It shall be the duty of the Building Commissioner to administer and enforce the provisions of this chapter.

The Zoning Board of Appeals is established by § A-203, Article II of the City of Melrose Administrative Code as authorized by M.G.L. Chapter 40A, § 12, as amended. The Zoning Board of Appeals' administrative duties are specified in Article I of Chapter 15 Boards, Commissions and Committees in the City of Melrose Ordinances.

Under this chapter the Zoning Board of Appeals shall have the following powers:

The Planning Board is established by § A-215, Article II of the City of Melrose Administrative Code as authorized by M.G.L. Chapter 41, § 81A-81J, as amended. The Planning Board's administrative duties are specified in Article II of Chapter 15 Boards, Commissions and Committees in the City of Melrose Ordinances.

Under this chapter the Planning Board shall have the following powers. Upon written application, the Planning Board may grant special permits as hereinafter prescribed.

Upon written application, the Planning Board conducts site plan review as hereinafter prescribed.

Adoption of rules. The Planning Board shall adopt rules for conducting its business and otherwise carrying out the purposes of this chapter. A copy of such rules shall be filed in the office of the City Clerk. Meetings of the Planning Board shall be held at the call of the Chair and also when called in such other manner as the Planning Board shall determine in its rules.

It shall be unlawful for any owner or person to erect, construct, reconstruct or alter a structure or change the use or lot coverage, increase the intensity of use or extend or displace the use of any building, other structure or lot without applying for and receiving from the Building Commissioner the required building permit therefor.

An application for any permit shall be accompanied by a plan, accurately drawn, showing the actual shape and dimensions of the lot to be built upon, the exact location and size of all buildings or structures already on the lot, the location of new buildings or structures to be constructed, together with the lines within which all buildings or structures are to be erected, the existing and intended use of each building or structure and such other information as may be necessary to provide for the execution and enforcement of this chapter. A record of all applications, plans and permits shall be kept on file by the Building Commissioner. The Building Commissioner shall take action on an application for a permit, either granting the permit or disapproving the application, within 14 days of receipt of the application.

A building permit application that is submitted after the Zoning Board of Appeals or Planning Board has granted a permit for a project is not exempt from any provision of this chapter not specifically ruled upon by the Zoning Board of Appeals or Planning Board or specifically set forth as excepted in this particular case from a provision of this chapter.

It shall be unlawful to use or occupy any structure or lot hereafter erected or altered unless the Building Commissioner has issued a certificate of occupancy and has specified thereon the use to which the structure or lot may be put. Applications for certificates of occupancy and compliance shall be filed coincident with the application for building permits and shall be issued or refused in writing for cause within five days after the Building Commissioner has been notified, in writing, that the erection or alteration of such buildings has been completed. A record of all certificates shall be kept on file in the office of the Building Commissioner. Buildings accessory to dwellings when completed at the same time shall not require a separate certificate of occupancy.

Pending the issuance of a regular certificate, a temporary certificate may be issued for a period not exceeding six months during the completion of alterations or during partial occupancy of a building, pending its completion. No temporary certificate shall be issued prior to its completion if the building fails to conform to the provisions of the building ordinances and state laws or of this chapter to such a degree as to render it unsafe for the occupancy proposed.

An appeal to the Zoning Board of Appeals may be taken by any person aggrieved by reason of his/her inability to obtain a permit from this chapter or by any person aggrieved by an order or decision of the Building Commissioner or other administrative official in violation of any provision of this chapter.

Any such appeal shall be taken within 30 days from the date of the order or decision which is being appealed by filing a notice of appeal, specifying the ground thereof, with the City Clerk who shall forthwith transmit copies thereof to such officer or board whose order or decision is being appealed and to the members of the Board. Such officer or board shall forthwith transmit to the Zoning Board of Appeals all documents and papers constituting the record of the case in which the appeal is taken.

The Zoning Board of Appeals may authorize a variance from the terms of this chapter, including allowed uses.

Before any variance is granted, the Zoning Board of Appeals must find all of the following conditions to be present:

If the rights authorized by a variance are not exercised within one year of the date of the Board's vote to grant such variance such rights shall lapse; provided, however, that the Zoning Board of Appeals 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 Zoning Board of Appeals prior to the expiration of the one-year period. If the Zoning Board of Appeals does not grant such extension within 30 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 chapter and MGL c. 40A, § 10.

The Zoning Board of Appeals and Planning Board, when assigned in the Ordinance to be the Special Permit Granting Authority, may grant special permits as hereinafter prescribed.

Before granting an application for a special permit the Special Permit Granting Authority, with due regard to the nature and condition of all adjacent structures and uses and the district within which the same is located, shall find all of the following general conditions to be fulfilled:

The Special Permit Granting Authority may also impose, in addition to any applicable conditions specified in this chapter, such additional conditions as it finds reasonably appropriate to safeguard the neighborhood or otherwise serve the purposes of this chapter, including but not limited to the following: front, side or rear yards greater than the minimum required by this chapter; screening buffers or planting strips, fences or walls as specified by the Special Permit Granting Authority; modification of the exterior appearance of the structures; limitation upon the size, number of occupants, method and time of operation, time duration of permit or extent of facilities; and regulation of number and location of driveways or other traffic features beyond the minimum required by this chapter. Such conditions shall be imposed in writing, and the applicant may be required to post bond or other security for compliance with said conditions in an amount satisfactory to the Special Permit Granting Authority.

In order that the Special Permit Granting Authority may determine that the above-mentioned restrictions are to be met, a site plan or revised site plan shall be submitted to the Special Permit Granting Authority by the applicant. Said site plan shall show, among other things, all existing and proposed buildings, structures, parking spaces, driveway openings, driveways, service areas and other open uses, all facilities for sewage, refuse and other waste disposal and for surface water drainage and all landscape features, such as fences, walls, planting areas and walks.

A special permit granted under this chapter shall lapse in three years from the date of the Board's vote to grant such special permit. The time shall not include such time required to pursue or await the determination of an appeal. If granted for a use, the rights granted under the special permit must have been substantially used except for good cause. If granted for construction, construction must commence except for good cause. Commencement shall have occurred when the project has submitted a substantive application for a building permit, if applicable, or made comparable steps towards completion.

Purpose and intent. Site plan review shall be conducted by the Planning Board. The purpose of this section is to ensure that the design and layout of commercial, industrial and multifamily development will not be detrimental to surrounding land uses. The intent of the site plan review process is to regulate, rather than prohibit, uses through reasonable conditions concerning such development, including location of buildings, signs, open space, landscaping, parking areas, access and egress, drainage, sewage, water supply, and public safety.

Applicability. A site plan review is required for the following circumstances:

Relationship to the building permit.

Applications shall include all documents and information required by the Rules and Regulations of the Planning Board.

When a proposal requires site plan review as well as a special permit and/or variance, the applicant may elect the order for pursuing the requirements. Where the Planning Board serves as the Special Permit Granting Authority for proposed work, it may consolidate its site plan review and special permit procedures.

Site plan review criteria. The Planning Board shall at a minimum review the application materials for the following and shall find that the following criteria are fulfilled:

Review schedule. The Planning Board shall open a public hearing on the application no later than 65 days after the application materials have been filed with the City Clerk. Notice of such public hearing shall be provided as required by MGL c. 40A, § 11. The decision of the Planning Board shall be made within 35 days of the close of the public hearing. The required time limits for a public hearing and decision may be extended by written agreement between the applicant and the Planning Board. For new renewable and alternative energy research and development establishments permitted in the industrial districts, the decision of the Planning Board shall be made within one year from the date of filing the site plan review application with the City Clerk. The decision of the Planning Board shall be upon a concurring vote of a majority of its members and shall be in writing. The Planning Board may approve the application as submitted or approve subject to modifications or conditions. Site plan approval may be denied only if the applicant fails to provide information sufficient for the Planning Board to adequately evaluate the proposal or if the proposal is so intrusive on the interests of the public that no reasonable conditions could be devised to satisfy the criteria set forth above. A written decision setting forth the record of the proceedings, the vote of each member and the reasons for the decision shall be filed in the office of the City Clerk within 14 days. In the event of a denial, the application and site plan may be resubmitted if the reasons for the denial are remedied, and such resubmittal shall not be barred as a repetitive petition under § 235-3.2.7. Failure by the Planning Board to take action within 35 days of the close of the public hearing or within the agreed upon extended time or within one year of filing a completed site plan review application in the case of a new renewable or alternative energy research and development establishment permitted in the industrial districts shall be deemed an approval of the site plan. The City Clerk shall issue a certificate stating the date of the public hearing and the fact that the Planning Board failed to take final action and the date of the approval resulting from such failure.

Expiration of site plan approval. Site plan approval shall lapse after three years from the grant thereof if a substantial use thereof has not sooner commenced. Such approval may, for good cause, be extended in writing by the Planning Board upon the written request of the applicant.

Appeals. The applicant or any aggrieved person may appeal any site plan review decision to the courts pursuant to the procedures set forth for an appeal of a decision of a special permit granting authority in MGL c. 40A, § 17.

No appeal, application or petition which has been unfavorably and finally acted upon by the Zoning Board of Appeal or the Planning Board shall be acted favorably upon within two years after the date of final unfavorable action unless the following actions occur: at least eight members of the Planning Board consent thereto 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; and unless the board that denied the request finds, by a concurring vote of at least four members of the Zoning Board of Appeals or six members of the Planning Board, that there are specific and material changes in the conditions upon which the previous unfavorable action was based in the record of its proceedings.

It shall be unlawful for any owner or person to reconstruct, convert or alter a structure or change the use, increase the intensity of use or extend or displace the use of any building, other structure or lot in any perceivable way or change any required limitations or conditions imposed by a special permit, site plan approval or variance without requesting and receiving approval of such change from the issuing board(s). Said board may consider a change to be minor and not require a new public hearing upon a determination that the change is insignificant and does not impact any important issues addressed during the public hearings. The Planning Director may approve de minimis changes if they determine that someone reasonably familiar with the plan would not notice the change.