Amendment #140 to H4789

Codifying 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, provided, however, that site plan review in connection with any use specifically governed by section 3 or any other section of this chapter shall be limited to the extent required by the provisions of such section.

(b) Each city and town shall adopt a local ordinance or by-law under this section governing 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 or, if a city or town has heretofore adopted a local ordinance or bylaw governing site plan review, shall amend such ordinance or bylaw to the extent necessary to conform with this section. 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 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. The decision of the designated authority 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 or such extended time as may be agreed in writing by the petitioner.  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 petitioner 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) Failure by the designated authority to take final action within said ninety days or extended time, if applicable, shall be deemed to be an approval of the site plan. The petitioner who seeks such approval by reason of the failure of the designated authority to act within such time prescribed, shall notify the city or town clerk, in writing within fourteen days from the expiration of said ninety days or extended time, if applicable, of such approval. The petitioner shall send such notice to parties in interest by mail and each such notice shall specify that appeals, if any, shall be made pursuant to section seventeen and shall be filed within twenty days after the date the city or town clerk received such written notice from the petitioner that the designated authority failed to act within the time prescribed. After the expiration of twenty days without notice of appeal pursuant to section seventeen, or, if appeal has been taken, after receipt of certified records of the court in which such appeal is adjudicated, indicating that such approval has become final, the city or town clerk shall issue a certificate stating the date of approval, the fact that the designated authority failed to take final action and that the approval resulting from such failure has become final, and such certificate shall be forwarded to the petitioner. The designated authority shall cause to be made a detailed record of its proceedings, indicating the vote of each member upon each question, or if absent or failing to vote, indicating such fact, and setting forth clearly the reason for its decision and of its official actions, copies of all of which shall be filed within fourteen days in the office of the city or town clerk and shall be deemed a public record, and notice of the decision shall be mailed forthwith to the petitioner, to the parties in interest designated in section eleven, and to every person present at the hearing who requested that notice be sent to them and stated the address to which such notice was to be sent. Each such notice shall specify that appeals, if any, shall be made pursuant to section seventeen and shall be filed within twenty days after the date of filing of such notice in the office of the city or town clerk.

(f) 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.

(g) The provisions of this section shall be effective on the date that is one year after the effective date of this act and thereafter any provision of a local ordinance or bylaw that does not conform with this Section 7 shall no longer be enforceable.”

Additional co-sponsor(s) added to Amendment #140 to H4789

Codifying Site Plan Review