[Massplanners] Alternate Planning Board Members - guidance on responsibilities

[Bob Mitchell]

PauI: I would add a couple of notes to Dan's response.

a) Chapter 40A, Section 9 covers associate PB members. A city or town may
adopt a zoning ordinance or bylaw provision for the appointment of
associate members (sometimes referred to as “alternate members”) of a
planning board when the board acts as a SPGA. A 5-member planning board is
authorized to have one associate member, while a board of more than 5
members is authorized to have 2 associate members. *The city or town shall
establish the procedure for filing this position. *(Emphasis added. The
towns have to have an adopted and written procedure for the appointment of
associate members)

b) If either town has a by-right Site Plan Review process in their zoning
bylaw then an alternative PB member may also vote on a SPR application but
only if the text of the zoning bylaw specifically authorizes alternative PB
members to vote on Site Plan Reviews.
SPR is a creature of local government, not the Zoning Act, thus you can
establish the "rules" for the SPR process in your local zoning bylaw.

Bob


Bob Mitchell FAICP
Planning Consultant
Land Use, Planning, Zoning, & Training Programs
151 Tremont Street Suite 23A
Boston, MA 02111
617-512-9751 (c)
MitchellFAICP at gmail.com



On Mon, Jun 6, 2022 at 11:33 AM Daniel Fortier via MassPlanners <
massplanners at masscptc.org> wrote:

> There is no provision in the Subdivision Control Act for alternates, so we
> have taken the position that they cannot act on subdivisions or ANR’s. The
> Zoning Act provides for alternates, so the alternates are allowed to sit on
> Special Permits and all other zoning matters.
>
>
>
> Dan Fortier
>
> Retired/Interim Dennis Town Planner
>
>
>
> Sent from Mail <https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=550986> for
> Windows
>
>
>
> *From: *Paul Dell'Aquila via MassPlanners <massplanners at masscptc.org>
> *Sent: *Monday, June 6, 2022 11:12 AM
> *To: *MassPlanners at masscptc.org
> *Subject: *[Massplanners] Alternate Planning Board Members - guidance on
> responsibilities
>
>
>
> Happy Monday, MassPlanners -
>
> The Planning Boards in both of the towns I work for have long-standing
> alternate members, however there is no specific verbiage in any town
> documents about their roles and responsibilities.
>
> This is relevant because some full board members believe that Alternates
> can't vote on subdivisions or special permits, and we might have some
> upcoming quorum issues. Do any communities have guidance on the role and
> responsibilities of a Planning Board Alternate?
>
> Thanks,
>
> Paul Dell'Aquila
>
> Boylston/Upton Town Planner
>
>
> --
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> MassPlanners at masscptc.org
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>
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