[Massplanners] Legal ad for ADU zoning changes?

[Tim Czerwienski]

Maria,

That second draft looks sufficiently detailed to me: it gives the reader
the main information (the change is pursuant to a specific statute with
specific regulations that they can look up if they choose) and also
outlines the particular matters that the zoning amendment seeks to change
that might not be explicitly in the regulations but are allowed. You should
obviously listen to your attorney, but I can't imagine what else could be
added to give residents sufficient information.

As for changes, whatever version of the amendment that's operative when the
ad runs is the version that gets discussed at the hearing. If there are
changes that are contemplated as a result of new information from the
Commonwealth, your Planning Board should discuss and vote on them at the
hearing. That way, there's no worry about the ad not accurately reflecting
the amendment discussed at the hearing, but you can also make changes in a
transparent way.


Tim Czerwienski
Director of Land Planning
Beals Associates, Inc.

On Wed, Feb 26, 2025 at 9:04 AM Maria De La Fuente via MassPlanners <
massplanners at masscptc.org> wrote:

> Hi everyone,
>
> I need to submit the legal ad for our new ADU bylaw by the end of this
> week. However, we still haven't had an extensive discussion on the matter,
> and we’re waiting for HLC’s info session on March 11th to gain more
> clarity. We’re aiming to hold a joint PB/ZBA meeting on Mach 17, and our
> own public hearing on March 24th—the latest possible date to still meet all
> Warrant Committee and printing deadlines.
>
> My main question is: *how detailed does a legal ad for a zoning change
> need to be?* Initially, I had drafted language simply stating that the
> changes were “to conform to the new state law,” (and cited all appropriate
> State codes) but Counsel advised that much more detail is required. I can
> add a lot more details based on my current draft, but since we are still
> awaiting further guidance on the new law and regulations, my draft may need
> revisions after the March 11th webinar. I want to provide as much detail as
> possible, but the reality is that I'm unclear on the details until further
> meetings are held throughout March.
>
> *What happens if I submit a legal ad that later turns out to be inaccurate
> due to further revisions? How are other communities handling this
> situation?*
>
> For reference, here's my original legal ad
> <https://docs.google.com/document/d/1y3m20Z_1maHB07d2PTA_GRpjB2s31lFX/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=103443541894153033126&rtpof=true&sd=true>,
> and here's my more detailed ad.
> <https://docs.google.com/document/d/1wNXU2sADs1_nQmb1GkHrEMv2OfvqqFjf/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=103443541894153033126&rtpof=true&sd=true>
>
> Looking forward to your thoughts.
> Maria De La Fuente
> Medfield Director of Land Use and Planning
> 459 Main Street
> Medfield, MA  02052
> (508) 906-3027
> mdelafuente at medfield.net <sraposa at medfield.net>
>
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