Amendment #818 to H4600

An Act facilitating site plan review

Ms. Kassner of Hamilton moves to amend the bill by adding the following section:

"SECTION XXXX. Chapter 40A of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2018 Official Edition, is hereby amended by adding the following section:–

Section 7A

(a) As used in this section, "site plan review" shall mean the review and approval process under a municipality’s zoning ordinance or by-law that establishes criteria for the layout, scale, appearance, safety, and impacts of a proposed use or development, such as whether a proposed use of land or structures is in compliance with sound site principles relative to traffic circulation and safety, pedestrian safety and access, off-street parking and loading, emergency vehicle access, stormwater drainage, screening, signage and exterior lighting, visual impact of parking, storage or other outdoor service areas, and consistency with character and scale of surrounding buildings.

(b) In addition to the home rule authority of cities and towns to require site plan review, a municipality may adopt a local ordinance or by-law under this section requiring site plan review and approval by a designated authority before a building permit is granted for the use of land or structures governed by a zoning ordinance or by-law. The designated authority may adopt, and from time to time amend, rules and regulations to implement the local site plan review ordinance or by-law, including provisions for the imposition of reasonable fees for the employment of outside consultants in the same manner as set forth in section 53G of chapter 44.

(c) An ordinance or by-law requiring site plan review, whether adopted under this section or under the municipality’s home rule authority, shall comply with the provisions of this and all following subsections of section 7A. The ordinance or by-law shall establish the submission, review, and approval process for applications. Approval of a site plan for a use allowed by right, or for a use requiring a special permit but reviewed by a separate designated authority, shall require a simple majority vote of the designated authority and shall be made within the time limits prescribed by ordinance or by-law, not to exceed 90 days from the date of filing of the application. If no decision is issued within the time limit prescribed, the site plan shall be deemed constructively approved as provided in section 9, paragraph 11 of this chapter. The submission and review process for a site plan required in connection with the issuance of a special permit and subject to review by the same permit granting authority as the special permit application, shall be conducted with the review of the application for the special permit, in a coordinated process and shall require the same quantum of vote required for approval of a special permit. The ordinance or by-law may establish the designated authority to be the building commissioner, director of planning, or similar municipal official who coordinates administrative site plan review with other municipal employees, in which instance there shall be no vote requirement for site plan review. Any appeal from administrative site plan review shall be in accordance with section 17 of chapter 40A unless an ordinance or by-law first provides for an appeal to another public body of the municipality.

(d) Site plan review for a use allowed by right may impose only those conditions that are necessary to ensure substantial compliance of the proposed use of land or structures with the other requirements of the zoning ordinance or by-law provided, however, that any off-site conditions shall only address direct adverse impacts related to site plan review requirements expressly governed by the zoning ordinance or bylaw and which conditions are proportionate in both nature and extent to the impacts of the project on adjacent properties or adjacent roadways. A site plan application for a use allowed by right may be denied only on the grounds that: (i) the proposed site plan does not meet the requirements set forth in the zoning ordinance or by-law; (ii) the applicant failed to submit the information and fees required by the zoning ordinance or by-law necessary for an adequate and timely review of the design of the proposed land or structures; or (iii) it is not feasible to adequately mitigate any direct adverse project impacts by means of suitable site design conditions.

(e) Zoning ordinances or by-laws shall provide that a site plan approval granted under this section shall lapse within a specified period of time, not less than three years from the date of the filing of such approval with the city or town clerk, if substantial use or construction has not yet begun, except as extended for good cause by the designated authority. Such specified period shall not include time required to pursue or await the determination of an appeal under section 17 or to pursue or await the appeal of any other permit, license, determination or approval which are prerequisites to issuance of a building permit. The aforesaid minimum period of three years may, by ordinance or by-law, be increased to a longer period.

(f) In municipalities that adopted a zoning ordinance or by-law requiring some form of site plan review prior to the effective date of this act, the provisions of this section shall not be effective with respect to such zoning ordinance or by-law until the date one year after the effective date of this act.”.

Additional co-sponsor(s) added to Amendment #818 to H4600

An Act facilitating site plan review