At a joint meeting of boards at the Marion Town House on October 22, members of the Select Board, Planning Board, and Zoning Board of Appeals had many questions about a new state law aimed at promoting more housing development.
“We are kind of confused, and we needed some explanation,” ZBA chairwoman Cindy Callow said at the start of the meeting.
Timothy Zessin, legal counsel with KP Law, noted that this state law, effective July 21 of this year, changes notice requirements for pre-existing nonconforming uses and structures.
Zessin said that this new law will present more challenges for authorities in other communities, but Marion would still face challenges.
Zessin said that, under the new law, officials no longer have to notify all abutters by certified mail. He said officials can notify members by either email or mail.
Officials had concerns, and Zessin said a good approach would be to notify residents by email if they were active in the community and emailed a town official within the past six months. He said officials can still notify all other abutters by certified mail.
Zessin also said that authorities can seek a read receipt or confirmation that the email was received.
Zessin also noted that if a project represented a nonconforming use through only one indicator, the applicant would need to apply only to the zoning commissioner, and no hearing would be held.
For instance, if someone were looking to build a deck on his or her home and the deck does not meet the setback requirements, that hypothetical applicant would not have to meet with officials through the public hearing process.
“The general intent is to promote more residential developments and not have to get a special permit for minor alterations,” Zessin said.
Zessin also indicated that an unpopular development would not be hampered by a bylaw change, as long as that development application started before the bylaw change.
Bylaw changes require a Town Meeting vote and, in many communities, an unpopular development rallies residents or officials to enact a bylaw change to stop that development from moving forward.
Zessin said that with this new law recently in effect, many cases will go before a land judge, and case history will help shape how officials respond.
Zessin also said abandoned properties would be allotted more time for owners to meet town compliance requirements than in past cases.
Marion Select Board, Planning Board, and ZBA
By Jeffrey D. Wagner