2025/26 Fall/Winter Webinar Series
Fall/Winter Workshops
Thank you for your patience while CPTC organizes its Fall/Winter webinar. To get things started, registration is open for Roles and Responsibilities of Planning and Zoning Boards. Coming soon registration will open for additional webinars for other topics like Drafting Zoning Amendments, Use of Design Review, Working with MGL Chater 40B, Planning with Community Support, etc.
The fee is $35. Registration is required. Registration closes 48 hours before the webinar begins. Webinar policies & questions.
Working with MGL Chapter 40B
A workshop for municipal staff and local boards reviewing applications for projects seeking a comprehensive permit under G.L Chapter 40B. Topics will include the following: reviewing the initial application for completeness and compliance with state and local requirements; conducting a site visit; managing the public hearing process; retaining Peer Review consultants; making an informed decision consistent with the local needs provided for in the statute; drafting and issuing the Comprehensive Permit decision; and working with developers, abutters, and other interested parties. This workshop will focus on how municipal officials as well as others can use 40B to achieve housing goals as well as some of the permitting requirements involved with 40B.
- Date: Tuesday, December 2, 2025, 5:00 PM
- Presenters: Katy Lacy, Senior Planner, Massachusetts Housing Partnership, CPTC Board Member; Phillip DeMartino, Senior Technical Program Assistance Coordinator, Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities
- Sponsor: Central Massachusetts Regional Planning Commission
- Fee: $35, Register
Reasonable and Defensible Decisions
This course covers some key points that will assist boards in making clear and defensible decisions and why that is important. It describes criteria that should be contained in local zoning provisions and how they relate to the drafting of the decision and the conditions a board may impose when approving a special permit or variance application The first part of this course covers legal and procedural requirements for conducting a public hearing and the ramifications of failure to follow procedural regulations in the decision-making process.
- Date: Tuesday, January 6, 2026, 5:30 PM
- Presenter: Kate Connolly, Attorney, Murphy, Hesse, Toomey & Lehane LLP)
- Sponsor: Franklin Regional Council of Government
- Fee: $35, Register
Planning With Community Support
The course describes how to conduct a planning process, with an emphasis on a comprehensive or master plan that will ultimately have the support of the community. A variety of public participation strategies will be examined, including plan implementation processes. The course will cover how to design the community engagement process.
- Date: Wednesday, January 7, 2026, 5:00 PM
- Presenter: Ezra Haber Glenn, AICP, Department of Urban Studies and Planning, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- Sponsor: Merrimack Valley Planning Commission
- Fee: $35, Register
Creating Master Plans
Local officials will learn why and how to prepare, adopt, and implement the master or comprehensive plan described in MGL Chapter 41, Section 81D. The session will identify the sections of a master/comprehensive plan and specific steps by which the plan will be carried out. The session will also discuss what kinds of goals and policies does a master plan typically include? Why is an implementation program such an important part of creating a master plan? Evaluating future conservation and development opportunities. The advantages of hiring a consultant.
- Date: Monday, January 12, 2026, 6:00 PM
- Presenters: Sarah Scott, Senior Regional Land Use and Historic Preservation Planner, Metropolitan Area Planning Council; Ralph Willmer, FAICP, CPTC Board Chair
- Sponsor: Metropolitan Area Planning Council
- Fee: $35, Register
Drafting Zoning Amendments
While regular review and amendment of a municipality’s zoning ordinance or bylaw in response to changing needs and circumstances is essential to ensuring that it remain up-to date, the process can be tricky. This course will provide a step-by-step roadmap on how to adopt and amend zoning codes in accordance with the strict requirements of G.L. 40A Section 5. Local officials and staff will gain an understanding of what type and scope of amendments are permissible; the relationship between zoning and other municipal planning documents; and the essential role of the Planning Board in the process. Tips for drafting zoning amendments, and strategies for successfully getting them passed will also be addressed.
- Date: Wednesday, January 14, 2026, 5:30PM
- Presenter: Karis L North, Attorney, Murphy, Hesse, Toomey & Lehane LLP
- Sponsor: Old Colony Planning Council
- Fee: $35, Register
Introduction to the Subdivision Control Law and ANR
This session addresses the purposes of the Subdivision Control Law and the Planning Board’s authority under the Act. It also covers important procedural requirements and board responsibilities when reviewing subdivision and ANR plans; adoption of subdivision regulations; review of ANR plans; access issues; preliminary and definitive plans; Planning Board waivers; modifying, amending and rescinding plans; enforcement; vested rights and zoning freezes.
Adopting & Revising Rules & Regulations
Boards of appeal and planning boards frequently choose to, or are required to, adopt rules and regulations governing process, procedure and even the substance of their application reviews. While such documents are an important source of authority for boards, they also make life easier for board members and applicants by providing a clear road map for a fair and predictable process. This session will clarify which types of zoning, non-zoning and subdivision rules and regulations are mandatory and which are voluntary; describe what they can and cannot cover; and explain how they get adopted and amended. The regulatory framework for establishing fees and using consultants will also be discussed.
- Date: Tuesday, January 20, 2026, 5:30 PM
- Presenter: Adam J Costa Attorney, Mead, Talerman & Costa, LLC
- Sponsor: Southeastern Regional Planning and Economic Development District
- Fee: $35, Register
Use of Design Review
Design review is a process that municipalities can undertake to improve the visual quality of structures and promote good design for the benefit of the public. This session will clarify the appropriate scope and authority for the use of design guidelines, the types of standards that can be implemented, and how that can be accomplished. The session will also explain how design review guidelines can be developed, administered and enforced in a fair and predictable manner.
- Date: Wednesday, January 28, 2026, 5:00 PM
- Presenters: Emily Innes, AICP, LEED AP ND, President, Innes Land Strategies Group, Inc.; Supriya Kelkar, AICP, LEED AP ND, Senior Planner/Urban Designer, Innes Land Strategies Group, Inc.
- Sponsor: Cape Cod Commission
- Fee: $35, Register
Previous Workshops
Roles and Responsibilities of Planning and Zoning Boards
Join us if you are a new Board member or building inspector. This program will launch you into your role as a local official, introduce you to the functions of the two boards and the main tools of planning and zoning. This session will also include an introductory discussion of the Public Records, Open Meeting, and the Conflict-of-Interest Laws.
- Date: Wednesday, November 12, 2025, 6:00 PM
- Presenter: Bob Mitchell FAICP, Planning Consultant
- Sponsor: Montachusett Regional Planning Commission
- Fee: $35, Register
Policies & Questions
- Payment is available by check or credit card. Checks can arrive after the registration deadline. Please make checks payable to CPTC and mail to: Citizen Planner Training Collaborative (CPTC), c/o Urban Harbors Institute, University of Massachusetts Boston, 100 Morrissey Boulevard, Boston, MA 02125.
- Cancelation Policy: Payment is required unless a written cancelation request is received by the CPTC Coordinator at coordinator@masscptc.org at least 48 hours before the webinar begins. No refunds will be processed after that date/time.
- Contactcoordinator@masscptc.org with any question