~ 171-40. Powers of special permit granting authority.
A. Either the Board of Selectmen or the Zoning Board of Appeals or the Planning Board, whichever is empowered by this chapter to grant a special permit for a particular use or purpose, shall for that use or purpose be deemed the special permit granting authority (SPGA).
B. The SPGA is empowered to set whatever fees for special permits that it may deem reasonable and necessary, including different fees for different types of special permits, and, within the limits of available funds, to retain such experts and staff as it may deem appropriate.
C. The SPGA shall establish rules and regulations consistent with the provisions of this chapter relative to the issuance of special permits. Any fee schedule established by the SPGA shall be included in said rules and regulations, which shall be on file with the Town Clerk and with the Planning Board. In the event that different boards are designated special permit granting authorities for different uses or purposes, as provided in Subsection A, it shall be the responsibility of those boards to ensure consistency, insofar as possible, in their rules and regulations.
D. The Planning Board is authorized to have one associate member. The associate member shall be appointed for a three-year term by a majority vote of the members of the Planning Board and the Board of Selectmen. The Chairman of the Planning Board may designate the associate member to sit on the Planning Board for the purposes of acting on a special permit application, in case of an absence, inability to act or conflict of interest on the part of any member of the Board or in the event of a vacancy on the Board. [Added 5-22-1995 ATM, Art. 21]
~ 171-41. Application requirements; procedure.
A. No special permit shall be granted by an SPGA unless and until a completed written application is submitted to the Town Clerk on forms provided by the SPGA, indicating the section of this chapter under which the SPGA is requested to act. Said application forms shall be designated "Form SP-1" (short form) and "Form SP-2" (long form). Types of special permits requiring each form shall be specified in the rules and regulations of the SPGA. Each applicant shall, on the same date the application is filed with the Town Clerk, provide the SPGA with at least 10 exact copies of the appropriate application, completed in full, and at least 10 exact copies of all supporting plans, maps and other documentation, three copies of which shall be designated for the Planning Board. At
least one complete copy shall be on sheets no larger than 11 inches by 17 inches. The one-hundred-fifty-five-day statutory period for completing action on a special permit application shall start with the date and time the application is marked "received" by the Town Clerk. [Amended 5-4-1989 ATM, Art. 18; 5-12-2003 ATM, Art. 25]
B. Every application shall be signed by the owner or owners of the property in question or, if the applicant is other than the owner of the property, shall be signed by the applicant and shall be accompanied by a letter signed by the owner, authorizing the applicant to apply for the special permit. Said application shall also be accompanied by all appropriate fees. For the purposes of this section, an "applicant" shall be defined as a person, corporation, partnership or other legal entity having a legal or equitable interest in the property.
C. Every application for a special permit shall be accompanied by two locus maps showing the location of the property. One shall be an enlarged section of a United States Geological Survey Map, and the other shall be a copy of the current Great Barrington Zoning Map, each indicating the location of the property by arrow or other suitable marking.
D. Every application shall also be accompanied by a site plan drawn to a scale adequate to represent all features of the property, as specified in the rules and regulations of the SPGA. Said site plan shall show all existing and proposed structures on the property; interior plans if deemed relevant by the SPGA in its rules and regulations; all existing and proposed driveways, walkways and parking areas; all bordering streets and/or highways; contours of elevation at intervals of no more than two feet or such other intervals as may be specified by the SPGA in its rules and regulations; all existing and proposed wells and septic systems; drainage patterns; and other physical characteristics of the property, specifically including but not limited to streams, ponds and wetlands. The site plan
shall also include an arrow indicating magnetic North.
E. Any site plan prepared by a registered engineer or a registered surveyor shall bear on each sheet the seal of registration and actual signature of the preparer, as well as the date of preparation. All plans, whether or not prepared by a registered engineer or a registered surveyor, shall bear on each sheet the actual signature of the preparer and the date of preparation.
F. No special permit shall be granted on the basis of an application deemed by the SPGA to be incomplete or insufficient in accordance with the provisions of this section. [Amended 5-4-1989 ATM, Art. 18]
G. (Reserved)
H. Any application for a special permit that has been accepted by the Town Clerk may be withdrawn without prejudice by the applicant at time prior to the first publication of the notice of a public hearing thereon, but thereafter may be withdrawn without prejudice only with the approval of the SPGA. Said approval shall require a two-thirds vote of a board with more than five members, a vote of at least four members of a five-member board and a unanimous vote of a three-member board, with all three members present and voting. [Amended 5-4-1989 ATM, Art. 18]
~ 171-42. Review by other boards and departments.
A. The SPGA shall, within five business days (Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays excluded) after acceptance of a special permit application, transmit copies of the application, along with all accompanying plans and maps, to the Board of Health, the Planning Board, the Selectmen and the Conservation Commission and to any other town departments, at the discretion of the SPGA. It shall be the responsibility of the applicant to provide sufficient copies for such transmittal.
B. The SPGA or its designated representative shall mark on the face of each copy the date of such transmittal and the boards and departments to which it was transmitted. The application shall be deemed received by all such boards and departments two business days after such transmittal (Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays excluded). Any board or department to which such an application is transmitted for review shall make in writing such recommendations as it deems appropriate; provided, however, that failure to make recommendations within 35 calendar days of receipt by the board or department shall be deemed lack of opposition to the application.
C. Any town board or department may recommend and the SPGA may impose such additional requirements and restrictions for any use under ~ 171-18 as in the judgment of the reviewing boards and departments are necessary for the protection of public health, safety and welfare, the environment and neighboring uses.
D. Any use that may be authorized by special permit under ~ 171-18 of this chapter shall be subject to site plan review by the Planning Board and the Conservation Commission. The SPGA shall not render any decision on any application unless and until the Planning Board and Conservation Commission have reviewed the site plan, have inspected the site and have reported thereon to the SPGA or until 35 calendar days from their receipt of the site plan and application have elapsed without such report.
~ 171-43. Site plan review criteria.
A. Criteria for review and approval of site plans shall include, but are not limited to, the following:
(1) Compliance with all provisions of this chapter.
(2) Protection of adjoining premises against serious detriments or offensive use of the site.
(3) Convenience and safety of vehicular and pedestrian traffic on the site in relation to adjacent streets or property.
(4) Location of driveway openings in relation to street traffic.
(5) Adequacy, arrangement and number of off-street parking and loading spaces in relation to proposed uses as defined in Article VIII. [Amended 5-22-1995 ATM, Art. 20]
(6) Adequacy as to arrangement of proposed buildings, structures, signs, siting, screening and landscaping.
(7) Adequacy of the method on the site, or proposed, for sewage, refuse and other waste disposal and for surface and subsurface drainage.
(8) Effect of this project on public and/or private surface and subsurface water supplies. [Amended 5-6-2002 ATM, Art. 23]
(9) Effect of this project on wetlands and wildlife habitat. [Amended 5-6-2002 ATM, Art. 24]
(10) Protection of significant historic, scenic and environmental features of the town.
(11) Protection of public ways and adjacent properties against intrusive lighting. [Added 5-7-2001 ATM, Art. 28]
B. More specific rules and regulations relating to the form for submittal, the number and scale of drawings, certification, etc., are detailed in applicable sections of this chapter, including but not limited to ~ 171-41, as well as in the rules and regulations of the SPGA, on file with the Town Clerk.
~ 171-44. Required hearing and notice.
A. Special permits may be issued only after a public hearing commenced not less than 40 nor more than 65 calendar days after receipt of an application for a special permit by the Town Clerk. Notice of public hearing shall be given by publication in a newspaper of general circulation in the town once in each of two successive weeks, the first publication to be not less than 14 days before the date of such hearing, and by posting such notice in a conspicuous place in the Town Hall for a period of not less than 14 days before the date of such hearing and by mailing notice of the hearing, postage prepaid, to "parties in interest" as provided in MGL c. 40A, ~ 11. Parties in interest shall include the applicant, owner of the property if other than the applicant, abutters, owners of land
directly opposite on any public or private street or way and owners of land within 300 feet of the property line, all as they appear on the most recent applicable tax list. Parties in interest shall also include the Planning Board and the planning boards of all abutting municipalities. For the purpose of this section, required periods of public notice shall include Saturdays but not Sundays or legal holidays.
B. If deemed necessary by the SPGA, a public hearing duly commenced within 65 days after receipt of an application by the Town Clerk may be continued beyond the sixty-five-day period, but final decision must be rendered within 155 calendar days of receipt of the application as determined by the date of receipt affixed by the Town Clerk. The required time limits for a public hearing and final action by the SPGA may be extended by written agreement between the petitioner and the SPGA. A copy of such agreement shall be filed in the office of the Town Clerk. [Amended 5-4-1989 ATM, Art. 18]
C. All notices of public hearing, whether published, posted or sent to parties in interest, shall contain the name of the applicant; a description of the area or premises, the street address, if any, or other adequate identification of the location of the subject of the application; the date, time and place of the hearing; the subject matter of the hearing; and the section of this chapter under which a special permit is being requested.
D. All special permit hearings and decisions shall be electronically recorded and said records shall be retained by the SPGA at least until the statutory appeal period lapses without an appeal. In the event of an appeal, said records shall be retained until a final decision on the appeal is rendered.
~ 171-45. Grant or denial.
A. A special permit granting authority, after site inspection and public hearing, shall grant the requested permit, shall deny the permit or shall grant the permit subject to special conditions. In making its decision, the SPGA shall give due consideration to recommendations of other town boards or departments as provided in ~ 171-42C and to the reports of the Planning Board and the Conservation Commission based on their site plan reviews as provided in ~ 171-42D, but the decision as to granting or denying shall be made by the SPGA.
B. Before granting any special permit, the SPGA shall make and the record of the hearing shall contain specific findings that the proposed use meets each of the following criteria and shall state specific reasons why each is met:
(1) It is in compliance with all provisions and requirements of this chapter and is in harmony with their general intent and purpose;
(2) It is essential or desirable to the public convenience or welfare at the proposed location;
(3) It will not create undue traffic congestion or unduly impair pedestrian safety; and
(4) It will not overload any public water, drainage or sewer system or any other municipal facility to such an extent that the proposed use or any existing use will be unduly subjected to hazards affecting public health, safety or general welfare.
C. The SPGA shall not grant any special permit unless it specifically finds after public hearing that all the requirements of Subsection B have been met.
D. Conditions.
(1) Special permits may be issued subject to such conditions, safeguards or limitations as the SPGA may impose for the protection of neighboring uses or otherwise serving the purposes of this chapter. Such conditions, safeguards or limitations may include, but are not limited to, the following:
(a) Front, side and rear yards greater than the minimum required by this chapter.
(b) Screening buffers or planted strips and/or fences or walls as specified by the SPGA.
(c) Limitations on the size, number of occupants, method and/ or time of operation, time duration of the permit and/or extent of facilities.
(d) Regulations as to number and/or location of driveways and/or other traffic features, off-street parking and/or loading and/or other specific features beyond the minimums required by this chapter.
(2) Any conditions, safeguards or limitations shall be imposed in writing and shall be made a part of the building permit.
E. The SPGA shall render a final decision on an application for a special permit within 90 days following the date of commencement of the public hearing thereon. Failure by the SPGA to take final action on any application for a special permit within 155 days of the filing of said application with the Town Clerk shall be deemed to be granting of the permit, except in the event of a written agreement between the petitioner and the SPGA as specified in ~ 171-44B of this chapter. [Amended 5-4-1989 ATM, Art. 18]
F. Special permits issued by a special permit granting authority shall require a two-thirds vote of boards with more than five members, a vote of at least four members of a five-member board and a unanimous vote of a three-member board, with all three members present and voting.
~ 171-46. Reconsideration of unfavorable permits.
No special permit application that has been unfavorably and finally acted upon shall be acted upon favorably within two years after the date of final unfavorable action unless:
A. The SPGA finds by vote as provided in ~ 171-45F of this chapter that specific and material changes have occurred in the conditions upon which the previous unfavorable action was based;
B. The SPGA describes such changes in the records of its proceedings;
C. At least all but one of the members of the Planning Board consent thereto;
D. Notice is given to parties in interest of the time and place of the proceedings when the question of such consent will be considered; and
E. All provisions of this article are followed.
~ 171-47. Expiration.
A special permit shall lapse in two years from the date of expiration of the statutory appeal period for the permit if a substantial use or construction has not begun under the permit by such date.
~ 171-48. Revocation.
A. The SPGA may, after due notice and public hearing as provided in ~ 171-44, revoke any special permit upon specific finding that any condition of the permit has been violated by the recipient.
B. Revocation of a special permit shall require a two-thirds vote of boards of more than five members, a vote of at least four members of a five-member board and a unanimous vote of a three-member board, with all three members present and voting.
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