[Added 4-4-1981 by Art.
26[1]]
[1]
Editor's Note: This article also renumbered Arts. 10, 11 and
12 as Arts. 11, 12 and 13, respectively.
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
An option which permits an applicant to build single-family
(and multifamily) dwellings with reduced lot area and frontage requirements
so as to create a development in which the buildings and accessory
uses are clustered together into one or more groups with adjacent
common open land.
A parcel or parcels of land or an area of water, or a combination
of land and water within the site designated for a residential cluster
development, maintained and preserved for open uses, and designed
and intended for the use or enjoyment of residents of the residential
cluster development. Common open space may contain such complementary
structures and improvements as are necessary and appropriate for the
benefit and enjoyment of residents of the residential cluster development,
but shall not include streets or parking areas except those incidental
to open space uses.
A corporation or trust owned or to be owned by the owners
of lots or residential units within a tract approved for cluster development,
which holds the title to open land and which is responsible for the
costs and maintenance of said open land and any other facilities to
be held in common.
[Amended 4-30-2018 ATM
by Art. 19]
(For the purpose of this article only.) Attached dwelling
units or buildings designed for or occupied by two or more families.
Area characterized by vegetation described in MGL c. 131,
§ 40.
In addition to purposes set out in MGL c. 40A and the local
zoning, the Planning Board may grant a special permit for cluster
development in the Residence B and Residence C Districts upon the
following terms and conditions:
A.
To encourage the more efficient use of land in harmony with its natural
features;
B.
To encourage creativity in the design of developments through a carefully
controlled process;
C.
To encourage a less sprawling form of development, a shorter network
of streets and utilities, more economical development of land with
less consumption of open space;
D.
To permanently preserve natural topography and wooded areas within
development areas and to preserve usable open space and recreation
facilities close to homes;
E.
To provide an efficient procedure to ensure appropriate high-quality
design and site planning to enhance the neighborhoods in which they
occur and to the Town as a whole;
F.
To promote diverse and energy-efficient housing at a variety of costs.
A.
Filing of application. Each application for a special permit to cluster
shall be filed with the Planning Board, with a copy filed forthwith
with the Town Clerk, and shall be accompanied by eight copies of a
preliminary plan of the entire tract under consideration, prepared
by a professional architect, engineer, and landscape architect.
B.
Contents of application. Said application and plan shall be prepared
in accordance with requirements for a preliminary subdivision plan
in the rules and regulations of the Planning Board governing subdivision
of land,[1] whether or not the development constitutes a subdivision,
and shall include proposed location, bulk, and height of all proposed
buildings. In addition, the applicant shall provide the following
information:
(1)
The number of dwellings which could be constructed under this
bylaw by means of a conventional development plan, considering the
whole tract, exclusive of water bodies and land prohibited from development
by legally enforceable restrictions, easements, or covenants. (Note:
If areas such as wetlands, floodplains, or steep slopes are not counted
in figuring the number of permissible units, the applicant should
be required to exclude those areas in making his calculations.)
(2)
An analysis of the site, including wetlands, slopes, soil conditions,
areas within the one-hundred-year flood, trees over eight inches diameter,
and such other natural features as the Planning Board may request.
[Amended 4-28-2014 ATM
by Art. 23]
(3)
A summary of the environment concerns relating to the proposed
plan.
(4)
A description of the neighborhood in which the tract lies, including
utilities and other public facilities, and the impact of the proposed
plan upon them.
(5)
Evaluation of the open land proposed within the cluster, with
respect to size, shape, location, natural resource value and accessibility
by residents of the Town or of the cluster.
(6)
Design characteristics shall be stated in the application and
shall include, but not be limited to, building material, architectural
design, streets, site and building landscaping.
C.
Review of other boards. Before acting upon the application, the Board
shall submit it with the plan to the following boards, which may review
it jointly or separately: the Board of Public Health, the Design Review
Board, the Conservation Commission, and other boards the Planning
Board may deem appropriate. Any such board or agency to which petitions
are referred for review shall submit such recommendations as it deems
appropriate to the Planning Board. Failure to make recommendations
within 20 days of receipt shall be deemed lack of opposition.
[Amended 5-24-2021 ATM by Art. 28]
D.
Definitive residential cluster development plans. After the opportunity for review by other boards has taken place, the applicant shall submit to the Planning Board in accordance with MGL c. 41, §§ 81K to 81GG, eight definitive plans and other plans heretofore mentioned within 10 days of the expiration of the previous 20 days as set forth in Subsection C.
E.
Public hearing. The Planning Board shall hold a hearing under this
article, in conformity with the provisions of MGL c. 40A, § 9,
and of the Zoning Bylaw and regulations of the Planning Board. The
hearing shall be held within 65 days after filing of the application
and preliminary plans with the Board and the Clerk. Notice shall be
given by publication and posting and by first-class mailings to "parties
in interest" as defined in MGL c. 40A, § 11. The decision
of the Board, and any extension, modification, or renewal thereof,
shall be filed with the Board and Clerk within 90 days following the
closing of the public hearing. Failure of the Board to act within
90 days shall be deemed a grant of the permit applied for. Issuance
of the permit requires a two-thirds vote of all members of boards
over five members, four members of a five-member board, and unanimous
vote of a three-member board.
F.
Relation to Subdivision Control Act.[2] A special permit issued hereunder by the Planning Board
shall not be a substitute for compliance with the Planning Board rules
and regulations or the Subdivision Control Act. The Planning Board,
by granting a special permit, is not obliged to approve any definitive
plan nor reduce any time periods for the Board's consideration under
the Subdivision Control Act. However, in order to facilitate processing,
the Planning Board may accept a combined plan and application which
shall satisfy this article, the Planning Board rules and regulations,
and the Subdivision Control Act.
[2]
Editor's Note: See MGL c. 41, §§ 81K to 81GG.
The permitted uses in the residential cluster development may
include single-family homes on separate lots and/or multiple-family
homes together with open space.
A.
The area of the tract to be developed shall not be less than 10 acres
in a Residence B or Residence C District.
B.
Every building shall be limited to 35 feet in height.
C.
Minimum width of open land between any group of lots and adjacent
property shall be 30 feet and between each group of clustered buildings
shall be 30 feet.
A.
The number of building lots and/or the number of buildings to be
constructed within the parcel may not exceed the number of building
lots of said parcel under this bylaw. The applicant shall furnish
plans to identify the number of lots which could be created on said
parcel under this bylaw without such permit.
[Amended 4-30-2018 ATM
by Art. 19]
B.
Each building lot shall contain a site which, subject to approval
by the Board of Public Health, may be suitable for an on-site septic
disposal system, or has adequate provision for sewering.
[Amended 5-24-2021 ATM by Art. 28]
C.
Each lot shall be of a size and shape as shall provide a building
site which shall be in harmony with the natural terrain and other
features of the tract.
D.
The front, side, and rear yards of each lot shall be shown on said
plan by dashed lines indicating the area within which a building may
be built.
E.
If the tract falls within two zones, the area requirement for the
larger zone shall be used.
A.
The housing shall provide for an effective and unified treatment
of the development possibilities on the project site making appropriate
provision for the preservation of natural features and amenities of
the site and the surrounding areas.
B.
The housing shall be planned and developed to harmonize with any
existing or proposed development in the area surrounding the project
site.
C.
All buildings in the layout and design shall be an integral part
of the development and have convenient access to and from adjacent
uses and roadways.
D.
Individual buildings shall be related but not identical to each other
in design, mass, material, placement, and connection to provide a
visually and physically integrated development. Rigidity in design
shall be avoided by variation in building locations, landscaping,
structural coverage, building materials, floor area, and cost.
[Amended 4-4-1987 by
Art. 20]
E.
Treatment of the sides and rear of all buildings within the development
shall be comparable in amenities and appearance to the treatment given
to street frontage of these same buildings.
F.
All buildings shall be arranged so as to preserve visual and audible
privacy between adjacent buildings.
G.
Multifamily dwelling units cannot exceed 30% of the units in a residential
cluster development.
H.
The architectural theme of a multifamily dwelling shall be carried
out by use of compatible building materials, color, exterior detailing,
bulk, and/or rooflines. Rigidity in design shall be avoided by variations
in building, location, planting, lot coverage, and building materials.
I.
No dwelling unit in any building of two or more dwelling units shall
be designed, constructed, or altered to have more than two bedrooms.
For the purposes of this provision, each room in excess of four rooms,
exclusive of bathrooms, closets, or other small service rooms of less
than 48 square feet, shall be considered a bedroom.
A.
A maximum of 25% of the planned residential cluster development may
be covered by impervious waterproof surface.
[Amended 4-8-1985 by
Art. 33]
B.
Whenever appropriate, existing trees and vegetation shall be preserved
and integrated into the landscape design plan.
C.
Whenever possible, the existing terrain shall be preserved and earthmoving
shall be kept to a minimum.
D.
For active recreation areas, the Planning Board may require a buffer
zone of a minimum of 50 feet, where said active recreation area adjoins
land not part of the cluster residential area.
E.
Suitable indigenous shrubs and other plant material may be used for
screening. Lands used for buffer may be maintained as common open
space or as private open space subject to a deed restriction.
A.
There shall be an adequate safe and convenient arrangement of pedestrian
circulation facilities, roadways, driveways, and off-street parking.
C.
Parking facilities shall be designed with careful regard to arrangement,
topography, landscaping, ease of access and shall be developed as
an integral part of an overall site design.
A.
Provision shall be made so that at least 45% of the land area shall
be open land, and that the open land shall include all land not dedicated
to parking, roads, or lots.
[Amended 4-8-1985 by
Art. 33]
B.
Areas which are considered by the Planning Board as marginal or unsuitable
for building, such as floodplains, inaccessible wetland and water
areas, steep slopes, highly erodible or poorly drained areas, and
areas of very shallow bedrock or of very high water table, shall be
included in the permanent open space, but no more than 25% of the
required open space shall consist of such marginal or unbuildable
areas.
[Amended 4-8-1985 by
Art. 33]
C.
Open spaces may be utilized as natural courses for disposal for storm
drainage on the site. No conditions shall be allowed which are likely
to cause erosion or flooding of any structures.
D.
Such open space may be in one or more parcels of a size and shape
appropriate for its intended use as determined by the Planning Board
and shall be within easy access to all residents of the residential
cluster development.
A.
The open land and such other facilities as may be held in common
shall be conveyed in one of the following manners, as determined by
the Planning Board: (In general, valuable natural resource land such
as wetlands not suitable for any public use, or suitable for extensive
public recreational use, should be conveyed to the Town or to a trust,
whereas land which will be principally used by the residents of the
cluster should be conveyed to a homeowners' association.)
(1)
To a corporation or trust comprising a homeowners' association
whose membership includes the owners of all lots or units contained
in the tract. The developer shall include in the deed to owners of
individual lots beneficial rights in said open land, and shall grant
a conservation restriction to the Town of Cohasset over such land
pursuant to MGL c. 184, §§ 31 to 33, to insure that
such land be kept in an open or natural state and not be built upon
for residential use or developed for accessory uses such as parking
or roadways. This restriction shall be enforceable by the Town through
its Conservation Commission in any proceeding authorized by MGL c.
184, § 33. In addition, the developer shall be responsible
for the maintenance of the common land and any other facilities to
be held in common until such time as the homeowners' association is
capable of assuming said responsibility. In order to ensure that the
association will properly maintain the land deeded to it under this
article, the developer shall cause to be recorded at the Norfolk Registry
of Deeds a declaration of covenants and restrictions which shall,
at a minimum, provide for the following:
(a)
Mandatory membership in an established homeowners' association
as a requirement of ownership of any lot in the tract;
[Amended 4-30-2018 ATM
by Art. 19]
(b)
Provisions for maintenance assessments of all lots in order
to ensure that the open land is maintained in a condition suitable
for the uses approved by the homeowners' association. Failure to pay
such assessment shall create a lien on the property assessed, enforceable
by either the homeowners' association or the owner of any lot;
[Amended 4-30-2018 ATM
by Art. 19]
(c)
Provision which, so far as possible under the existing law,
will ensure that the restrictions placed on the use of the open land
will not terminate by operation of law.
(2)
To a nonprofit organization, the principal purpose of which is the conservation of open space. The developer or charity shall grant a conservation restriction as set out in Subsection A(1) above.
(3)
To the Conservation Commission of the Town for park or open
space use, subject to the approval of the Selectmen, with a trust
clause insuring that it be maintained as open space.
B.
Subject to the above, the open space may be used for recreational
purposes including golf courses, riding trails, tennis courts, gardens,
and swimming pools. The Board may permit open land owned by a homeowners'
association to be used for individual septic systems, or for communal
septic systems if it and the Board of Public Health are convinced
that proper legal safeguards exist for proper management of a communally
owned system.
[Amended 5-24-2021 ATM by Art. 28]
C.
Common open space and driveways shall be owned and maintained by
the homeowners' association.
A.
No use other than residential or recreational shall be permitted,
except that the Planning Board may authorize the use of a single unit
at any one time as a model exclusively for the subject development
and not as a sales unit.
[Amended 4-8-1985 by
Art. 33]
B.
No lot shown on a plan for which a permit is granted under this article
may be further subdivided, and a notation to this effect shall be
shown upon the plan.
C.
No certificate of occupancy shall be issued by the Building Inspector
until he has certified to the Planning Board that the premises have
been built in accordance with the plan approved by the Board hereunder.
D.
The Planning Board may impose other conditions, safeguards, limitations
on time and use pursuant to its regulations.
E.
The Planning Board may grant a special permit hereunder for clustering
if the developer conforms to the Subdivision Control Law.
F.
Except insofar as the subdivision is given five years' protection
under MGL c. 40A, § 6, the special permits granted under
this article shall lapse within two years excluding time required
to pursue or await the determination of an appeal from the grant thereof,
if a substantial use has not sooner commenced or if construction has
not begun, except that the Planning Board may grant an extension for
good cause and shall grant an extension if the delay was caused by
the need to seek other permits.
G.
Subsequent to granting of the permit, the Planning Board may permit
relocation of lot lines within the cluster. However, any change in
overall density, street layout, or open space layout will require
further hearings.
H.
Except as specified in a special permit granted under this article,
all requirements of the Zoning Bylaw shall be in full force and effect.
A.
The Board may grant a special permit under this article only if it
finds that the applicant has demonstrated the following: that the
cluster plan will be in harmony with the general purpose of the bylaw
and the requirements of MGL c. 40A and the long-range plan of the
Town (if any); that it will not have a detrimental impact on the neighborhood,
will be designed with due consideration for health and safety, and
is superior to a conventional plan in preserving open space, minimizing
environmental disruption, allowing for more efficient provision of
services, or allowing for greater variety in prices or types of housing.
B.
In connection with issuing or denying a special permit under this
article, the Planning Board shall issue to the applicant and shall
file with the Town Clerk a written decision which shall include:
C.
If the Planning Board disagrees with the recommendations of the Conservation
Commission or the Board of Public Health, it shall state its reasons
therefor in writing.
[Amended 5-24-2021 ATM by Art. 28]
