reglab/housing_qa huggingface dataset:
MA Gen L ch 41 § 81p (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts|Chapter 41 - Officers and Employees of Cities, Towns and Districts|Section 81p - Approval of Plans Not Subject to Control Law; Procedure

Section 81P. Any person wishing to cause to be recorded a plan of land situated in a city or town in which the subdivision control law is in effect, who believes that his plan does not require approval under the subdivision control law, may submit his plan to the planning board of such city or town in the manner prescribed in section eighty-one T, and, if the board finds that the plan does not require such approval, it shall forthwith, without a public hearing, endorse thereon or cause to be endorsed thereon by a person authorized by it the words ''approval under the subdivision control law not required'' or words of similar import with appropriate name or names signed thereto, and such endorsement shall be conclusive on all persons. Such endorsement shall not be withheld unless such plan shows a subdivision. If the board shall determine that in its opinion the plan requires approval, it shall within twenty-one days of such submittal, give written notice of its determination to the clerk of the city or town and the person submitting the plan, and such person may submit his plan for approval as provided by law and the rules and regulations of the board, or he may appeal from the determination of the board in the manner provided in section eighty-one BB. If the board fails to act upon a plan submitted under this section or fails to notify the clerk of the city or town and the person submitting the plan of its action within twenty-one days after its submission, it shall be deemed to have determined that approval under the subdivision control law is not required, and it shall forthwith make such endorsement on said plan, and on its failure to do so forthwith the city or town clerk shall issue a certificate to the same effect. The plan bearing such endorsement or the plan and such certificate, as the case may be, shall be delivered by the planning board, or in case of the certificate, by the city or town clerk, to the person submitting such plan. The planning board of a city or town which has authorized any person, other than a majority of the board, to endorse on a plan the approval of the board or to make any other certificate under the subdivision control law, shall transmit a written statement to the register of deeds and the recorder of the land court, signed by a majority of the board, giving the name of the person so authorized.  The endorsement under this section may include a statement of the reason approval is not required.
MA Gen L ch 41 § 81r (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts|Chapter 41 - Officers and Employees of Cities, Towns and Districts|Section 81r - Waiver of Strict Compliance With Rules and Regulations

Section 81R. A planning board may in any particular case, where such action is in the public interest and not inconsistent with the intent and purpose of the subdivision control law, waive strict compliance with its rules and regulations, and with the frontage or access requirements specified in said law, and may, where the ways are not otherwise deemed adequate, approve a plan on conditions limiting the lots upon which buildings may be erected and the number of buildings that may be erected on particular lots and the length of time for which particular buildings may be maintained without further consent by the planning board to the access provided. The planning board shall endorse such conditions on the plan to which they relate, or set them forth in a separate instrument attached thereto to which reference is made on such plan and which shall for the purpose of the subdivision control law be deemed to be a part of the plan.
MA Gen L ch 41 § 81s (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts|Chapter 41 - Officers and Employees of Cities, Towns and Districts|Section 81s - Submission of Preliminary Plan; Approval or Disapproval; Recording

Section 81S. In the case of a subdivision showing lots in a residential zone, any person, before submitting his definitive plan for approval, may submit to the planning board and to the board of health, a preliminary plan, and shall give written notice to the clerk of such city or town by delivery or by registered mail, postage prepaid, that he has submitted such plan.  In the case of a nonresidential subdivision, any person before submitting his definitive plan for approval shall submit to the planning board and the board of health, a preliminary plan, and shall give notice to the clerk of such city or town by delivery or by registered mail, postage prepaid, that he has submitted such plan.  In either case, if the notice is given by delivery, the city or town clerk shall, if requested, give a written receipt therefor. Within forty-five days after submission of a preliminary plan, each board shall notify the applicant and the clerk of the city or town, by certified mail, either that the plan has been approved, or that the plan has been approved with modifications suggested by the board or agreed upon by the person submitting the plan, or that the plan has been disapproved and in the case of disapproval, the board shall state in detail its reasons therefor. The planning board shall notify the city or town clerk of its approval or disapproval, as the case may be. Except as is otherwise provided, the provisions of the subdivision control law relating to a plan shall not be applicable to a preliminary plan, and no register or deeds shall record a preliminary plan.
MA Gen L ch 41 § 81t (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts|Chapter 41 - Officers and Employees of Cities, Towns and Districts|Section 81t - Notice of Submission of Plan; Hearing

Section 81T. Every person submitting a definitive plan of land to the planning board of a city or town for its approval or for a determination that approval is not required shall give written notice to the clerk of such city or town by delivery or by registered mail, postage prepaid, that he has submitted such a plan. If the notice is given by delivery the clerk shall, if requested, give a written receipt therefor to the person who delivered such notice. Such notice shall describe the land to which the plan relates sufficiently for identification, and shall state the date when such plan was submitted and the name and address of the owner of such land; and the facts stated in such notice shall be taken by the city or town clerk as true, unless the contrary is made to appear. Before approval, modification and approval, or disapproval of the definitive plan is given, a public hearing shall be held by the planning board, notice of the time and place of which and of the subject matter, sufficient for identification, shall be given by the planning board at the expense of the applicant by advertisement in a newspaper of general circulation in the city or town once in each of two successive weeks, the first publication being not less than fourteen days before the day of such hearing or if there is no such newspaper in such city or town then by posting such notice in a conspicuous place in the city or town hall for a period of not less than fourteen days before the day of such hearing, and by mailing a copy of such advertisement to the applicant and to all owners of land abutting upon the land included in such plan as appearing on the most recent tax list; provided, however, that when the planning board is also the special permit granting authority for a special permit applicable to the plan, the planning board may hold the definitive plan public hearing together with the public hearing required by section 9 of chapter 40A and allow for the publication of a single advertisement giving notice of the consolidated hearing.
MA Gen L ch 41 § 81v (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts|Chapter 41 - Officers and Employees of Cities, Towns and Districts|Section 81v - Final Approval of Plan; Endorsements; Certificate

Section 81V. In case of approval of a plan by action of the planning board, after the expiration of twenty days without notice of appeal to the superior court or the land court, or if appeal has been taken after the entry of a final decree of the court sustaining the approval of such plan, the planning board shall cause to be made upon the plan a written endorsement of its approval. In case of the approval of a plan by reason of the failure of the planning board to act within the time prescribed, the city or town clerk shall, after the expiration of twenty days without notice of appeal to the superior court or the land court, or, if appeal has been taken, after receipt of certified records of the superior court or the land court indicating that such approval has become final, issue a certificate stating the date of the submission of the plan for approval, the fact that the planning board failed to take final action and that the approval resulting from such failure has become final. The plan bearing such endorsement or the plan and such certificate, as the case may be, shall be delivered by the planning board, or, in the case of the certificate, by the city or town clerk, to the person who submitted such plan. Except as provided in section eighty-one E, the existence of an official map in a city or town shall not affect the operation of the subdivision control law therein.
MA Gen L ch 41 § 81w (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts|Chapter 41 - Officers and Employees of Cities, Towns and Districts|Section 81w - Modification, Amendment or Rescission of Approval of Plan; Conditions

Section 81W. A planning board, on its own motion or on the petition of any person interested, shall have power to modify, amend or rescind its approval of a plan of a subdivision, or to require a change in a plan as a condition of its retaining the status of an approved plan. All of the provisions of the subdivision control law relating to the submission and approval of a plan of a subdivision shall, so far as apt, be applicable to the approval of the modification, amendment or rescission of such approval and to a plan which has been changed under this section.  No modification, amendment or rescission of the approval of a plan of a subdivision or changes in such plan shall affect the lots in such subdivision which have been sold or mortgaged in good faith and for a valuable consideration subsequent to the approval of the plan, or any rights appurtenant thereto, without the consent of the owner of such lots, and of the holder of the mortgage or mortgages, if any, thereon; provided, however, that nothing herein shall be deemed to prohibit such modification, amendment or rescission when there has been a sale to a single grantee of either the entire parcel of land shown on the subdivision plan or of all the lots not previously released by the planning board.  So far as unregistered land is affected, no modification, amendment or rescission of the approval of a plan nor change in a plan under this section shall take effect until (1) the plan as originally approved, or a copy thereof, and a certified copy of the vote of the planning board making such modification, amendment, rescission or change, and any additional plan referred to in such vote, have been recorded, (2) an endorsement has been made on the plan originally approved as recorded referring to such vote and where it is recorded, and (3) such vote is indexed in the grantor index under the names of the owners of record of the land affected. So far as registered land is affected, no modification, amendment or rescission of the approval of a plan nor change in a plan under this section shall take effect, until such modification, amendment or change has been verified by the land court pursuant to chapter one hundred and eighty-five, and in case of rescission, or modification, amendment or change not so verified, until ordered by the court pursuant to section one hundred and fourteen of said chapter one hundred and eighty-five.
MA Gen L ch 41 § 81z (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts|Chapter 41 - Officers and Employees of Cities, Towns and Districts|Section 81z - Board of Appeals; Membership; Tenure; Removal; Vacancies; Jurisdiction

Section 81Z. A city or town in which the subdivision control law is in effect shall, by ordinance or by-law, provide for a board of appeals, which shall have jurisdiction to issue a permit for the erection of a building under section eighty-one Y. Such board of appeals may be the existing board of appeals under the local building or zoning ordinance or by-law; provided, that if the board of appeals under the local zoning ordinance or by-law in any city or town is also the planning board in such city or town, it shall not act as a board of appeals under the subdivision control law. The mayor or selectmen shall appoint the members of the board of appeals within three months of the adoption of the ordinance or by-law. Pending appointment of the members of the board of appeals the city council or selectmen shall act as a board of appeals. Any board of appeals newly established hereunder shall consist of at least three members, who shall be appointed in a city by the mayor subject to the confirmation of the city council, or in a town by the selectmen, for terms of such length and so arranged that the term of one member shall expire each year; and said board shall elect annually a chairman from its own members and a clerk. Any board so newly established may also act as a board of appeals under the local building or zoning ordinance or by-law, or under both.  Any member of such a board of appeals may be removed for cause by the appointing authority upon written charges and after a public hearing. Vacancies shall be filled for unexpired terms in the same manner as in the case of original appointments. Ordinances or by-laws adopted hereunder may provide for the appointment in like manner of associate members of the board of appeals; and the chairman of the board may designate any such associate member to sit on the board in case of the absence, inability to act or interest on the part of a member thereof, or in the event of a vacancy on said board may designate any such associate member to sit as a member of the board until said vacancy is filled in the manner provided in this section.
MA Gen L ch 41 § 81aa (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts|Chapter 41 - Officers and Employees of Cities, Towns and Districts|Section 81aa - Board of Appeals; Rules; Meetings; Powers and Duties; Hearings

Section 81AA. The board of appeals appointed under section eighty-one Z shall adopt rules not inconsistent with this section and sections eighty-one Y and eighty-one Z, for conducting its business and otherwise carrying out the purposes of said sections. Meetings of the board shall be held at the call of the chairman and also when called in such other manner as it shall determine in its rules. Such chairman, or, in his absence, the acting chairman, may administer oaths, summon witnesses and call for the production of papers. All hearings of the board shall be open to the public. The board shall cause to be made a detailed record of its proceedings, showing the vote of each member upon each question, or, if any member is absent or fails to vote, indicating such fact, and setting forth clearly the reason or reasons for its decisions, and of its other official acts, copies of all of which shall be immediately filed in the office of the city or town clerk and shall be public records.  Before taking any action under section eighty-one Y, the board of appeals shall hold a hearing at which parties in interest shall have an opportunity to be heard, in person or by agent or attorney. Notice of the time and place of such hearing and of the subject matter, sufficient for identification, shall be published in a newspaper of general circulation in the city or town once in each of two successive weeks, the first publication to be not less than fourteen days before the day of the hearing or if there is no such newspaper in such city or town then by posting such notice in a conspicuous place in the city or town hall for a period of not less than fourteen days before the day of such hearing. The board may require the appellant to pay the expense of giving such notice. The board may, as a condition of granting a permit under section eighty-one Y, impose reasonable requirements designed to promote the health, convenience, safety and general welfare of the community and to benefit the city or town.
MA Gen L ch 41 § 81bb (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts|Chapter 41 - Officers and Employees of Cities, Towns and Districts|Section 81bb - Appeal to Superior Court; Counsel; Costs; Surety or Bond; Speedy Trial

Section 81BB. Any person, whether or not previously a party to the proceedings, or any municipal officer or board, aggrieved by a decision of a board of appeals under section eighty-one Y, or by any decision of a planning board concerning a plan of a subdivision of land, or by the failure of such a board to take final action concerning such a plan within the required time, may appeal to the superior court for the county in which said land is situated or to the land court; provided, that such appeal is entered within twenty days after such decision has been recorded in the office of the city or town clerk or within twenty days after the expiration of the required time as aforesaid, as the case may be, and notice of such appeal is given to such city or town clerk so as to be received within such twenty days. The court shall hear all pertinent evidence and determine the facts, and upon the facts so determined, shall annul such decision if found to exceed the authority of such board, or make such other decree as justice and equity may require. The foregoing remedy shall be exclusive, but the parties shall have all rights of appeal and exceptions as in other equity cases.  A city or town may provide any municipal officer or board with legal counsel for appealing, as provided in this section, a decision of a board of appeals or a planning board and for taking such other subsequent action as parties in other equity cases are permitted to take.  Costs shall not be allowed against the planning board or board of appeals unless it shall appear that such board acted with gross negligence or in bad faith.  The court shall require nonmunicipal appellants to post a surety or cash bond in a sum of not less than two thousand nor more than fifteen thousand dollars to secure the payment of any costs incurred by the appellee as a result of the appeal of a decision approving a subdivision plan if it appears to the court that said appellant or appellants acted in bad faith or with malice in making the appeal to the court.  All issues in any proceeding under this section may be advanced for speedy trial over other civil actions and proceedings.
MA Gen L ch 41 § 81cc (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts|Chapter 41 - Officers and Employees of Cities, Towns and Districts|Section 81cc - Powers of Planning Boards; Entry on Lands

Section 81CC. Planning boards and their officers and agents may, as far as they deem it necessary in carrying out the subdivision control law, enter upon any lands and there make examinations and surveys and place and maintain monuments and marks.
MA Gen L ch 41 § 81dd (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts|Chapter 41 - Officers and Employees of Cities, Towns and Districts|Section 81dd - Application of Law; Damages

Section 81DD. The subdivision control law shall not abridge the powers of the city council, of the selectmen, or any other municipal officer, in regard to public ways in any manner except as herein provided, and shall not authorize the taking of land nor authorize a city or town to lay out or construct any way which may be indicated on any plan of a subdivision until such way has been laid out as a public way in the manner prescribed by law; nor shall action under such law render a city or town liable for damages; provided, however, any person injured in his property by reason of the modification, amendment or rescission of the approval of a plan under section eighty-one W without his consent in writing, or by entry of his land not within the limits of a subdivision as shown on a preliminary or definitive plan submitted by him for approval, may recover the damages so caused under chapter seventy-nine. The modification, amendment or rescission of the approval of a plan shall not entitle any person to damages, unless and to the extent that he shall have changed his position or made expenditures in reliance upon such approval. No damages shall be awarded for the modification, amendment or rescission of the approval of a plan obtained as a result of material misrepresentation of facts, whether willful or otherwise, by the persons submitting the plan.
MA Gen L ch 41 § 81ee (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts|Chapter 41 - Officers and Employees of Cities, Towns and Districts|Section 81ee - Recordation; Evidence That Subdivision Control Law Is in Effect; Suspension

Section 81EE. Every board having on the first day of January, nineteen hundred and fifty-four, powers of subdivision control shall, within sixty days thereafter transmit to the register of deeds and the recorder of the land court a statement stating that in the opinion of such board the subdivision control law is in effect in such city or town, including a copy certified by the clerk of such city or town of the vote of the city council or of the town meeting under which the subdivision control law in the opinion of such board went into effect, together with the date thereof, or a reference to any special statute under which subdivision control was established, in such city or town. The register of deeds and the recorder of the land court shall enter such statement in the book which he is required to keep under section eighty-one X. Unless such statement is transmitted as herein provided within sixty days after said date, or the clerk of such city or town has previously notified the register of deeds and recorder of the land court of the establishment of a planning board under the provisions of law in effect prior to said date, and included in his notice a statement of the date of such establishment, the operation of the subdivision control law in and in respect to such city or town shall be suspended until the clerk of such city or town has notified the register of deeds and recorder of the land court that the subdivision control law is in effect in his city or town in the manner provided in section eighty-one N. The register of deeds and the recorder of the land court shall each enter such notice in his records in the manner provided in section eighty-one X. Any planning board having powers of subdivision control on the first day of January, nineteen hundred and fifty-four, shall, within sixty days thereafter, transmit to the register of deeds and recorder of the land court a certified copy of its rules and regulations relating to subdivision control, which shall be kept by him in the same manner as copies of rules and regulations thereafter adopted, and unless such copy is so transmitted, the operation of the subdivision control law in and with respect to such city or town shall be suspended until the board so transmits such copy.