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Departments: Planning Board

Role of the Planning Board

The establishment of municipal Planning Boards is authorized by Massachusetts General Law, chapter 41, section 81A. Among its many diverse roles, the Planning Board is charged with the following duties, paraphrased here from the Mass. General Law:

• Adopting a master plan and official map of the city or town
• Conducting studies, and, when necessary, preparing plans of the resources, possibilities and needs of the city or town for submittal to the Selectmen for their consideration
• Serving as the local authority for the Subdivision Control Act; adopting Rules and
• Regulations governing the subdivision of land in the Town of Hingham; reviewing all preliminary and definitive plan submittals.
• Drafting and submitting zoning amendments for consideration by the municipality. When a zoning amendment has been put forward, the Planning Board holds the public hearing and may also report its recommendation to the local legislature.
• Serving, in some instances, as the special permit granting authority (i.e. Special Permit A-3, Flexible Residential Development)
• Serving as Site Plan Review Authority for all Special Permits A-2 under consideration by the Zoning Board of Appeals
• Is always the "party of interest" in administrative appeals, special permit applications, and variance petitions within the municipality and in adjacent cities and towns;
• Under Mass. Gen. L. ch. 40, 15C, the Scenic Roads Act, the Planning Board is enabled to recommend roads for municipal consideration, and empowers the planning board to oversee specified activities.

Katy Lacy, Community Planning Director

You can reach us at
210 Central Street, Hingham MA 02043
Phone:781-741-1419
E-mail: LacyK@hingham-ma.com

2011 Annual Report

The Hingham Planning Board is pleased to submit this annual report for 2011.

Hingham witnessed continued commercial and institutional development in the past year. New construction and tenant fit-ups continued at Hingham Shipyard and in commercial districts throughout the Town. The Board conducted nine Site Plan Review hearings relative to non-residential construction projects, and issued three Special Permit A3's for requests for parking waivers from the Town's off-street parking regulations. Several joint hearings were conducted between the Planning Board and Zoning Board of Appeals regarding applications for a Special Permit A2. Together, the Boards permitted a sit-down/take-out cupcake bakery on Main Street and Red Eye Roaster, Inc., located at 3 Otis Street. Application for Site Plan Review for Foxrock Research Realty, LLC came before the Board for the renovation and expansion of the existing 58,000 s.f. building to create an 84,000 s.f. building on approximately 8.2-acres of land located within the Industrial Park. The building, currently under construction, will be a school for children with disabilities in grades Pre-K to 12.

During 2011 the Planning Board reviewed and endorsed fourteen Form A (Approval Not Required) plans for lot line changes, land swaps between adjacent parcels, and the creation of new lots in all areas of Town. The Board reviewed and ultimately approved applications for three new 2-3 lot residential subdivisions: Fox Run Way (19 and 19R Gardner Street); 303 Gardner Street and Sprague Court (987 Main Street). Small, infill subdivisions such as these can be the source of great concern to area residents, who are often surprised to find that a property formerly occupied by a single home can, if it complies with zoning, be divided by the owner into two or more house lots with few restrictions. In fact, only a two-thirds majority of Town Meeting voters can change the underlying zoning in such a way that would prevent further infill development. That said, this trend prompted Planning Board members to take a look at existing Subdivision Regulations, and develop new requirements for roadways in 2-3 lot subdivisions intended to lessen their visual impact on surrounding neighborhoods.

In the months leading up to the 2011 Town Meeting, the Planning Board discussed and held public hearings on twelve proposed amendments to the Zoning By-Law, five of which were brought to Town Meeting. The purpose of the articles were to clarify definitions, rezone several properties within the Town and amend the Use Table to respond to current land use patterns and trends while protecting the long-term best interests of the Town. Of note, Article 34 rezoned the former Tree and Park Barn parcel from Official and Open Space to Business A, allowing for a broader range of re-use options. Currently, the building is being leased by a local furniture maker. Article 35 changed the zoning designation of the parcel occupied by the Hersey House from Official and Open Space to Residence A. The change was made to allow for the sale and re-conversion of this former Town-owned property to a single family residence. With Article 37, the Planning Board worked with the Zoning Board of Appeals to continue the job of updating the Table of Permitted Uses, focusing on Residential and Business Districts.

Planning Board members continue to play an active role as members of and designees to several Town committees, including the Community Preservation Committee, Harbor Task Force and Traffic Committee. As with recent previous years, 2011 was marked by productive and collaborative relationships between the Planning Board and a variety of other Town boards and committees, including the Board of Selectmen, the Zoning Board of Appeals, the Historic Districts Commission, Harbor Development Committee, and the Hingham Development and Industrial Committee.

Sarah Corey, Chairman
Judith Sneath, Clerk
Paul Healey
Gary Tondorf-Dick
William Ramsey