Code of Massachusetts Regulations
974 CMR - DEVENS ENTERPRISE COMMISSION
Title 974 CMR 1.00 - Administration
Section 1.04 - Level One Review
Universal Citation: 974 MA Code of Regs 974.1
Current through Register 1531, September 27, 2024
(1) Level One review is an administrative approval process conducted by the Director. The following are subject to Level One Review:
(a) Issuance of a Building or Occupancy
Permit wherein no other DEC action or site plan review is required.
(b) Alteration or creation of a lot for any
of the following purposes: revision of lot lines, division of a lot containing
two buildings into two lots with separate buildings and division of a single
lot unimproved by a building into two or more smaller lots with frontage;
provided in any event, all resultant lots comply with the frontage requirements
in Article VIII of the By-laws and frontage shall be on a way the DEC
determines is maintained by MassDevelopment and used as a public way.
(c) Minor architectural modifications of a
structure within a historic district consistent in scope with the following
examples: movement of less than six inches in an approved window or door
opening; modifications of less than two total inches on an approved shutter or
removable facade feature; shifts of less than one foot of a staircase or
existing canopy; modifications to approved signs involving less than 10% of the
sign area; or reasonable modifications to sign placement for practical
reasons.
(d) Engineering
adjustments to an already approved site plan consistent in scope with the
following examples: a change to more desirable landscape material; a shift of
less than eight feet in building placement on a lot; a shift in site utility
connections, in order to provide improved hookup to the public system or to
avoid a natural constraint; an adjustment of not more than three feet in the
width or location of a driveway entrance, in order to improve sight distance or
to avoid a natural constraint; similar adjustments required to facilitate a
more functional site plan.
(e)
Issuance of a Certificate of Compliance under a Wetlands Order of
Conditions.
(2) Level One Review and Decision. The Director shall determine whether a Submission is subject to Level One review. Within 14 days of the receipt by the Director of a Level One Submission the Director shall determine whether it is complete. Within the time periods shown in 974 CMR 1.08 the Director shall approve, approve with conditions, or deny the Submission. No public hearingor meeting is required.
(3) Level One Lotting Plan.
(a)
Purpose and Process. An Applicant who seeks to create
or alter a lot in accordance with 974 CMR 1.04(1)(b) shall apply to the
Director for a determination that the plan does not require Definitive Plan
endorsement and does not require Level Two review. The review process will
provide an appropriate and expeditious review of plans that relocate lot lines
and create lots with frontage on a public way.
(b)
Level One Lotting Plan
Submission Requirements. A Level One Plan shall include the
following:
1. A completed Permit application
form.
2. The required
fees.
3. A copy of the approved
plan, and any revisions submitted after approval, shall be provided in
electronic format per the submission requirements listed in
974 CMR
1.05.
4. Three copies of the plan and a mylar plan
acceptable to the Registry for recording.
5. A narrative explaining why the plan should
be deemed a Level One Plan.
6. A
metes and Bounds description of each parcel created.
(c)
Plan Form and
Contents. The plan submitted for endorsement as a Level One Plan
shall show the following:
1. Plan title, north
arrow, date, and scale.
2. Locus at
a scale of one inch = 2000 feet measuring at least four inches on a side
showing an area extending at least 2500 feet beyond the proposed
lot(s)
3. Name and address of
Owner, the Applicant (if different from the Owner), and the Engineer or
Surveyor.
4. Seal and signature of
the Engineer and/or Surveyor.
5. A
list of any Institutional Controls imposed on the parcel or a note indicating
that no known Institutional Controls have been imposed on the parcel.
6. Abutting properties labeled with the names
of all abutting property owners as they appear in the most recent tax list,
Assessor Parcel numbers, or the equivalent, if assigned, and a Plan Book and
page reference.
7. Location and
type of all existing monuments on the lot being created or revised and within
100 feet of the lot with bearing and distance to the nearest permanent
monument. The location and type of all proposed monuments clearly
differentiated from the existing.
8. Boundaries of the land being divided or
the new or revised lots. All adjacent parcels held by the Owner or Applicant
shall be shown in their entirety.
9. The name of the street and width of the
right-of-way providing frontage to the lot(s) shown on the plan and the extent
of paved improvements within the right-of-way and proposed curb cut location or
alternative means of access to the lot.
10. All existing lot lines, lot areas, and
easements.
11. All proposed lot
lines, total square footage of proposed lot(s), lot frontages, and proposed
easements. Proposed lots shall be numbered for identification.
12. Location of all existing structures,
rights-of-way, easements, lots, and roadways. Setbacks to lot lines for all
structures shall be shown (see
974 CMR 3.04(2)
for setbacks).
13. Datum reference used in the preparation
of the plan and sufficient data to determine location, width, direction, and
length of every street and way line, lot line, and boundary line and to
establish these lines on the ground.
14. Suitable signature space for endorsement
of plan by the Director.
15. Zoning
classification and location of any zoning district or overlay district
boundaries that lie within the locus of the plan.
16. Notation of any variance issued as to the
land or structures within the parcel giving the Devens case number, date
granted, and description of the variance.
(d)
Review Criteria for a Level
One Lotting Plan. The Director shall approve or approve with
conditions a Level One Lotting Plan if all of the following criteria are met:
1. The lot meets all the dimensional
requirements of the Devens By- Laws and 974 CMR.
2. The proposed lot is on an accepted public
way or sufficient access easements have been secured to provide access from the
lot to an accepted public way.
3.
All Submission requirements of
974
CMR 1.03(3)(b) have been
met or appropriate waivers have been granted.
4. All plan form and content requirements of
974 CMR 1.04 have been met or appropriate waivers have been granted.
(4) Level One Development Plan.
(a) Minor
additions to existing buildings or parking lots that do not require Level Two
Site Plan review shall require approval by the Director of a "Level One
Development Plan". To obtain approval of a Level One Development Plan the
Applicant shall submit six copies of a plan complying with the Plan Form and
Contents requirements for a Level One Lotting Plan and the following:
1. Topography with contour lines at five feet
intervals or less.
2. Surface water
drainage for the entire parcel at a conceptual engineering level, indication of
flow direction, interim and permanent surface catchments and channels (depicted
at a general plan view level), the location and general type of man made
drainage structures, and similar information shall be reflected.
(b) In addition to the plans, the
following shall be submitted:
1. A completed
Permit application form.
2. The
required fees.
3. A record copy of
the plan shall be submitted for DEC records inanacceptable electronic format.
In the absence of digital capability, mylar reproducible sheets and hard copies
will suffice .
4. A narrative
explaining why the plan should be deemed a Level One Plan.
5. A narrative demonstrating consistency with
the Reuse Plan and By-laws meeting the specifications of
974
CMR 1.03(4)(c).
6. A list of Waivers (if any).
7. Information on traffic levels on abutting
street(s), including ADT and peak hour (A.M. and P.M.)levels and estimated
traffic generation for proposed lot based on build-out allowed under zoning.
The most recent traffic counts and corresponding LOS as measured by and for
MassDevelopment may be substituted for required traffic studies and
estimates.
8. At the proposed curb
cut location, sight distances shall be provided in accordance with current
AASHTO guidelines for prevailing (85th percentile) speeds on adjacent ways to
ensure adequate safety.
9. Any
other information the Director deems necessary in order to determine compliance
with Review Criteria in
974
CMR 1.03(4)(d).
(c) If a Level One Lotting Plan
has been previously approved or is submitted simultaneously with a Level One
Development Plan, information on the Lotting Plan need not be duplicated on the
Level One Development Plan.
(d)
Review Criteria for a Level One Development Plan. The
Director shall approve, or approve with conditions a Level One Development Plan
if all of the following criteria are met:
1.
the lot on which the development is located has or will be recorded at the
Registry of Deeds;
2. the proposed
action does not require Level Two review;
3. an adequate storm water management system
services the lot;
4. access and
site circulation enables prompt fire, police, and emergency response;
5. connections with utility, power and
communication systems available in the abutting infrastructure have been
made;
6. any Institutional Controls
applicable to the lot have been located and noted on the plan; and
7. adequate sight distances exist at the
proposed curb cut location and the travelway and paved width of the abutting
way can reasonably accommodate anticipated peak traffic flows without producing
level of service failures or safety problems at adjacent
intersections.
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