Hubbardston planning board adopts site-plan rules to streamline reviews

The Town of Hubbardston Planning Board on July 2 adopted a rules-and-regulations document to govern site-plan review, after a public hearing and edits to clarify waiver authority and minor corrections.

The rules, described at the hearing as an administrative complement to the town zoning bylaw, were approved by the board with agreed amendments including reserving the definitions section for future use, clarifying that waivers apply only to the requirements listed in the rules and regulations (and not to the zoning bylaw), and correcting a spelling error in section 12. "Site plan approval is a method by which we evaluate projects, proposals, and predominantly new construction and major renovations on a large scale," Alec, town planner, said during the hearing.

The board’s move follows voter approval at Town Meeting earlier this year to move some site-plan provisions out of the zoning bylaw and into an administrative rule. Alec told the board the change is intended to make routine administrative updates easier and to allow the planning board more flexibility when evaluating layout, circulation and other site details while leaving use and dimensional rules in the zoning bylaw unchanged. "The rules and regulations ... dictate what the applicant should put forward to the board, the criteria by which it will be evaluated, the process by which you submit, and the simple procedure of how the application goes from application to public hearing to decision," Alec said.

Board members asked for clearer language on waivers after discussing how section 6 (use and development requirements) and section 10 (waivers) might be read together. Alec recommended and the board agreed to revise the waiver provision to read that the planning board "may waive or modify the requirements listed in these rules and regulations," explicitly limiting waivers to the rules document and not to the zoning bylaw. The board also agreed to reserve the definitions/acronyms section for future use to avoid unnecessary acronyms in the initial release.

A motion to adopt the rules and regulations as amended carried; the board voted to close the public hearing and to adopt the document. The planner said he will finalize minor formatting and add a town-clerk signature line; the document will be placed on file with the town clerk and may be referred to as Administrative Rule No. 2. "When the board is ready, I do have a motion provided for you," Alec said before the vote. The chair announced the rules were accepted.

The new rules set an administrative process for applications the board will use going forward, including criteria for site layout, parking and circulation, and procedures for public hearing and appeals. Alec told members the rules can be revised through future public hearings and that many towns update similar rules every one to two years to reflect experience and trends. He also noted the zoning bylaw remains the controlling document for uses and dimensional requirements and that the planning board cannot waive provisions of the zoning bylaw; appeals or variances would go to the zoning board of appeals where applicable. The board directed staff to file the adopted rules with the town clerk and finalize formatting.

The adoption took place after a public hearing at the Slate Building; no substantive public testimony opposing the rules was recorded in the meeting transcript.