Fall River planning board approves four ANR plans, asks Zoning Board to require utility-separation affidavits

FALL RIVER, Mass. — The Fall River City Planning Board on Feb. 11, 2026, unanimously approved four Form A applications to divide or reconfigure parcels at 29 Palmer Street (File 26-1666), 400 Samson Street (File 26-1668), 25 & 31 Lenox Street (File 26-1669) and 786/798 Plymouth Avenue with 20 Snell Street (File 26-1670). The board also voted to send a letter to the Zoning Board of Appeals requesting that, when variances or special permits are granted, an affidavit documenting the separation of utilities be recorded and referenced on the ANR plan.

The applications — each described by staff as straightforward ANR ("approval not required") plans — would split or reconfigure lots while leaving the existing residential or commercial buildings in place. At the meeting, an engineer and planning staff said each property had either a recent special permit or variance recorded and that the zoning decision typically includes a condition requiring utilities to be separated prior to conveyance.

Why it matters: The board said the recorded affidavit and an on-plan reference would reduce the risk that a parcel is sold before utilities are formally split, a situation members said could create confusion for property owners and purchasers.

Discussion and vote: On the 29 Palmer Street application (File 26-1666), a board member expressed concern that a parcel might be conveyed without utilities properly separated, which could create liability or practical difficulties for new owners. A staff member responded that attorneys and the zoning process generally enforce the recorded condition but acknowledged that adding an explicit requirement on the ANR plan or asking the Zoning Board of Appeals to change the timing could make enforcement cleaner. Following that exchange the board moved to accept the ANR endorsement for the Palmer Street file and then voted to have a board member draft a letter to the Zoning Board of Appeals requesting the affidavit be recorded and referenced on the ANR plan; the letter was to be circulated to members before sending.

The three other ANR plans — File 26-1668 for 400 Samson Street, File 26-1669 for 25 & 31 Lenox Street and File 26-1670 for the Plymouth/Snell properties — were presented with staff descriptions noting lot histories, existing buildings and, where applicable, prior variances (for example, a special permit dated Aug. 21, 2025 for the Lenox Street property and a variance dated Dec. 18, 2025 for the Plymouth/Snell parcel). Board members asked procedural questions about easements, frontage and how the affidavit would be referenced on the plans; staff said the usual sequence is: special permit recording, utilities separation, recording of an affidavit documenting separation, and filing the ANR with a recorded-affidavit reference.

All four ANR endorsements passed unanimously on roll-call votes with the four voting members present — Mike Farris, Gloria Pacheco, Beth Andre and John Ferrer.

Other business: Members nominated and accepted officer positions for the pending board; John Ferrer accepted the chair nomination and Mike Farris accepted the vice-chair nomination. The board also approved minutes from its Dec. 10, 2025 meeting; Mario Luciola was recorded as absent from that meeting.

Next steps: The author of the proposed letter to the Zoning Board of Appeals will draft and circulate the text to board members for review before forwarding it to the ZBA.

(Officials and staff are identified as they were in the meeting record. Where a speaker in the transcript was not named, the article uses a generic description such as "a board member" or "a staff member.")