SteveR: initial revision

2024-01-01T01:07:33Z

initial revision

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Course given on 12/18/2023. Presented by Adam Costa, and facilitated
by Taylor Perez.

=The Site Plan Review Process=

What is site plan review? Site Plan Review authorities can review
local development criteria, including such things as health and
safety, environmental impacts, parking, traffic and circulation,
signage, drainage, lighting, screening, and design. The goal is to
have projects with the best design possible.

Site plan review is not enabled by state law, but the process is
recognized by the courts. The process is created by municipalities,
typically via home rule; approximately 100 communities in
Massachusetts use site plan review.

Site plan review is typically triggered by the size and scale of
certain projects. It's not used for everyday projects.

Who has site plan review authority? It's generally planning boards,
but other groups can be involved. The municipality decides on the
process.

Site plan review is used to examine project impacts, and to verify
compliance. Site plan review is not a form of special permit, and it
is not a discretionary process.

Site plan review cannot be used to decide whether a use is allowed,
and it can't impose conditions outside of what's in the zoning bylaw
or ordinance.

Site plan review applications typically require plan sets. They may
also require things such as traffic reports and drainage calculations.
The plans should show things such as development boundaries, existing
conditions, roads, wetlands, water bodies, topography, public and
private easements, surrounding context in the vicinity of the site,
zoning district, automobile and bicycle parking, pedestrian access,
circulation, landscaping, utilities, signs, outdoor lighting, and fire
hydrants.

Site plan review boards are limited in their authority to impose
requirements. Site plan review is meant to be a collaborative
process.

What is the difference between site plan review and subdivision
control? Site plan review is typically applied to business districts,
industrial districts, multi-family development, and mixed use.
Single-family districts are typically subject to subdivision control,
but not site plan review.

Site plan review can be required for a change in use, if the new use
is subject to site plan review.

=Navigating Site Plan Review=

Site plan review is a tool to share information and determine
compliance; it is not used to shape a project or deny a use. It's a
regulation of a use rather than a prohibition.

There are three outcomes to a site plan review process:
# Deny, if all of the requested materials were not provided,
# Approve, with reasonable conditions, and
# Deny, because there are issues that cannot be solved with reasonable conditions.

Option (3) has never been upheld by the courts, so (1) and (2) are the
most practical outcomes. Site plan review is generally not meant to
be a process that results in a denial.

Site plan reviews are usually decided by a majority vote. It's a best
practice to have written decisions which are filed with the town
clerk, but written decisions are not required.

There is not a state law that defines site plan review, and there is
not a state law that defines and appeal process. Appeals have
generally followed two paths, which we'll call the "old way" and the
"new way". In the old way, an applicant whose site plan review was
denied would apply for a building permit, the building permit would be
denied, and the applicant would appeal the building inspector's
decision to the zoning board of appeals. In the new way, a zoning
ordinance will typically direct appeals to superior or land court.
This avoids putting the site plan review boards and ZBA at odds with
each other.

With respect to site plan review conditions, courts usually defer to
the site plan review authority.

Site plan review can be used for Dover amendment uses, but it cannot
be used to deny one of these protected uses. Communities are allowed
to establish reasonable regulations for these uses.

Special permits are subject to zoning freezes (see Chapter 40A,
Section 6). There is no zoning freeze for site plan review.

What's the difference between site plan review and a special permit?
Special permits are discretionary, and boards are not compelled to
grant them. Site plan review has limited discretion, and there's a
narrow ability to set conditions.

State law spells out the timeline requirements for special permits.
Local ordinances need to spell out the timeline for site plan review.
This includes deadlines for opening the hearing, conducting the
review, and rendering a decision. It's generally a good idea to use
the special permit notification process for site plan review.

Site plan review and special permits are separate processes, and it's
best to keep them separate. For example, if a project is subject to
both site plan review and a special permit, then there should be two
decisions -- one for each process.

Question: How much design review is permitted?

Answer: A degree of design review is acceptable. Note that the
state's MBTA Community requirements require that multi-family housing
be allowed by right.

Question: If denial of a site plan review has never been upheld, why
have that option in the bylaw.

Answer: There may be instances where a site plan review could be
denied, there's just never been a case where this has been upheld by
the courts. (i.e., there may not have been a case where this has gone
to court, or the court might have remanded the case back to the site
plan review authority with instructions).

=Writing a Site Plan Review Ordinance=

What triggers site plan review? It's typically things like use,
scale, location, or other characteristics of the development.

There are three common approaches to administering the site plan
review process:
# The review is conducted by a single board (typically the planning board)
# The review is administrative
# The review can be administrative or conducted by a board, depending on the size and scale of the project. Bylaws often denote these as "major" and "minor" site plan review.

Site plan review processes can be used to seek advisory review from
municipal staff, such as public safety, public works, and the board of
health.

SPR is an opportunity to have a dialog with the applicant. It
provides the applicant with an opportunity to explain their design
choices, and any challenges that they're facing. The municipality has
an opportunity to share information and suggest alternative choices.

There are no court decisions regarding constructive approval of design
review. This is something that should be spelled out in the local
ordinance, to provide clarity around the process.

[[Category:Notes]]

CPTC: Site Plan Review - Revision history

SteveR: initial revision