reglab/statecodes huggingface dataset:
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 40 - Powers and Duties of Cities and Towns › Section 44b - Regional Refuse Disposal Planning Board; Study of Creation of District; Expenses of Board; Refuse Disposal Facility Defined

Section 44B. Regional refuse disposal planning committees from any two or more cities or towns may join together to form a regional refuse disposal planning board. Such regional refuse disposal planning board shall study the advisability of establishing a regional refuse disposal district, its organization, operation and control, and of selecting, constructing, maintaining and operating a refuse disposal facility to serve the needs of the district, and shall estimate construction and operating costs and study methods of financing such district. Each city or town comprising such board may appropriate a sum not in excess of ten thousand dollars for the purpose of meeting the expenses of the board. Such board may expend any such sums so appropriated and may employ such expert assistance as it deems necessary. Such board may apply for, accept and expend, without appropriation, grants or gifts of funds from the federal government. As used in this section and in sections forty-four C to forty-four K, inclusive, the term ''refuse disposal facility'' shall mean an incinerator, sanitary land fill, transfer station, composting plant, other sanitary means of refuse disposal approved by the department of environmental protection, or any combination of two or more of such facilities.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 40 - Powers and Duties of Cities and Towns › Section 44c - Regional Refuse Disposal Planning Board; Agreement for Establishment of District

Section 44C. The regional refuse disposal planning board, consisting only of the regional refuse disposal planning committees which vote in favor of the establishment of a regional refuse disposal district, shall draw up a proposed agreement. The said agreement shall contain provisions describing the sharing of construction and operating costs, the number, method of selection and terms of office of the members of the regional refuse disposal district committee, the general area in which the refuse disposal facility shall be constructed, the terms by which another city or town may be admitted to the district, the method by which the agreement may be amended, the procedure for the preparation and adoption of the annual budget and any other matters, not incompatible with law, which the said board may deem advisable; provided, however, that all plans for refuse disposal facilities shall be subject to the approval of the state department of environmental protection.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 40 - Powers and Duties of Cities and Towns › Section 44d - Report of Board

Section 44D. The regional refuse disposal planning board shall report its findings and recommendations to the board of selectmen and the mayor, as the case may be, of each city or town comprising the board. If the board recommends that a regional refuse disposal district be established, a copy of the proposed agreement shall accompany the report to each such city or town.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 40 - Powers and Duties of Cities and Towns › Section 44e - Acceptance of Recommendation; Election; Establishment of District

Section 44E. The selectmen of each of the several towns, upon receipt of a recommendation that a regional refuse disposal district be established, shall vote on the question of accepting the plan. The mayors of the several cities, upon receipt of a recommendation that a regional refuse disposal district be established, shall submit the question of accepting the plan to their respective city councils within 60 days after receipt of the recommendation. If a majority of the members of each city council voting on the question and the board of selectmen in each town vote in the affirmative, the proposed regional refuse disposal district shall be deemed to be established in accordance with the terms of the proposed agreement.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 40 - Powers and Duties of Cities and Towns › Section 44g - Exercise of Powers; Officers of Committee

Section 44G. The powers, duties and liabilities of a regional refuse disposal district shall be vested in and exercised by a regional refuse disposal district committee organized in accordance with the agreement. The committee shall choose a chairman by ballot from its membership. It shall appoint a secretary and a treasurer, who may be the same person, but who need not be members of said committee. The treasurer shall receive and take charge of all money belonging to the district and shall pay any bill of the district which shall have been approved by the committee. The treasurer may, by vote of said committee, be compensated for his services. The treasurer of said district shall be subject to the provisions of sections thirty-five, fifty-two and one hundred and nine A of chapter forty-one, to the extent applicable.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 40 - Powers and Duties of Cities and Towns › Section 44h - Maintenance and Operating Expenses; Debts; Determination and Apportionment

Section 44H. The regional refuse disposal district committee shall annually determine the amounts necessary to be raised to maintain and operate the district during the ensuing fiscal year, and the amounts required for payment of debt and interest incurred by the district which will be due in the said year, and shall apportion the amount so determined among the several member cities and towns in accordance with the terms of the agreement. The amounts so apportioned for each city or town shall, prior to December thirty-first in each year, be certified by the regional district treasurer to the treasurers of the several cities and towns. The obligation of each member city or town to pay apportionments pursuant to the agreement shall be included in the amounts to be assessed annually in such city or town under section twenty-three of chapter fifty-nine without appropriation and the city or town treasurer shall pay to the district the amounts so apportioned at the times specified in the agreement. The amounts apportioned or to be apportioned pursuant to the agreement shall not be included in the statutory limit of indebtedness of any city or town.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 40 - Powers and Duties of Cities and Towns › Section 44i - Annual Audit and Report; Costs

Section 44I. The director of accounts in the department of corporations and taxation shall annually cause an audit to be made of the accounts of the regional refuse disposal district committee, and for this purpose he, and his duly accredited agents, shall have access to all necessary papers, books, and records. Upon the completion of each audit, a report thereon shall be made to the chairman of said district committee, and a copy thereof shall be sent to the mayor and to the chairman of the board of selectmen, respectively, of each city and town which is a member of said district. The director shall apportion the cost among the several cities and towns which are members of the district on the basis provided by section forty-four C, and submit the amounts of each apportionment to the state treasurer, who shall issue his warrant requiring the assessors of the cities and towns which are members of the district to assess a tax to the amount of the expense, and such amounts shall be collected and paid to the state treasurer, as provided by section twenty of chapter fifty-nine.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 40 - Powers and Duties of Cities and Towns › Section 44j - Sale, Lease or License of Lands or Facilities to Refuse Disposal Districts

Section 44J. The agreement made under section forty-four C, or any amendment to such an agreement, may contain provisions authorizing any member city or town to sell, lease or license to the regional refuse disposal district any refuse disposal facility and any land appurtenant thereto or used in connection therewith or any other property useful for the purposes of the district, and any such city or town may authorize such sale, lease or license accordingly, notwithstanding the provisions of section three of chapter forty or any other provisions of law to the contrary. In case of a sale, the price and time or times of payment and the method by which the cities and towns other than the selling city or town shall be assessed for such payment shall be set forth in the agreement or amendment; but in no case shall payments be made which shall extend over a period in excess of twenty years. In the case of a lease or license, the rental or license fee and terms of payment and assessment shall be set forth in the agreement or amendment. The lease or license may be for a term not in excess of twenty years, and may contain provisions for the extension of the lease or license for an additional term not in excess of twenty years at the option of the regional refuse disposal district committee.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 40 - Powers and Duties of Cities and Towns › Section 44k - Bonds and Notes; Limit of Indebtedness

Section 44K. The provisions of sections sixteen to twenty-eight, inclusive, of chapter forty-four shall, so far as apt, apply to regional refuse disposal districts, but the provisions of section sixteen relating to the countersigning of bonds and notes and the provisions of section twenty-four relating to the countersigning and approval of notes and the certificates of the clerk relating thereto shall not apply to such districts. Any debt incurred by a regional refuse disposal district shall not be subject to the limit of indebtedness prescribed in section ten of chapter forty-four.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 40 - Powers and Duties of Cities and Towns › Section 44l - Issuance of Debt Obligations to Pay for Project Costs

Section 44L. The rights and powers granted to cities and towns by the provisions of section twenty-eight C of chapter forty-four shall apply to regional refuse disposal districts and for the purpose of said section twenty-eight C the chief executive officer of a regional refuse disposal district shall be the regional refuse disposal district committee.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 40 - Powers and Duties of Cities and Towns › Section 45 - Recognizance; Permission to Designate an Agent

Section 45. The selectmen of a town required to enter into a recognizance may by an order or vote authorize any person to enter into the recognizance in its name and behalf. No surety shall be required thereon.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 40 - Powers and Duties of Cities and Towns › Section 46 - Certification of Claims

Section 46. Any person authorized to approve a claim against a town for labor, materials or service may, before approval thereof, require the claimant to certify under oath that all the articles for which claim is made have been furnished, or that all the labor or service has been performed, and that no commission, discount, bonus, reward or present of any kind has been received by, or promised to, or is expected by, any person on account of the same.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 40 - Powers and Duties of Cities and Towns › Section 47 - Town Seal; Establishment; Use

Section 47. Each town shall have a seal, established at a town meeting, to be kept by the town clerk. Papers or documents issued from any office or board of the town may be attested therewith. Cities which had an authorized seal in use on May tenth, eighteen hundred and ninety-nine, may continue to use such seal until changed by ordinance, and other cities shall by ordinance establish a seal of the city and designate the custodian thereof.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 40 - Powers and Duties of Cities and Towns › Section 48 - Establishment of Suitable Place to Keep Books; Penalty for Noncompliance; Custody of Books and Records

Section 48. Every town shall provide suitable places, to be approved by the supervisor of public records, for the preservation and convenient use of all books, reports and laws received from the commonwealth; and for every month's neglect so to do shall forfeit ten dollars. Said books, reports and laws shall be in the custody or control of the town clerk, unless the city council or selectmen shall by vote designate some other person to have said custody or control of all or part of the same.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 40 - Powers and Duties of Cities and Towns › Section 49 - Annual Town Reports; Publication; Penalty for Noncompliance

Section 49. The selectmen, before the annual town meeting, shall at the expense of the town make available the annual town report for the use of the inhabitants containing the report of the selectmen for the calendar or fiscal year preceding said meeting, the report of the school committee, statements in tabulated form prepared under section sixty of chapter forty-one unless otherwise printed as provided in said section, the annual report of the town accountant for the preceding fiscal year as provided in section sixty-one of chapter forty-one, the annual report of the town treasurer as provided in section thirty-five of chapter forty-one, and except as otherwise provided by vote or by-law of the town, of such other officers and boards as consider it expedient to make a report, the jury list as required by chapter two hundred and thirty-four, and such other matters as the law, or the town by vote or by-law, requires or as the selectmen consider expedient. If the selectmen neglect or refuse to make the annual report, they shall severally forfeit fifty dollars.
A town may by by-law provide for the printing of such fiscal year reports as it deems suitable within ninety days of the close of the fiscal year. A copy of such fiscal year reports shall be transmitted by the town clerk to the state library before the first day of November. A town may also by by-law provide for the printing of all reports of town officers and boards, committees and commissions on a fiscal year basis in place of the calendar year report required by this section.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 40 - Powers and Duties of Cities and Towns › Section 50 - Annual Town Report; Copy to State Library

Section 50. One copy or more of the annual report and of any special report of a town shall annually, on or before the last day of May, be transmitted by the town clerk to the state library, and until such transmission the publications distributed by the commonwealth shall be withheld from the town.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 40 - Powers and Duties of Cities and Towns › Section 51 - Publication of Information Concerning Persons Receiving Aid From Governmental Agencies Forbidden; Exceptions; Penalties

Section 51. No town or officer thereof shall publish or disclose in any manner to others than officers of any city, town or other governmental agency or the duly authorized agents of such officers the names of any persons residing in such town who received benefits under chapter one hundred and fifteen, except that a duly incorporated charitable corporation shall be informed, upon its request, as to whether or not any designated person has received such benefits. No department, board or commission, or agent thereof, of a town providing aid, guidance or advice solely to persons who are in active military or naval service during the time of war, or who were formerly in such service, or to the dependents of any such persons, shall furnish any records or information to any social service index, so called, or exchange information with any other agency, except as hereinbefore provided. Whoever violates any provision of this section shall be punished by a fine of not less than twenty-five nor more than five hundred dollars.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 40 - Powers and Duties of Cities and Towns › Section 53 - Restraint of Illegal Appropriations; Ten Taxpayer Actions

Section 53. If a town, regional school district, or a district as defined in section one A, or any of its officers or agents are about to raise or expend money or incur obligations purporting to bind said town, regional school district, or district for any purpose or object or in any manner other than that for and in which such town, regional school district, or district has the legal and constitutional right and power to raise or expend money or incur obligations, the supreme judicial or superior court may, upon petition of not less than ten taxable inhabitants of the town, or not less than ten taxable inhabitants of any town in the regional school district, or not less than ten taxable inhabitants of that portion of a town which is in the district, determine the same in equity, and may, before the final determination of the cause, restrain the unlawful exercise or abuse of such corporate power.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 40 - Powers and Duties of Cities and Towns › Section 54 - Building Permit Restrictions; Availability of Water Supply; Disposal of Debris

Section 54. No building permit shall be issued for the construction of a building which would necessitate the use of water therein, unless a supply of water is available therefor either from a water system operated by a city, town or district, or from a well located on the land where the building is to be constructed, or from a water corporation or company, as defined in section one of chapter one hundred and sixty-five.
Every city or town shall require, as a condition of issuing a building permit or license for the demolition, renovation, rehabilitation or other alteration of a building or structure, that the debris resulting from such demolition, renovation, rehabilitation or alteration be disposed of in a properly licensed solid waste disposal facility, as defined by section one hundred and fifty A of chapter one hundred and eleven. Any such permit or license shall indicate the location of the facility at which the debris is to be disposed. If for any reason, the debris will not be disposed of as indicated, the permittee or licensee shall notify the issuing authority as to the location where the debris will be disposed. The issuing authority shall amend the permit or license to so indicate.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 40 - Powers and Duties of Cities and Towns › Section 54a - State Consent to Issuance of Permit to Build on Lands Formerly Used as a Railroad Right-of-Way; Damages in Absence Thereof

Section 54A. If a city or town or any other person purchases any former railroad right-of-way in the commonwealth, no permit to build a structure of any kind on land so purchased shall be issued by any city or town in the commonwealth without first obtaining the consent, or a determination of inapplicability, in writing to the issuance of such permit from the secretary of the department of transportation. The department of transportation shall establish an application process, applicable timeframes and review guidelines that may require a public hearing component depending on when the former railroad right-of-way was last used by the railroad. As used in this section, the term ''former railroad right-of-way'' shall mean any property either formerly owned in fee by a railroad company and used as a railroad right-of-way or portion of any property formerly subject to an easement held by a railroad company and used as a railroad right-of-way. If said secretary does not consent to the issuance of such permit, the owner of the land may recover from the commonwealth such damages as would be awarded under the provisions of chapter seventy-nine.
Notwithstanding the provisions of the last sentence of the foregoing paragraph, there shall be no recovery from the commonwealth or the department in damages under said sentence by an owner of such land purchased after January 1, 1976.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 40 - Powers and Duties of Cities and Towns › Section 58 - Municipal Charges Lien

Section 58. Any city or town may impose a lien on real property located within the city or town for any local charge or fee that has not been paid by the due date, said lien shall be known as the ''municipal charges lien''; provided, that a separate vote at a town meeting, or by a city or town council is taken for each type of charge or fee.
A municipal charges lien authorized under this section shall take effect upon the recording of a list of unpaid municipal charges and fees by parcel of land and by the name of the person assessed for the charge or fee in the registry of deeds of the county or district where the land subject to the lien lies.
If a charge or fee which is secured by a municipal charges lien remains unpaid when the assessors are preparing a real estate tax list and warrant to be committed under section fifty-three of chapter fifty-nine, the board or officer in charge of the collection of the municipal charge or fee, or the town collector of taxes, if applicable under section thirty-eight A of chapter forty-one, shall certify such charge or fee to the assessors, who shall forthwith add such charge or fee to the tax on the property to which it relates and commit it with their warrant to the collector of taxes as part of such tax.
If the property to which such charge or fee relates is tax exempt, such charge or fee shall be committed as the tax. A lien under this section may be discharged by filing a certificate from the tax collector that all municipal charges or fees constituting the lien, together with any interest and costs thereon, have been paid or legally abated. All costs of recording or discharging a lien under this section shall be borne by the owner of the property.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 40 - Powers and Duties of Cities and Towns › Section 61 - Definitions Applicable to Secs. 61 to 69

Section 61. As used in this section and sections 62 to 69, inclusive, the following words shall have the following meanings unless the context clearly requires otherwise:
''Governmental unit'', a city, town, county, water district, wastewater district, municipal water and sewer commission or regional water and sewer district commission established under chapter 40N or by special act or an independent water and sewer commission; provided, however, that ''governmental unit'' shall not include the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority.
''Local legislative body'', in a city, the city council, in a town, the town meeting or as otherwise more specifically defined by the municipal charter, municipal water and sewer commission or regional water and sewer district commission established under chapter 40N or by special act, in a district, the district meeting, in an independent water and sewer commission, the commissioners.
''Water storage facility'', an above ground or below-ground facility or tank, standpipe, water tower or other building or structure used to store water for, without limitation, public drinking water supply and fire protection.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 40 - Powers and Duties of Cities and Towns › Section 62 - Contracts for the Inspection, Maintenance, Repair or Modification of Water Storage Facility Authorized

Section 62. Pursuant to sections 61 to 69, inclusive, a governmental unit may enter into contracts for the inspection, maintenance, repair or modification of a water storage facility to maintain adequate services to users and to ensure that the water storage facility is in compliance with federal, state and local laws. All contracts shall be awarded in accordance with section 6 of chapter 30B and approved by a 2/3 vote of the local legislative body of the governmental unit. An approved contract may provide that the governmental unit: (i) may make annual payments to fund capital modifications, repairs or installation of equipment and systems at a water storage facility that have been completed or are to be completed pursuant to the terms of the request for proposals; provided, however, that costs shall be amortized over a period that shall not be longer than the useful life of the modifications or repairs or the equipment and systems installed; and (ii) may make payments for future capital modifications, repairs or installation of equipment and systems or a second interior or exterior coating at a water storage facility pursuant to the terms of the request for proposals based on estimated costs of such capital modifications, repairs or installation of equipment and systems at a water storage facility, only if the payments for the full accumulated amount are guaranteed by a bond, letter of guaranty or other form of guaranty to be submitted on an annual basis and approved by the governmental unit for the 100 per cent accumulated amount.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 40 - Powers and Duties of Cities and Towns › Section 64 - Solicitation of Proposals; Statement of Compliance With Occupation Health and Safety Requirements

Section 64. The chief procurement officer of a governmental unit shall solicit proposals in conformance with section 6 of chapter 30B. Information from the governmental unit shall contain a full and complete description of the condition of the water storage tank as written by an independent professional engineer. The scope of services shall contain a detailed description of the services to be provided by the selected proposer.
A contract entered into under sections 61 to 69, inclusive, shall specifically state that the offeror and any subcontractor under the offeror shall comply with all federal and state occupational health and safety requirements applicable to the activities provided for in the contract.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 40 - Powers and Duties of Cities and Towns › Section 65 - Acceptance of Proposal and Award of Contract; Notice; Statement of Reasons for Acceptance

Section 65. The chief procurement officer of a governmental unit shall award the contract to the most advantageous proposal from a responsible and responsive offeror taking into consideration price and the evaluation criteria set forth in the request for proposals; provided, however, that such proposal shall be in full compliance with all applicable requirements of federal, state and local laws, including section 26 to 27H, inclusive, of chapter 149. The governmental unit shall provide written notice to the selected offeror within the time for acceptance specified in the request for proposals. The governmental unit and the offeror may extend the time for acceptance by mutual agreement. If the contract award is made to an offeror who did not have the lowest overall price proposal, then the chief procurement officer shall publish a timely written statement of reasons for its selection in the central register.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 40 - Powers and Duties of Cities and Towns › Section 66 - Terms and Conditions of Contract Awarded Under Secs. 61 to 69; Bond or Other Security for the Obligation of Selected Offeror

Section 66. A contract awarded under sections 61 to 69, inclusive, shall be subject to such terms and conditions as the governmental unit shall determine to be in its best interest. The selected offeror shall furnish to the governmental unit performance bonds, payment bonds or other forms of security for the selected offeror's obligations, and insurance, satisfactory to the governmental unit.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 40 - Powers and Duties of Cities and Towns › Section 68 - Contracts Made in Violation of Secs. 61 to 69 Void and Unenforceable

Section 68. A contract made in violation of sections 61 to 69, inclusive, shall be void and the governmental unit shall make no payment under any such contract. Minor informalities shall not render a contract void.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 40a - Zoning › Section 3a - Multi-Family Zoning As-of-Right in Mbta Communities

Section 3A. (a)(1) An MBTA community shall have a zoning ordinance or by-law that provides for at least 1 district of reasonable size in which multi-family housing is permitted as of right; provided, however, that such multi-family housing shall be without age restrictions and shall be suitable for families with children. For the purposes of this section, a district of reasonable size shall: (i) have a minimum gross density of 15 units per acre, subject to any further limitations imposed by section 40 of chapter 131 and title 5 of the state environmental code established pursuant to section 13 of chapter 21A; and (ii) be located not more than 0.5 miles from a commuter rail station, subway station, ferry terminal or bus station, if applicable.
[ Subsection (b) effective until May 30, 2023. For text effective May 30, 2023, see below.]
(b) An MBTA community that fails to comply with this section shall not be eligible for funds from: (i) the Housing Choice Initiative as described by the governor in a message to the general court dated December 11, 2017; (ii) the Local Capital Projects Fund established in section 2EEEE of chapter 29; or (iii) the MassWorks infrastructure program established in section 63 of chapter 23A.
[ Subsection (b) as amended by 2023, 7, Sec. 152 effective May 30, 2023. See 2023, 7, Sec. 298. For text effective until May 30, 2023, see above.]
(b) An MBTA community that fails to comply with this section shall not be eligible for funds from: (i) the Housing Choice Initiative as described by the governor in a message to the general court dated December 11, 2017; (ii) the Local Capital Projects Fund established in section 2EEEE of chapter 29; (iii) the MassWorks infrastructure program established in section 63 of chapter 23A, or (iv) the HousingWorks infrastructure program established in section 27 of chapter 23B.
[ Subsection (c) effective until May 30, 2023. For text effective May 30, 2023, see below.]
(c) The department of housing and community development, in consultation with the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority and the Massachusetts Department of Transportation, shall promulgate guidelines to determine if an MBTA community is in compliance with this section.
[ Subsection (c) as amended by 2023, 7, Sec. 153 effective May 30, 2023. See 2023, 7, Sec. 298. For text effective until May 30, 2023, see above.]
(c) The executive office of housing and livable communities, in consultation with the executive office of economic development, the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority and the Massachusetts Department of Transportation, shall promulgate guidelines to determine if an MBTA community is in compliance with this section.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 40a - Zoning › Section 4 - Uniform Districts

Section 4. Any zoning ordinance or by-law which divides cities and towns into districts shall be uniform within the district for each class or kind of structures or uses permitted.
Districts shall be shown on a zoning map in a manner sufficient for identification. Such maps shall be part of zoning ordinances or by-laws. Assessors' or property plans may be used as the basis for zoning maps. If more than four sheets or plates are used for a zoning map, an index map showing districts in outline shall be part of the zoning map and of the zoning ordinance or by-law.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 40a - Zoning › Section 8 - Appeals to Permit Granting Authority

Section 8. An appeal to the permit granting authority as the zoning ordinance or by-law may provide, may be taken by any person aggrieved by reason of his inability to obtain a permit or enforcement action from any administrative officer under the provisions of this chapter, by the regional planning agency in whose area the city or town is situated, or by any person including an officer or board of the city or town, or of an abutting city or town aggrieved by an order or decision of the inspector of buildings, or other administrative official, in violation of any provision of this chapter or any ordinance or by-law adopted thereunder.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 40a - Zoning › Section 9b - Solar Access

Section 9B. Zoning ordinances or by-laws adopted or amended pursuant to section five of this chapter may encourage the use of solar energy systems and protect solar access by regulation of the orientation of streets, lots and buildings, maximum building height limits, minimum building set back requirements, limitations on the type, height and placement of vegetation and other provisions. Zoning ordinances or by-laws may also establish buffer zones and additional districts that protect solar access which overlap existing zoning districts. Zoning ordinances or by-laws may further regulate the planting and trimming of vegetation on public property to protect the solar access of private and public solar energy systems and buildings. Solar energy systems may be exempted from set back, building height, and roof and lot coverage restrictions.
Zoning ordinances or by-laws may also provide for special permits to protect access to direct sunlight for solar energy systems. Such ordinances or by-laws may provide that such solar access permits would create an easement to sunlight over neighboring property. Such ordinances or by-laws may also specify what constitutes an impermissible interference with the right to direct sunlight granted by a solar access permit and how to regulate growing vegetation that may interfere with such right. Such ordinances or by-laws may further provide standards for the issuance of solar access permits balancing the need of solar energy systems for direct sunlight with the right of neighboring property owners to the reasonable use of their property within other zoning restrictions. Such ordinances or by-laws may also provide a process for issuance of solar access permits including, but not limited to, notification of affected neighboring property owners, opportunity for a hearing, appeal process and recordation of such permits on burdened and benefited property deeds. Such ordinances or by-laws may further provide for establishment of a solar map identifying all local properties burdened or benefited by solar access permits. Such ordinances or by-laws may also require the examination of such solar maps by the appropriate official prior to the issuance of a building permit.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 40a - Zoning › Section 10 - Variances

Section 10. The permit granting authority shall have the power after public hearing for which notice has been given by publication and posting as provided in section eleven and by mailing to all parties in interest to grant upon appeal or upon petition with respect to particular land or structures a variance from the terms of the applicable zoning ordinance or by-law where such permit granting authority specifically finds that owing to circumstances relating to the soil conditions, shape, or topography of such land or structures and especially affecting such land or structures but not affecting generally the zoning district in which it is located, a literal enforcement of the provisions of the ordinance or by-law would involve substantial hardship, financial or otherwise, to the petitioner or appellant, and that desirable relief may be granted without substantial detriment to the public good and without nullifying or substantially derogating from the intent or purpose of such ordinance or by-law. Except where local ordinances or by-laws shall expressly permit variances for use, no variance may authorize a use or activity not otherwise permitted in the district in which the land or structure is located; provided however, that such variances properly granted prior to January first, nineteen hundred and seventy-six but limited in time, may be extended on the same terms and conditions that were in effect for such variance upon said effective date.
The permit granting authority may impose conditions, safeguards and limitations both of time and of use, including the continued existence of any particular structures but excluding any condition, safeguards or limitation based upon the continued ownership of the land or structures to which the variance pertains by the applicant, petitioner or any owner.
If the rights authorized by a variance are not exercised within one year of the date of grant of such variance such rights shall lapse; provided, however, that the permit granting authority in its discretion and upon written application by the grantee of such rights may extend the time for exercise of such rights for a period not to exceed six months; and provided, further, that the application for such extension is filed with such permit granting authority prior to the expiration of such one year period. If the permit granting authority does not grant such extension within thirty days of the date of application therefor, and upon the expiration of the original one year period, such rights may be reestablished only after notice and a new hearing pursuant to the provisions of this section.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 40a - Zoning › Section 12 - Boards of Appeal; Membership; Rules

Section 12. Zoning ordinances or by-laws shall provide for a zoning board of appeals, according to the provisions of this section, unless otherwise provided by charter. The mayor subject to confirmation of the city council, or board of selectmen shall appoint 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 board of selectmen shall act as the board of appeals. Any board of appeals established hereunder shall consist of three or five members who, unless otherwise provided by charter, shall be appointed by the mayor, subject to the confirmation by the city council, or by the selectmen, for terms of such length and so arranged that the term of one member shall expire each year. Each zoning board of appeals shall elect annually a chairman from its own number and a clerk, and may, subject to appropriation, employ experts and clerical and other assistants. Any member 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. Zoning ordinances or by-laws may provide for the appointments in like manner of associate members of the board of appeals; and if provision for associate members has been made the chairman of the board may designate any such associate member to sit on the board in case of absence, inability to act or conflict of interest on the part of any member thereof, or in the event of a vacancy on the board until said vacancy is filled in the manner provided in this section.
The board of appeals shall adopt rules, not inconsistent with the provisions of the zoning ordinance or by-law for the conduct of its business and for purposes of this chapter and shall file a copy of said rules with the city or town clerk. In the event that a board of appeals has appointed a zoning administrator in accordance with section thirteen said rules shall set forth the fact of such appointment, the identity of the persons from time to time appointed to such position, the powers and duties delegated to such individual and any limitations thereon.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 40a - Zoning › Section 13 - Zoning Administrators; Appointment; Powers and Duties

Section 13. A zoning ordinance or by-law may authorize the appointment of a zoning administrator, who, unless otherwise provided by charter, shall be appointed by the board of appeals, subject to confirmation by the city council or board of selectmen, to serve at the pleasure of the board of appeals pursuant to such qualifications as may be established by the city council or board of selectmen. The board of appeals may delegate to said zoning administrator some of its powers and duties by a concurring vote of all members of the board of appeals consisting of three members, and a concurring vote of all except one member of a board consisting of five members. Any person aggrieved by a decision or order of the zoning administrator, whether or not previously a party to the proceeding, or any municipal office or board, may appeal to the board of appeals, as provided in section fourteen, within thirty days after the decision of the zoning administrator has been filed in the office of the city or town clerk. Any appeal, application or petition filed with said zoning administrator as to which no decision has issued within thirty-five days from the date of filing shall be deemed denied and shall be subject to appeal to the board of appeals as provided in section eight.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 40a - Zoning › Section 14 - Boards of Appeal; Powers

Section 14. A board of appeals shall have the following powers:—
(1) To hear and decide appeals in accordance with section eight.
(2) To hear and decide applications for special permits upon which the board is empowered to act under said ordinance or by-laws.
(3) To hear and decide petitions for variances as set forth in section ten.
(4) To hear and decide appeals from decisions of a zoning administrator, if any, in accordance with section thirteen and this section.
In exercising the powers granted by this section, a board of appeals may, in conformity with the provisions of this chapter, make orders or decisions, reverse or affirm in whole or in part, or modify any order or decision, and to that end shall have all the powers of the officer from whom the appeal is taken and may issue or direct the issuance of a permit.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 40a - Zoning › Section 16 - Final Unfavorable Decisions by Permit Granting Authorities; Reconsideration; Withdrawal of Petitions for Variance or Applications for Special Permit

Section 16. No appeal, application or petition which has been unfavorably and finally acted upon by the special permit granting or permit granting authority shall be acted favorably upon within two years after the date of final unfavorable action unless said special permit granting authority or permit granting authority finds, by a unanimous vote of a board of three members or by a vote of four members of a board of five members or two-thirds vote of a board of more than five members, specific and material changes in the conditions upon which the previous unfavorable action was based, and describes such changes in the record of its proceedings, and unless all but one of the members of the planning board consents thereto and after notice is given to parties in interest of the time and place of the proceedings when the question of such consent will be considered.
Any petition for a variance or application for a special permit which has been transmitted to the permit granting authority or special permit granting authority may be withdrawn, without prejudice by the petitioner prior to the publication of the notice of a public hearing thereon, but thereafter be withdrawn without prejudice only with the approval of the special permit granting authority or permit granting authority.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 40b - Regional Planning › Section 2a - Regional or District Groupings; Consent to Placement

Section 2A. No state agency shall place a city or town individually or severally, within a regional or district grouping without the consent of the governing body of such city or town. The governing body in a town shall be the town meeting and in a city, the city council.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 40b - Regional Planning › Section 3 - Planning Districts; Establishment; New Members; Jurisdiction Area; Rights and Liabilities

Section 3. Any group of cities, towns, or cities and towns may, by vote of their respective city councils or town meetings, vote to become members of and thus establish a planning district, which shall constitute a public body corporate. After a planning district has been thus established, any other city or town within the district area as hereinafter defined may by vote of its city council or town meeting apply for admission. Upon the affirmative vote of two thirds of the representatives of the cities and towns comprising the district, said city or town shall become a member thereof. The area of jurisdiction of said district shall be an area defined or redefined as an effective regional planning region by the Massachusetts office of business development. All rights, privileges and obligations applicable to the original members of the district shall be applicable to the new members.