Zoning Administrator Powers & Duties
On May 20th,2019 by a unanimous vote, the Planning Board Plan Review Committee delegated the following powers and duties to the Zoning Administrator:
1. Ability to approve a Zoning Determination for any or all of the projects provided for in Section 13.14-1A that meet the requirements of subsections 1, 2, and 3. Zoning Determinations issued under this provision must be made at a properly noticed public meeting, and a written decision must be filed with the Town Clerk within one week and posted at Town Hall and on the PBPRC website for 10 days following its filing with the Town Clerk. Site visits will be held at a mutually convenient time. The applicant is free to proceed with the work after the decision is filed and all other required permits are obtained.
2. Ability to approve a Zoning Determination for any or all of the projects provided for in Section 13.14-1A that meet the requirements of subsections 1 and 2, but that may be detrimental to the interests of abutters and not meet requirement of subsection 3, if the following procedures are used. These Zoning Determinations may be approved by the Zoning Administrator only after a properly noticed public meeting for which written notice is sent by mail, return receipt requested with postage paid by the applicant, to parties in interest, at least 2 full weeks before the meeting. The written decision must be filed with the Town Clerk within one week and posted at Town Hall and on the PBPRC website during the 30-day appeal period following its filing with the Town Clerk, as well as sent to parties of interest when filed with the Town Clerk. The applicant is free to proceed with the work at their own risk during the appeal period once all other required permits are obtained.
3. Ability to approve modifications to Special Permits and the approved plans (as often happens during construction) if the modifications sought comply with all dimensional requirements of the Zoning Bylaw and are de minimis or not significant enough to require a fully noticed public hearing. The Zoning Administrator must make these decisions at a properly noticed public meeting, and the decision granting or denying the modification must be in writing in the form of a Special Permit decision and must be filed with the Town Clerk within one week and posted at Town Hall and on the PBPRC website for 10 days following filing with the Town Clerk. Site visits will be held at a mutually convenient time. The applicant and Building Inspector should receive copies of the decision when filed with the Clerk. The applicant is free to proceed with the work after the decision is filed and all other required permits are obtained and must file the modification decision at the Registry of Deeds.
4. Ability to make other non-Special Permit decisions and determinations (e.g., post-completion conformance reviews, approval of signs) but should specify if or when these decisions must be done with notification to parties of interest.
5. The acting Zoning Administrator is not required to approve every project which comes before him/her for which powers and duties have been delegated. Zoning Administrators retain the discretion to defer acting on any application and to refer any project to the PBPRC for review.