No permit shall be issued for the erection or alteration of any building unless the proposed specifications and intended use of the building conform to all provisions of this chapter. With each application for a permit to build, there shall be filed a plan, drawn by a registered land surveyor, showing the lot, location and specification of the proposed building and all open spaces, including any wetlands (as defined by MGL c. 131) and determined by field survey to be within 100 feet of the proposed building, appurtenant thereto; however, the Building Inspector may waive this requirement if he determines that the proposed work is of a minor nature. The application shall also contain a description of the existing and intended use of the proposed building and such other information as the Building Inspector may require for the proper enforcement of this chapter. An applicant for a building permit who is aggrieved by an adverse decision or by the Building Inspector's failure to take action on his application may file an appeal with the Board of Appeals. A record of all applications, plans and permits and the action taken thereon shall be kept on file by the Building Inspector.

No structure, building or part thereof which is erected or substantially altered by construction shall be occupied or used and no activity upon land which is regulated by this chapter shall be commenced until a certification of compliance with this Zoning chapter has been issued by the Building Inspector. Certification of compliance may be made by the Building Inspector endorsing the building permit to show satisfactory completion of the work or, if no permit was required, by a special certificate of compliance which states the use to which the land or structure will be put and that such use and specifications conform to the applicable provisions of this Zoning chapter.

The Board of Appeals shall have the authority to grant variances from the provisions of this chapter; provided, however, that the Board of Appeals shall not grant a use variance. In order to grant such a variance, the Board of Appeals must, after public hearing held within 65 days after filing of an application, specifically find that circumstances relating to soil conditions, topography or the shape of the land or structures which especially affect the particular land or structure, but do not generally affect the zoning district in which it is located, are such that a literal enforcement of the terms of this chapter would involve substantial hardship, financial or otherwise, to the applicant for the variance and that desirable relief may be granted without substantial detriment to the public good and without nullifying or substantially derogating from the intent and purpose of this chapter. The Board of Appeals may impose conditions, safeguards and limitations, both of time and of use, including the conditions on the continued existence of particular structures, but excluding any condition, safeguard or limitation upon the ownership of the land or structures to which the variance pertains. If the rights authorized by a variance are not exercised within 1 year of the date the variance was granted, such rights shall lapse and may be reestablished only if a new variance is granted pursuant to this section. The Board of Appeals shall issue its decision within 100 days of the filing of the application; failure to take final action within such 100 days shall be deemed to be a grant of the variance applied for and the applicant shall be entitled to whatever documents are necessary to evidence the variance.

Notice of any public hearings required by this chapter shall be properly served in the manner set forth in MGL c. 40A, § 11.

Construction authorized by a building or Special Permit shall conform to any subsequent amendment of this Zoning chapter, unless the construction is commenced within 6 months of the issuance of the permit and is continued through to completion as continuously and expeditiously as is reasonable. Any operation or use authorized by a building or Special Permit shall conform to any subsequent amendment of this Zoning chapter, unless such use is commenced within 6 months of the issuance of the permit. Once construction has been completed or a use has commenced as authorized by a building or Special Permit, subsequent amendments shall not affect the terms of the permit except through the general provisions of this chapter governing nonconforming structures and uses.