[MassHistPres] Fwd: Public Hearing Deadlines

[GRETCHEN SCHULER]

The HDC can easily cover all the bases if it adopts the procedures that planning boards and ZBAs use.  If the HDC or the applicant needs more time the applicant must sign a statement extending the deadline to a specific date - the HDC votes to accept the extension and files it with the town clerk. Then everyone is on notice and the time in which the HDC must file its decision with the town clerk is the new date on the statement - beyond the 60 days.  Nearly all HD bylaws have a 60 day time by which the decision must be made, written and filed with the town clerk (some have less but according to state law the HDC cannot have more than the 60 days unless it gets it by an extension in a specific case. ) If the applicant refuses to give the extension then the HDC should vote on the application.  

The public has an opportunity to know of the continuations because the HDC must continue a hearing by voting on a specific date and time for the continuation.  In addition the commission can always as a curtesy simply send notice of continued hearing to abutters without actually doing a legal ad (assuming the continuation has been done properly).

Good luck,

Gretchen Schuler
Wayland Historic District Commission

----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Steve & Diane Derby 
  To: MHC Listserv 
  Sent: Thursday, October 05, 2006 10:00 PM
  Subject: [MassHistPres] Fwd: Public Hearing Deadlines


  I received the reply at the bottom. At the top is my reply - wanted to share in case others are interested in this issue. Diane

  Begin forwarded message:


    From: Steve & Diane Derby <derby01 at comcast.net>
    Date: October 5, 2006 9:59:01 PM EDT
    To: stylisz at aol.com
    Subject: Re: Public Hearing Deadlines

    Historic Districts are required by state law to act on an application within 60 days of applying, unless a written extension is provided by the applicant. We are, of course, very careful to require those extensions so that we don't have any applications being approved by default. The 60 day deadline is very frequently not enough time for all the material to be gathered and discussions held. So for that reason and the fact that the deadline can be extended at the request of the applicant, the 60 day deadline does no address the question I posed. I will check, but I don't think our commission is under any other town deadlines.

    Thanks for your thoughts.

    Diane Derby

    On Oct 5, 2006, at 9:24 PM, stylisz at aol.com wrote:


       You might want to check and see if your local town or zoning bylaws impose a deadline by which your Commission has to vote on the application, or else it becomes automatically approved.  It may be that the deadline is imposed on the Historic District Commission, not the applicant, in which case you might want to take your vote using the best available information before your deadline expires.
       
      In a recent incident in our town (Westborough), a local dentist applied to replace aluminum with vinyl siding, even though the zoning bylaws for the property specifically prohibited vinyl siding.  The dentist appealed to the Zoning Board of Appeals. 
       
      Unfortunately, the ZBA's hearings kept getting postponed and continued - several times at the applicant's legitimate request - until after the deadline expired. 
       
      Even though there was no question that several of the delays were caused by the applicant, the local zoning enforcement officer then ruled that the deadline had passed and so the applicant's request to use vinyl siding was automatically approved.  The ZBA and other local preservation groups were not happy, but there wasn't anything they could do since the town bylaw provided for automatic approval in the ZBA or commission didn't act in a timely fashion.
       
      Stan Tyliszczak
      former member, Westborough Historical Commission
      Check out the new AOL. Most comprehensive set of free safety and security tools, free access to millions of high-quality videos from across the web, free AOL Mail and more.





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