing on the most recent local tax list.
The applicant, engineer and land surveyor shall be present at this
public hearing.
(2)
A hearing by the Conservation Commission may be required
under the provisions of the Wetlands Protection Act, MGL c. 41, § 40.
F.
Performance guarantee (Form D-1, D-2 or D-3) [MGL
c. 41, § 81U].
(1)
Before endorsement of the Planning Board's approval of a definitive plan of subdivision, the subdivider shall agree to complete the required improvements specified in Article IV for any lots in a subdivision.
(2)
(See Appendix Form C.)
(a)
Approval of the plan by the Planning Board may
be made subject to conditions that such approval shall automatically
rescind after a period of two years unless all required improvements
as specified in these regulations and in the recommendations of the
Board of Health have been completed within that period of time.
(b)
The construction and installation of required
improvements shall be secured by one, or in part by one and in part
by the other, of the following methods, which may from time to time
be varied by the applicant:
[1]
Approval with bonds or surety (Form D-1 or D-2).
[a]
The subdivider shall either file a performance bond or a deposit of money or negotiable securities in an amount determined by the Board to be sufficient to cover the cost of all or any part of the improvements specified in Article IV not covered by a covenant under Subsection F(2)(b)[2] hereof.
[b]
Such bond or security, if filed and deposited,
shall be accompanied by an appropriate and properly executed agreement
Form D-1 or D-2 (See Appendix.) and, if deemed necessary by the Planning
Board shall be approved as to form and manner of execution by Town
Counsel, and shall be contingent on the completion of such improvements
within two years. Failure of the developer to complete improvements
within two years, or any extension thereof, may require an estimate
of the cost of the remaining work, increase the amount of the performance
bond, and establish a new date for the completion of said improvements
within the set period of time or any extension thereof, but shall
not relieve the developer from his obligation to pay for increased
costs for completing the improvements in excess of his performance
bond.
[2]
Approval with covenant (Form D-3).
[a]
The subdivider shall file a covenant Form D-3 (See Appendix.) executed and duly recorded by the owner(s) of record, running with the land, whereby such ways, services and improvements as specified in Article IV, not covered by bond or deposit under Subsection F(2)(b)[1] hereof, shall be provided to serve any lot before such lot may be built upon or conveyed, other than by mortgage deed.
G.
Reduction of bond or surety. The penal sum of any such bond, or the amount of any deposit held under Subsection F(2)(b)[1] above shall, from time to time, be reduced by the Planning Board, at the applicant's request, and the obligations of the parties thereto released by the Board in whole or in part. If release is by reason of covenant, a new plan of the portion to be subject to the covenant may be required.
H.
Certificate of approval (Form E).
(1)
The action of the Planning Board in respect to such
a plan shall be by vote (Form E), copies of which shall be certified
and filed with the Town Clerk and sent by delivery or mail to the
applicant. If the Planning Board modifies or disapproves such plan,
it shall state in its vote the reasons for its action. Final approval,
if granted, shall be endorsed on the original drawing of the definitive
plan by the signatures of a majority of the Planning Board but not
until the statutory twenty-day appeal period has elapsed following
the filing of the certificate of the action of the Planning Board
with the Town Clerk, provided that the Town Clerk has not received
notice of appeal to the Superior Court, and provided further that
other conditions of approval, if a part of the Board's action, are
transmitted or corrected to the satisfaction of the Board.
(2)
Approval of the definitive plan does not constitute
the laying out or acceptance by the Town, of streets within a subdivision,
nor does it indicate in any way compliance with the provisions of
the Wetlands Protection Act, MGL c. 131, § 40.
I.
Submission of documents. Easements, bond and/or covenant
shall be submitted within 20 days from the date of approval of the
definitive plan to the Planning Board, which then shall submit the
documents to the Town Counsel, if necessary, for approval as to form
and legality.
J.
Filing of plans in the Registry of Deeds or Land Court.
Approval of a subdivision is subject to the condition that, unless
an appeal has been taken from such approval as provided by statute,
the subdivider will record the approved subdivision plan in the Berkshire
Middle Registry of Deeds, or the Land Court, within six months from
the date of its approval, and furnish a copy of the recorded plan
to the Planning Board prior to initiating construction, unless deferred
by the Planning Board. If the applicant delays recording of such plan
past the required six-month period, such plan shall not be accepted
for recording by the Registry of Deeds or Land Court unless and until
it has endorsed thereon, or recorded therewith and referred to thereon,
a certificate of the Planning Board, or the Town Clerk, dated within
30 days of such recording, that the approval has not been modified,
amended or rescinded, nor the plan changed. Such certificate shall,
upon application, be made by the Board or the Town Clerk unless the
records of the Board or the Town Clerk receiving the application show
that there has been such modification, amendment, rescission or change.
K.
Certificate of performance (Form G). When the subdivision
improvements are completed, the developer shall, by hand delivery
or certified mail, notify the Town Clerk and the Planning Board of
such accomplishment. Notification shall include:
(1)
A set of as-built drawings, stamped and signed by
a Massachusetts licensed registered land surveyor and/or engineer.
(2)
A Certificate of Performance Form G (See Appendix.)
signed and notarized.
(3)
A copy of engineer progress reports submitted during
construction of the right(s)-of-way.
(4)
A request to release performance bond, deposit or
covenant.
L.
Release of performance guarantee (Form H).
(1)
The Planning Board shall determine whether subdivision
is completed in accordance with original or as-built subdivision plans
and the Rules and Regulations Governing the Subdivision of Land in
Dalton within 45 days and so notify the developer and the Town Clerk
and release the subdivider from his performance guarantee by completing
the Release Form H. (See Appendix.)
