Application and hearing procedures for special permits and variances.
(a) Each application for a special permit or variance shall be on forms supplied by the Board of Appeals and shall be filed in triplicate with the City Clerk who shall transmit one copy to the Zoning Enforcement Officer, the Planning Board, and the Board of Appeals respectively within three days of receipt of them (Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays excluded). Each application for a variance shall also include the written statement required by
§ 155-9.14(b) demonstrating that the conditions of a grant of a variance under Chapter 40A, Section 10 of the General Laws of Massachusetts are met. Where any application for a special permit or variance requires site plan review under
§ 9.03: Site plan review of certain residential and non-residential developments., the restrictions on filing and hearing provided in subsection (b) below shall govern the time when the application may be accepted for filing by the City Clerk or scheduled for public hearing by the Board of Appeals.
(b) Where an application for a special permit or variance requires site plan review under
§ 9.03: Site plan review of certain residential and non-residential developments, the application may be filed any time after a complete set of site plan materials under
§ 155-9.03(a) has been submitted to the Planning Board.
(c) Prior to the public hearing of the Zoning Board of Appeals as provided in
§ 155-9.04(d), the Planning Board shall hold a public hearing and transmit to the Board of Appeals a report based, among other things, on the conditions set forth in
§ 9.05: Special permit: conditions for approval in the case of an application for a special permit, or in
§ 155-9.14(b) in the case of an application for a variance, and, in the case of an application requiring site plan review, based also on the conditions set forth in
§ 155-9.03(c), accompanied by such materials, maps or plans as will aid the Board of Appeals in judging the application and in determining special conditions and safeguards. The Board of Appeals shall not render any decision on an application for a special permit or variance before one of the following has taken place:
(1) The Planning Board submits written notification that it does not intend to submit a report; or
(2) The report of the Planning Board has been received by the date of the public hearing.
(d) The Board of Appeals shall, at the expense of the applicant, give public notice of the application in the manner provided in Chapter 40A, Section 9 and Section 11 of the General Laws, which requires, among other things, publication of a notice of a hearing not less than 14 days prior to the date of the hearing in a newspaper of general circulation in Watertown, and by posting such notices in a conspicuous place in the City for a period of not less than fourteen days before the day of such hearing, and by mail to all interested parties, according to Chapter 40A, Section 9.
Public hearings shall be held within 65 days after the filing of an application.
(e) In the case of an application for a special permit, the decision of the Board of Appeals must be made within the deadline described in
§ 155-9.05(c). In the case of an application for a variance, the Board of Appeals decision must be made within the deadline described in
§ 155-9.15(e). Failure to take final action within the appropriate time limit shall be deemed to be a grant of the application. The Board of Appeals shall cause to be made a detailed record of its proceedings showing the vote of each member upon each question, or if absent or failing to vote, indicating such fact, and setting forth clearly the reason or reasons for its decisions, and of its other official actions, copies of all which shall be filed within 14 days in the office of the City Clerk and in the office of the Planning Board and shall be mailed forthwith to parties of interest, as designated in Section 11 of Chapter 40A, and to each person present at the hearing who requests that notice be sent to him and states the address to which notice is to be sent.
(f) The period within which final action shall be taken may be extended in writing for a definite period by mutual consent of the Board of Appeals and the applicant, provided that such written agreement is recorded with the City Clerk. In the event the Board of Appeals determines that the evidence presented to it at the public hearing is inadequate to permit the Board to make a necessary finding or determination, or to permit the Planning Board the proper amount of time to conduct site plan review or file its report, instead of denying the application the Board may, in its discretion, adjourn the hearing to a later date to permit the applicant to submit additional evidence or the Planning Board additional time to file its report, provided however, that such adjournment shall not extend the applicable deadlines for final action by the Board unless the deadline is extended to a day certain by mutual consent of the Board and the applicant.
Special permit: conditions for approval.
(a) A special permit shall be required for all uses and for all exceptions to dimensional regulations which are designated in this Zoning Ordinance as requiring a special permit before the Inspector of Buildings may issue a building permit or occupancy permit.
(b) The Board of Appeals shall not approve any such application unless it finds that in its judgment all of the following conditions are met:
(1) The specific site is an appropriate location for such a use, structure or condition;
(2) The use as developed will not adversely affect the neighborhood;
(3) There will be no nuisance or serious hazard to vehicles or pedestrians;
(4) Adequate and appropriate facilities will be provided for the proper operation of the proposed use.
(c) The decision of the Board of Appeals must be made within 90 days following the public hearing. Failure to take final action within said 90 days shall be deemed to be a grant of the special permit unless the deadline is extended in accordance with
§ 155-9.04(f).
Special permit criteria for I-1 and I-2 Districts. See
§ 9.06: Special permit criteria for I-1 and I-2 Districts for detailed information.
Special permit criteria for I-3 District. See
§ 9.07: Special permit criteria for I-3 District for detailed information.
Special permit criteria for I-3 District - lot size. See
§ 9.08: Special permit criteria for I-3 District - lot size for detailed information.
Limited approval of special permit.
In approving a special permit, the Board of Appeals may attach such conditions and safeguards as are deemed necessary to protect the district and the City. No such limited or conditional special permit shall take effect until such notice is recorded in the Middlesex South Registry of Deeds. Said conditions and safeguards shall also be made part of the building permit. They may include but are not limited to the following:
(a) Requirement of street, side or rear yards greater than the minimum required by this Zoning Ordinance.
(b) Requirement of screening of parking areas or other parts of the premises from adjoining premises or from the street, by walls, fences, planting or other devices as specified by the Board of Appeals;
(c) Modification of the exterior features or appearances of the structure;
(d) Limitation of size, number of occupants, method or time of operation, or extent of facilities;
(e) Regulation of number, design and location of access drives or other traffic features;
(f) Requirement of off-street parking or other special features beyond the minimum required by this Zoning Ordinance or other applicable Ordinances.
Withdrawal of limited special permit.
The Board of Appeals may, after a hearing and proof of violation of any limitations or conditions in the special permit or any misuse of the terms of the permit, withdraw the same, after which the use shall be discontinued.
Special permit for temporary structures.
(a) The Board of Appeals may authorize issuance of permits, subject to proper conditions to protect the district for temporary structures and uses for development purposes.
(b) No such permit shall be for more than an one-year period, subject to renewal as needed for the special purposes.
(c) Upon expiration of such permit, the structure shall be removed and the use cease.
Special permit approval of certain site plans.
In the case of two or more buildings on one site designed and intended to remain under the same ownership and management, the Board of Appeals may, after examination of the standards listed in
§ 155-9.03(c), grant a special permit as provided in § 9.04 approving the site plan so long as it is demonstrated that the design will result in standards of light, air, safety or circulation and amenity, both on the site and in the neighborhood, which are no lower than would result from the application of required dimensional and parking standards to each building separately.
Lapse of special permit.
A special permit granted under
§ 9.04: Application and hearing procedures for special permits and variances shall lapse one year from the grant thereof if substantial use thereof has not sooner commenced except for good cause, or, in the case of a permit for construction, if the construction has not begun by such date except for good cause.
Special permits and variances: effective dates.
No variance or special permit, or any extension or notification or renewal thereof, shall take effect until a copy of the decision bearing the certification of the City Clerk that 20 days have elapsed and no appeal has been filed or that if such appeal has been filed, that it has been dismissed or denied, is recorded in the registry of deeds for the southern district of Middlesex County and indexed in the grantor index under the name of the owner of record or is recorded and noted on the owner's certificate of title.
Special permits and variances; withdrawal without prejudice; reconsideration.
(a) Any application for a variance or special permit which has been transmitted to the Board of Appeals may be withdrawn by the petitioner without prejudice prior to the publication of notice of a public hearing thereon, but thereafter may be withdrawn without prejudice only with the approval of the Board of Appeals.
(b) No application for a special permit or a variance which has been unfavorably acted on by the Board of Appeals shall be reconsidered on its merits within two years of such action, unless the Board of Appeals finds, by an affirmative vote of four of its five members, specific and material changes in the conditions upon which previous unfavorable action was based, and describes such changes in the records of its proceedings, and unless all but one of the members of the Planning Board consents thereto and after notice is given to parties in interest of the time and place of proceedings when the question of such consent will be considered.
