Planning Resources

Special Permit: Neither the Zoning Enabling Act nor town zoning by-law gives . . . an absolute right to the special permit . . . The board is not compelled to grant the permit. It has discretionary power in acting thereon. MacGibbon v. Board of Appeals of Duxbury, 356 Mass. 635, 638-639(1970).

Site Plan Review: Mass. Gen. L. ch. 40A, the Zoning Act, contains no reference to site plan review. Site plan review is entirely the creature of the cities and towns that use it, and the courts that have endorsed it. The Supreme Judicial Court has defined site plan review as "a regulation of a use rather than its prohibition . . . contemplating primarily the imposition for the public protection of reasonable terms and conditions." Y.D. Dugout v. Board of Appeals of Canton, 357 Mass. 25, 31 (1970).

The Zoning Act: The Zoning Act was enacted in 1975 to facilitate, encourage and foster the adoption and modernization of zoning ordinances and bylaws by municipal governments; and to establish standardized procedures for the administration and promulgation of municipal zoning laws.

Subdivision Control: This law was enacted for the purpose of protecting the safety, convenience and welfare of the inhabitants of the cities and towns in which it is, or may hereafter be, put in effect by regulating the laying out and construction of ways in subdivisions providing access to the several lots therein, but which have not become public ways, and ensuring sanitary conditions in subdivisions and in proper cases parks and open areas.

Additional information can be found at Mass.gov

Training options: 

Citizen Planner Training Collaborative

Climate Resilience Training