[Massplanners] Planning Board "determination" and decision

[Molly Belanger]

Hi Betsy,

Lexington has a sketch plan review process, where a very preliminary plan is submitted for feedback during a public meeting. There is no public notice or legal ad. The Planning Board gives non-binding feedback and we create a “meeting summary” instead of a decision. The meeting summary looks more like our staff memos to the Planning Board, but with comments from the public and Planning Board members added to the end, rather than an official decision. It’s very informal, and the comments listed in the meeting summary are just suggestions. The applicant doesn’t need to take the suggestions, and the Planning Board members can also change their minds later on when the formal review occurs. We also include a blanket statement in the summary, stating that it is not a decision, and it does not promise approval of plans. We find that projects that go through this process are better prepared for their official submittal. We also encourage applicants to inform abutters that this public meeting is taking place and it seems that they usually do as we get abutters attending these meetings. If not, then abutters will still be noticed for the definitive plan anyway.

Thanks,
Molly


Molly Belanger
Planner, Town of Lexington
1625 Massachusetts Avenue
Lexington, Massachusetts
Direct: 781-698-4564

From: MassPlanners <massplanners-bounces at masscptc.org> On Behalf Of Daniel Fortier via MassPlanners
Sent: Friday, November 18, 2022 10:57 PM
To: robert leavens <rtleavemware at gmail.com>
Cc: Listserv (massplanners at masscptc.org) <massplanners at masscptc.org>
Subject: Re: [Massplanners] Planning Board "determination" and decision


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No, not at all. No informal meetings even, everything should be through proper notice.

Dan Fortier
Retired
Interim Dennis Town Planner

On Fri, Nov 18, 2022, 10:53 PM robert leavens via MassPlanners <massplanners at masscptc.org<mailto:massplanners at masscptc.org>> wrote:
A late Friday question.............

I recently started working as interim town planner for a small town north of Boston.
I was recently contacted by an architect who wanted to go to the Planning Board for an "advisory determination" for a project within the water supply district.  There is a provision that the impervious surface of a lot has to be lower than 15%.  While the bylaw is oddly worded, this "advisory determination" of the Planning Board involves attending a Planning Board meeting, having the Planning Board review the plans, have someone else review the drainage calculations and then a "decision" would be issued and filed with the town clerk.  No notice to abutters and the architect wanted to get on the next agenda, which is 12 days away.

I've been in this profession for over 30 years, with work mainly in Massachusetts and I have some concerns about this process.  I don't believe that the Planning Board can make an "advisory determination" and then issue a decision that gets filed with the Town Clerk without due notice and a public hearing.  The language throughout the bylaw implies special permit but that is not how it has been interpreted in the past years.

Do any of your Planning Boards issue "advisory determinations", with no public hearing or abutters notice, with an end result of a written decision that get filed with the Town Clerk?

Thanks for any insights I may have missed,

Betsy Ware
Interim Town Planner
Town of Manchester-by-the-Sea, MA.
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