Bill HD.2484

HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 2484 FILED ON: 1/16/2025

HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No.

[Pin Slip]

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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In the One Hundred and Ninety-Fourth General Court
(2025-2026)

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An Act relative to zoning.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:

SECTION 1. Chapter 40A of the General Laws, as most recently amended by section 10 of chapter 150

of the acts of 2024, is hereby amended in section 6 by striking out the word “issued” in line 3 and

inserting in place thereof the following words:- or other entitlement under this chapter applied for;

and by inserting after the second sentence, in line 16, the following new sentence:-

Additionally, structures on lots with pre-existing nonconformities as to lot size or shape, frontage, lot

coverage, or floor area ratio may be extended or altered as of right provided such expansion or alteration

complies with the current dimensional regulations regarding height, stories, and setback;

and by striking out the second and third paragraphs and inserting in place thereof the following two

paragraphs:-

A zoning ordinance or by-law shall provide that construction or operations under a building permit shall

conform to any subsequent amendment of the ordinance or by-law unless the use or construction is

commenced within a period of not more than 24 months after the issuance of the last permit necessary

for construction and, in cases involving construction, unless such construction is continued through to

completion as continuously and expeditiously as is reasonable. The 24-month period shall be tolled

during any time the applicant is actively seeking or obtaining other necessary permits. Construction or

operations under a special permit issued pursuant to section 9 or site plan approval pursuant to the local

ordinance or by-law shall conform to any subsequent amendment of the zoning ordinance or by-law or

of any other local land use regulations unless the use or construction is commenced within a period of 3

years after the issuance of the special permit or site plan approval and, in cases involving construction,

unless such construction is continued through to completion as continuously and expeditiously as is

reasonable. For the purpose of the prior sentence, construction involving the redevelopment of

previously disturbed land shall be deemed to have commenced upon substantial investment in site

preparation or infrastructure construction, and construction of developments intended to proceed in

phases shall proceed expeditiously, but not continuously, among phases.

A zoning ordinance or by-law may define and regulate nonconforming uses and structures abandoned or

not used for a period of four years or more.

SECTION 2. Said section 6 is hereby further amended by striking out the words “for single and two

family residential use” in line 46 and inserting in place thereof the words:- a lot

SECTION 3. Said section 6 is hereby further amended in the fifth paragraph by inserting at the end

thereof the following sentence:-

Further, adjacent lots under common ownership shall not be treated as a single lot for local zoning

purposes, unless doing so would eliminate a pre-existing lawful nonconformity as to lot size, frontage,

or setback, and at least one of the lots under common ownership is undeveloped.

SECTION 4. Section 9 of said chapter 40A of the General Laws, is hereby amended in the twelfth

paragraph by inserting after the second sentence the following new sentence:-

Any public hearing on a special permit application shall extend for no more than one hundred and fifty

days from the date the hearing is opened.

and in the thirteen paragraph by striking out the first two sentences and inserting in place thereof the

following two sentences:-

Failure by the special permit granting authority to open the public hearing on an application within

sixty-five days, conclude the public hearing within one hundred and fifty days, or take final action

within 30 days or within an otherwise agreed-upon extended time, if applicable, shall be deemed to be a

grant of the special permit. The petitioner who seeks such approval by reason of the failure of the special

permit granting authority to act within such time prescribed, shall notify the city or town clerk, in

writing within fourteen days from the expiration of said period or extended time, if applicable, of such

approval and that notice has been sent by the petitioner to parties in interest.

SECTION 5. Said chapter 40A of the General Laws is hereby amended by striking out section 10 and

inserting in place thereof the following:-

Section 10. The permit granting authority shall have the power, after public hearing for which notice has

been given by publication and posting as provided in section eleven and by mailing to all parties in

interest, to grant upon appeal or upon petition with respect to particular land or structures a variance

from the terms of the applicable zoning ordinance or by-law where such permit granting authority

specifically finds that a literal enforcement of the provisions of the ordinance or by-law would result in a

practical difficulty. In making its determination, the permit granting authority shall weigh the benefits to

the appellant/petitioner and to the public interest including the interest in supporting the production of

housing against the detriment to the health, safety, and welfare of the neighborhood, and may also

consider: (1) whether the practical ;difficulty relates to soil conditions, shape, or topography of such land

or structures; (2) whether the literal enforcement would impose a financial hardship on the

appellant/petitioner; (3) whether the benefit sought by the appellant/petitioner can be achieved by some

other method feasible for the appellant/petitioner to achieve; and (4) whether the practical difficulty was

self-created.

Except where local ordinances or by-laws shall expressly permit variances for use, no variance may

authorize a use or activity other than residential, not otherwise permitted in the district in which the land

or structure is located; provided, however, that such variances properly granted prior to January first,

nineteen hundred and seventy-six but limited in time, may be extended on the same terms and conditions

that were in effect for such variance upon said effective date.

If the rights authorized by a variance are not exercised within two years of the date of grant of such

variance, which shall not include such time required to pursue other entitlements necessary to construct

the project authorized by the variance or await the determination of an appeal referred to in section

seventeen, such rights shall lapse; provided, however, that the permit granting authority in its discretion

and upon written application by the grantee of such rights may extend the time for exercise of such rights

for a period not to exceed two-years; and provided, further, that the application for such extension is filed

with such permit granting authority prior to the expiration of such two-year period. If the permit granting

authority does not grant such extension within thirty days of the date of application therefor, and upon the

expiration of the original two-year period, such rights may be reestablished only after notice and a new

hearing pursuant to the provisions of this section.

SECTION 6. Section 15 of said chapter 40A is hereby amended in the fifth paragraph by striking out the

first seven sentences and inserting in place thereof the following seven sentences:-

All hearings of the board of appeals shall be open to the public and shall be opened within thirty days of

any petition or application. Any such public hearing of the board of appeals shall extend for no more

than sixty days from the date the hearing is opened. The decision of the board shall be made within one

hundred days after the date of the filing of an appeal, application or petition, except in regard to special

permits, as provided for in section nine. The required time limits for a public hearing and said action,

may be extended by written agreement between the applicant and the board of appeals. A copy of such

agreement shall be filed in the office of the city or town clerk. Failure by the board to act within the

times prescribed or extended time, if applicable, shall be deemed to be the grant of the appeal,

application or petition. The petitioner who seeks such approval by reason of the failure of the board to

act within the time prescribed shall notify the city or town clerk, in writing, within fourteen days from

the expiration of said period or extended time, if applicable, of such approval and that notice has been

sent by the petitioner to parties in interest.

SECTION 7. Section 17 of said chapter 40A, is hereby amended in the first paragraph by striking out

the last sentence and inserting in place thereof the following sentence:-

If the complaint is filed by someone other than the original applicant, appellant or petitioner, then each

plaintiff, whether or not previously constituting parties in interest for notice purposes, shall also

sufficiently allege and must plausibly demonstrate that measurable injury, which is special and different

as to such plaintiff, to a private legal interest that will likely flow from the decision through credible

evidence; and by striking out the second paragraph and inserting in place thereof the following paragraph:-

If the complaint is filed by someone other than the original applicant, appellant or petitioner, such

original applicant, appellant, or petitioner and the board of appeals or special permit granting authority

shall be named as parties defendant with their addresses. To avoid delay in the proceedings, instead of

the usual service of process, the plaintiff shall within fourteen days after the filing of the complaint, send

written notice thereof, with a copy of the complaint, by delivery or certified mail to all defendants, and

shall within twenty-one days after the entry of the complaint file with the clerk of the court an affidavit

that such notice has been given. If no such affidavit is filed within such time the complaint shall be

dismissed. No answer shall be required but an answer may be filed. Other persons aggrieved may be

permitted to intervene, upon motion. The clerk of the court shall give notice of the hearing as in other

cases without jury, to all parties whether or not they have appeared. The court’s review of the evidence

on the merits, but not as to jurisdiction, shall be limited to the record before the board of appeals or

special permit granting authority as provided in chapter 30A, section 14, subsections (4) – (6), provided,

however, that within forty-five days of filing the complaint, the plaintiff shall be responsible for filing

either an electronic or paper copy of the record before the board or special permit granting authority, and

the municipality shall cooperate in making the record available to the plaintiff in either electronic or

paper format. Any party may, without leave of court, within thirty days of the submission of the record

to the court, submit reports from consultants or experts, such reports to state the qualifications of the

consultant or expert, the question to be answered or issue addressed, the facts considered, the conclusion

of such consultant or expert, and the bases for the conclusion. And based on the record evidence, as may

be supplemented and provided herein, the court may annul such decision or make such other decree as

justice and equity may require., upon a showing by the plaintiff that the decision exceeded the authority

of the board or special permit granting authority or was otherwise unsupported by the record evidence.

The foregoing remedy shall be exclusive, notwithstanding any defect of procedure or of notice other

than notice by publication, mailing or posting as required by this chapter, and the validity of any action

shall not be questioned for matters relating to defects in procedure or of notice in any other proceedings

except with respect to such publication, mailing or posting and then only by a proceeding commenced

within ninety days after the decision has been filed in the office of the city or town clerk, but the parties

shall have all rights of appeal and exception as in other equity cases. The court, in its discretion, may

require a plaintiff in an action under this section appealing a decision of the board of appeals or any

special permit granting authority to post a surety or cash bond in an amount of not more than $250,000

to secure the payment of and to indemnify and reimburse damages and costs and expenses incurred in

such an action if the court finds that the harm to the defendant or to the public interest resulting from

delays caused by the appeal outweighs the financial burden of the surety or cash bond on the plaintiffs.

The court shall consider the relative merits of the appeal and the relative financial means of the plaintiff

and the defendant. Nothing in this section shall require bad faith or malice of a plaintiff for the court to

issue a bond under this section;and by striking out the fifth paragraph and inserting in place thereof the following paragraph:- Costs, including reasonable attorneys’ fees, in an amount to be fixed by the court may be allowed against the party appealing from the decision of the board or special permit granting authority if the court finds that the appellant or appellants acted in bad faith or with malice in making the appeal to court.

Name:	District/Address:	Date Added:
Brian W. Murray	10th Worcester	1/16/2025