The Planning & Zoning Board shall act as the PAA for Plan Approval, as designated in § 235-51 of the Town of Easton Zoning By Law, pursuant to Chapter 40R of Mass. General Law.
A. 
Applications to the PAA shall be made on the official application form. Application forms are available during regular business hours in the Easton Department of Planning & Community Development Office. The application shall also include any additional materials as required in the § 235-51 (L-3) of the Zoning By Law.
B. 
In the case where the Applicant is a person other than the recorded owner of the property, the Applicant shall be required to submit notarized certification executed by the recorded owner of the property that the Application is submitted with the knowledge and consent of the recorded owner.
C. 
An application is considered complete when the Department of Planning and Community Development has received the correct number and form of all required application materials, including those listed on the application form itself.
A. 
The application shall be submitted, and a copy filed with the Easton Town Clerk during regular business hours. The date of filing shall be considered the date upon which the complete application has been delivered to or received by the Town Clerk.
B. 
The applicant is responsible for providing all information in the application as described in these Rules and Regulations, and the Easton By Law unless a waiver is requested by the applicant and granted by the PAA. Incomplete applications risk denial by the PAA.
The required stormwater management hydrogeological study shall be submitted in the format suggested by the most recent edition promulgated by MassDEP of the Massachusetts Stormwater Management Handbook, and shall be accompanied by the Stormwater Report Checklist.
A. 
Any application for a Plan Approval or modification of a Plan Approval shall include a fee in the amount of $1,500. This fee does not cover advertising or legal expenses incurred to the Town during the review process.
B. 
The applicant will be additionally billed $350 for advertising each advertised public hearing.
C. 
The fee shall be submitted in check form to the Department of Planning & Community Development and made payable to the "Town of Easton."
A. 
The PAA may engage, at the applicant's expense, engineers, planners, lawyers (including Town Counsel), urban designers, or other appropriate professionals who can assist the PAA in analyzing a project application to ensure compliance with all state laws and Town Regulations. If the PAA elects to engage a consultant to assist with plan reviews, the PAA shall notify the applicant, within 30 days of the filing of the application, of its designation of an outside consultant.
B. 
Funds received by the PAA pursuant to this section shall be deposited with the Treasurer who shall establish a special account for this purpose. Expenditures from this account shall be made at the direction of the PAA without further appropriation and shall be made only in connection with the review of a specific project or projects for which a review fee has been or will be collected from the applicant. Failure of an applicant to pay a review fee shall be grounds for denial of the Permit. When the review fee account is depleted, an additional deposit shall be made by the applicant.
C. 
The applicant may appeal the selection of the outside consultant to the Board of Selectman within 14 days of notification of consultant designation from the PAA. The grounds for such an appeal shall be limited to claims that the consultant selected has a conflict of interest or does not possess the minimum required qualifications, as specified in MGL c. 44, § 53G.
D. 
Review fees may only be spent on services rendered in connection with the specific project for which they were collected. Accrued interest may also be spent for this purpose. At the completion of the PAA's review of a project, any excess amount in the account, including interest, attributable to a specific project, shall be refunded to the applicant, or the applicant's successor in interest. A final report of said account shall be made available to the applicant or the applicant's successor in interest.
E. 
In addition to the application fee, the applicant shall be required to pay reasonable consulting fees to provide peer review of the Plan Approval application, pursuant to MGL c. 40R, § 11. This technical review fee shall be paid at the time of the application. The initial deposit shall be $15,000 and shall be subject to replenishment as needed. Such fees shall be held by the Town in a separate account and used only for expenses associated with the review of the application by outside consultants, including, but not limited to, attorneys, engineers, urban designers, housing consultants, planners, and others. Any surplus remaining after the completion of such review, including any interest accrued, shall be returned to the applicant.
F. 
The fee shall be submitted in check form to the Department of Planning & Community Development and made payable to the "Town of Easton."
A. 
The applicant shall list on the application and provide copies of all variances, permits and other approvals previously issued by town boards or State and Federal Agencies, and a list of any variances, permits or approvals required to complete the proposed work. This list should include but not be limited to any permits from the Board of Health, the Conservation Commission, the Zoning Board of Appeals, the PAA, the Board of Selectmen, the State Department of Public Works, the Army Corps of Engineers, and the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection; and certificates issued by the Secretary of Environmental Affairs under the Massachusetts Environmental Policy Act.
Note: If any other permits are required, the Applicant is hereby strongly advised to make the applications for such additional permits concurrently with this Application.
The PAA shall use the review criteria found in § 235-51 of the Easton Zoning By Law, including the Design Standards, and applicable criteria found in these Rules and Regulations to make a decision on applications before it.
A. 
PAA authority. Under authority granted in § 235-51 (M)2, upon receipt of the Application the PAA shall immediately provide a copy of the application materials to and seek comment from the Board of Selectmen, Zoning Board of Appeals, Board of Health, Fair & Affordable Housing Partnership, Conservation Commission, Fire Department, Police Department, Building Inspector, and the Department of Public Works.
B. 
Time of review. Any such board or agency to which petitions are referred from the PAA for review shall make such recommendations as they deem appropriate and shall send copies thereof to the permit granting authority and to the applicant; provided, however, that failure of any such board or agency to make recommendations within 28 days of receipt by such board or agency of the application shall be deemed lack of opposition thereto unless such board or agency makes a written request for more time for review. All reviews must be complete within 60 days of receipt of plans and application material.
C. 
Joint review. At the discretion of the Chair, the PAA may request an All-Boards meeting or a joint review of the project with another board or committee.
A. 
Deadline & filing with Town Clerk.
(1) 
The decision of the PAA shall be made, and a written notice of the decision filed with the Town Clerk, within 120 days of the receipt of the application by the Town Clerk. The required time limits for such action may be extended by written agreement between the applicant and the PAA, with a copy of such agreement being filed in the office of the Town Clerk. Failure of the PAA to take action within said 120 days or extended time, if applicable, shall be deemed an approval of the application and site plan.
(2) 
The PAA shall issue to the applicant a copy of its decision containing the name and address of the owner, identifying the land affected, and the plans that were the subject of the decision, and certifying that a copy of the decision has been filed with the city or town clerk and that all plans referred to in the decision are on file with the approving authority.
(3) 
If 20 days have elapsed after the decision has been filed in the office of the city or town clerk without an appeal having been filed or if such appeal, having been filed, is dismissed or denied, the city or town clerk shall so certify on a copy of the decision. If the plan is approved due to the failure of the approving authority to timely act, the clerk shall make such certification on a copy of the application at the request of the applicant.
B. 
Grounds for denial. As per § 235-51 O.4 in the Zoning By Law, an application may be denied only because:
(1) 
The project does not meet the conditions and requirements set forth in § 235-51 of the Zoning By Law;
(2) 
The applicant failed to submit information and/or fees required by § 235-51 of the Zoning By Law necessary for an adequate and timely review of the design of the project or potential project impacts; or
(3) 
It is not possible to adequately mitigate significant adverse project impacts on nearby properties by means of suitable conditions.
C. 
Recording of decision. A copy of the decision or application bearing such certification shall be recorded in the registry of deeds for the county and district in which the land is located and indexed in the grantor index under the name of the owner of record or recorded and noted on the owner's certificate of title. The fee for recording or registering shall be paid by the owner or applicant.
Any person aggrieved by a decision of the PAA, whether or not previously a party to the proceeding, may appeal such decision in accordance with MGL c. 40R, § 11f-k, as amended.