Report Excerpt:This Article removes an unenforceable provision from the Zoning Bylaw. 2020 Special Town Meeting approved an amendment to Section 3 of the Zoning Bylaw that the Massachusetts Attorney General’s office later informed the Town is inconsistent with state law. The ARB had recommended a vote of No Action on the amendment (Article 17), but it was approved by Special Town Meeting through a substitute motion despite the ARB’s recommendation.
The 2020 Article amended the Town’s zoning by-laws, Section 3, “Administration and Enforcement,” Subsection 3.1 (B), “Building Inspector; Enforcement,” to add an additional sentence to the end of Subsection 3.1 (B), as follows (new sentence in underline):
No person shall erect, construct, reconstruct, convert or alter a structure, or change the use or lot coverage, increase the intensity of use, or extend or displace the use of any structure or lot without applying for and receiving the required permit(s) from the Building Inspector. No such permit shall be issued until the Building Inspector finds that the applicant is in compliance with the applicable provisions of Title VI, Article 7 of the Town Bylaws.
The Attorney General noted that the Zoning Bylaw, specifically Subsection 3.1(B), cannot legally authorize the withholding of a building permit for failure to comply with general bylaw requirements. The State Building Code governs the issuance of a building permit and requires the Building Inspector to issue building permits where the applicant has demonstrated compliance with the State Building Code and the town’s zoning bylaws. Under state law, building permits may be withheld only if an applicant’s proposed project is in violation of the Town’s zoning bylaws, not for failure to comply with the town’s general, or non-zoning, bylaw requirements, such as Title VI, Article 7 of the Town Bylaws. As such, the Zoning Bylaw should be amended to strike the sentence underlined above.
VOTED: Favorable Action (4/0)