As used in this chapter, the following terms
shall have the meanings indicated:
American Association of State Highway and Transportation
Officials.
Property owner of any property having a common boundary line
with the applicant's property, or any owner of any property located
adjacent to the applicant's property on a public way or stream, or
any property owner located within a distance of 500 feet of the property.
The calculation of average daily traffic volumes in a time
period greater than one day and less than one year.
A person (as hereinafter defined) who applies for the approval of a plan of a subdivision or a person who applies under Article III. "Applicant" shall include an owner, or his agent or representative, or his assigns.
A mark made in a durable object of known position and elevation
as a reference point.
A way designed to be used principally or exclusively by a
bicycle or similar unpowered vehicle.
The Planning Board of the Town of Boxford.
A way designed to be used principally or exclusively for
equestrian purposes.
Certified by (or endorsed by) the Board, as applied to a
plan or other instrument required or authorized by the Subdivision
Control Law to be recorded, shall mean bearing a certification or
endorsement signed by a majority of the members of the Board.
To construct a street, install utilities, erect a house or
other structure or in any way to improve a lot substantially.
A person (as hereinafter defined) who develops a subdivision under a plan of a subdivision approved pursuant to Article III of these rules and regulations.
A right acquired by public authority or other person to use
or control property for a utility or other designated private or public
purpose.
The General Laws of Massachusetts, and as the same may be
amended.
A permanent marker to indicate a boundary.
Water drains, water pipes, gas pipes, electrical lines, telephone
lines, fire alarm system or similar systems, and their respective
appurtenances.
As applies to real estate, the person holding the ultimate
fee simple title to a parcel, tract or lot of land, as shown by the
record in the Land Registration Office, Registry of Deeds or Registry
of Probate.
An individual, two or more individuals or a group or association
of individuals, a partnership, trust or corporation, having a common
or undivided interest in a tract of land.
A plan of approved subdivision of land as duly submitted to the Board in accordance with § 300-11 and as constructed in accordance with Article V; all as distinguished from the definitive plan. Additional information required by the Board is listed in § 300-11J(2)(g).
A plan of proposed subdivision of land as duly submitted with appropriate application to the Board for approval in accordance with § 300-11, to be recorded in the Registry of Deeds or filed with the Land Court when approved by the Board, and such plan when approved and recorded, all as distinguished from a preliminary plan.
A plan of proposed subdivision of land as duly submitted with appropriate application to the Board for approval prepared in accordance with § 300-10 to facilitate proper preparation of a definitive plan.
Town employee or consultant authorized by the Board to review
plans of subdivisions, perform inspections and/or administer the regulations.
Includes telephones, electric light and power, gas lines
and cable television whether installed on, above or beneath the surface
of the ground.
Includes only electric light and power distribution systems,
surface water drains and water pipes and their appurtenances, which
may become the property or responsibility of the town.
Recorded in the Registry of Deeds of Essex County and, when
appropriate, shall include the Land Court. (MGL c. 41, § 81-L)
The Registry of Deeds of Essex County and, when appropriate,
shall include the Land Court. (MGL c. 41, § 81-L)
That portion of a way which is designed and constructed for
vehicular travel.
A way within the right-of-way of a street normally parallel
to the street, designed for use by pedestrians.
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Department of Public Works,
Standard Specifications for Highways and Bridges, 1988 Edition, as
amended.
A street which satisfies one or more of the following criteria:
serves as direct access for 50 or more house lots; connects two or
more existing major streets; has an average weekday ADT of 400 vpd
or more.
A street which, in the opinion of the Board, is being used,
or will be used primarily, to provide access to abutting lots and
has an average weekday ADT of 400 vpd or less.
The division of a tract of land into two or more lots and
shall include resubdivision, and when appropriate to the context,
shall relate to the process of subdivision of the land or territory
subdivided; provided, however, that the division of a tract of land
into two or more lots shall not be deemed to constitute a subdivision
within the meaning of the Subdivision Control Law, if at the time
when it is made, every lot within the tract so divided has frontage
on a public way, or a way which the Town Clerk of the Town of Boxford
certifies is maintained and used as a public way, or a way shown on
a plan theretofore approved and endorsed in accordance with the Subdivision
Control Law, or a way in existence when the Subdivision Control Law
became effective in the town having, in the opinion of the Board,
sufficient width, suitable grade and adequate construction to provide
for the needs of vehicular traffic in relation to the proposed use
of the land abutting thereon or served thereby, and for the installation
of municipal services to serve such land and the buildings erected
or to be erected thereon. Such frontage shall be of at least such
distance as is then required by the Zoning Bylaws.[1] Conveyances or other instruments adding to, taking away
from or changing the size and shape of lots in such a manner as to
not leave any lot so affected without the frontage above set forth,
or the division of a tract of land on which two or more buildings
were standing when the Subdivision Control Law went into effect in
the town into separate lots on each of which one of such buildings
remains standing, shall not constitute a subdivision. (MGL c. 41,
§ 81L)
The power of regulating the subdivision of land granted by
the Subdivision Control Law, MGL c. 41, §§ 81-K through
GG, inclusive.
Town of Boxford, Massachusetts.
A rustic way designed to be used for nonmotorized travel,
including passage by foot, on skis, bicycles or horseback.
A walkway designed for use by pedestrians, not necessarily
parallel to a street.
Synonymous with the terms, road, street, highway and avenue
and shall denote any such line or route for passage whether public
or private; the width of the strip of land laid out, designated, acquired
and/or dedicated for the use of such way. Such width includes the
spaces for vehicular travel, sidewalks, edgestone and planting spaces
where required.
No person shall make a subdivision within the
meaning of the Subdivision Control Law of any land within the town,
or proceed with the improvement for sale of lots in a subdivision,
or the construction of ways, or preparation therefor or the installation
of utilities and municipal services therein, unless and until a definitive
plan of such subdivision has been submitted and approved by the Board
as hereinafter provided.
In those cases in which the land shown on the
plan is abutted by land of an owner not the owner of the land as shown,
the Board shall require a statement from the person who prepared the
plan as to the source or sources of the information about the location
of boundaries. A separate form for such statement will be furnished
to the Board, see Form D (Land Surveyor's Certificate).
Not more than one building designed or available
for use for dwelling purposes shall be erected or placed or converted
to use as such on any lot in a subdivision.
All expenses for advertising, publication of
notices, engineering, professional planning review, plans, inspection
of construction, recording and filing of documents and all other expenses
in connection with a subdivision, including without limitation sampling
and/or testing required by the Board or its agents, shall be borne
solely by the applicant. The Board reserves the right to fund and
use fees it establishes, pursuant to MGL c. 44, § 53G.
A.
When reviewing an application for, or when conducting,
inspections in relation to subdivision approval, the Board may determine
that the assistance of outside consultants is warranted due to the
size, scale or complexity of a proposed project, because of a project's
impact or because the town lacks the necessary expertise to perform
the work related to the approval. The Board may require that applicants
pay a project review fee consisting of the reasonable costs incurred
by the Board for the employment of outside consultants engaged by
the Board to assist in the review of a proposed project.
B.
In hiring outside consultants, the Board may engage
engineers, planners, lawyers, urban designers or other appropriate
professionals who can assist the Board in analyzing a project to ensure
compliance with all relevant laws, bylaws and regulations. Such assistance
may include, but not be limited to, analyzing an application, monitoring
or inspecting a project or site for compliance with the Board's decision
or regulations or inspecting a project during construction or implementation.
C.
Funds received by the Board pursuant to this section
shall be deposited with the Town Treasurer who shall establish a special
account for this purpose. Expenditures from this special account may
be made at the direction of the Board without further appropriation.
Expenditures from this special account shall be made only for services
rendered in connection with a specific project or projects for which
a project review fee has been or will be collected from the applicant.
Accrued interest may also be spent for this purpose. Failure of an
applicant to pay a review fee shall be grounds for denial of the approval
sought.
D.
At the completion of the Board's review of a project,
any excess amount in the account, including interest, attributable
to a specific project shall be repaid 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.
For the purpose of this regulation, any person or entity claiming
to be an applicant's successor in interest shall provide the Board
with documentation establishing such succession in interest.
E.
Any applicant may take an administrative appeal from
the selection of the outside consultant to the Town Select Board.
Such appeal must be made in writing and may be taken only within 20
days after the Planning Board has mailed or hand-delivered notice
to the applicant of the selection. 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.
The minimum qualifications shall consist either of an educational
degree in, or related to, the field at issue or three or more years
of practice in the field at issue or a related field. The required
time limit for action upon an application by the Board shall be extended
by the duration of the administrative appeal. In the event that no
decision is made by the Select Board within one month following the
filing of the appeal, the selection made by the Board shall stand.
[Amended 9-12-2020 ATM by Art. 19]
F.
The fee associated with the engagement of an outside
consultant shall not be a fixed amount, but will vary with the costs
incurred by the Board.
G.
Fees. The Planning Board, from time to time, and following
public hearings will set fees associated with various filings under
these subdivision regulations. Such fees will be kept on file at the
Planning Board office.
The Board will not approve or modify and approve
any plan of a subdivision of land unless all buildings, structures
and lots shown on said plan comply with the Zoning Bylaws[1] of the town or a variance and/or special permit from the
terms thereof has been granted.
