Ads for Town Of Clarksburg in Clarksburg, MA

Attorney General's Notice Pursuant to G.L. c. 40, 32 Town of Clarksburg -- Case No. 11099 Annual Town Meeting of May 31, 2023 Articles # 19, 20, 21, and 22 Attorney General's Limited Authority to Waive Procedural Defects in the Notice of the Planning Board Hearing Pursuant to the provisions of G.L. c. 40, 32, if the Attorney General finds there to be any defect in the procedure of adoption or amendment of any zoning by-law relating to the form or content of the notice of the Planning Board hearing prescribed by G.L. c. 40A, 5, or to the manner or dates on which said notice is mailed, posted or published as required by that section, then instead of disapproving the by-law or amendment by reason of any such defect, the Attorney General may elect to proceed under the defect waiver provisions of G.L. c. 40, 32. Under those provisions, the Attorney General is conditionally authorized to waive any such defect. Defect Determined in Notice of Planning Board Hearing The Attorney General has determined that the planning board hearing notice relating to the above Articles failed to comply with the notice requirements for such hearing established by G.L. c. 40A, 5. Section 5 providesinpart(with emphasisadded): No zoning by-law or amendment thereto shall be adopted until after the planning board in a town has held a public hearing thereon at which interested persons shall be given an opportunity to be heard . Noticeofthetimeandplaceofsuchhearing,ofthesubjectmatter, sufficientforidentification,andoftheplacewheretextsandmapsthereofmaybeinspected shall bepublishedinanewspaperof general circulationinthe townonceineachof two successiveweeks,thefirstpublicationtobenotlessthanfourteendays beforethe dayofsaid hearing, and by posting suchnotice in a conspicuous place in the townhall for a period ofnot less than fourteen days before the dayof said hearing. Notice of said hearing shall also be sent by mail, postage prepaid to the department of housing and community development, the regional planning agency, if any, and to the planning board of each abutting city and town In cases involving boundary, density or use changes within a district, notice shall be sent to any such nonresident property owner who has filed such a request with the city or town clerk and whose property lies in the district where the change is sought. Based on the materials submitted to this Office, we have identified the following defect: the Planning Board hearing notice was first published in the newspaper on April 11, 2023, for an April 19, 2023 hearing. This is only eight days before the hearing, not fourteen days as required by G.L. c. 40A, 5. For this reason, the 90-day period prescribed for the Attorney General's review of Articles 19, 20, 21, and 22 is suspended in accordance with G.L. c. 40, 32. Attorney General's Election to Proceed Under the Waiver Provisions of G.L. c. 40, 32 The Attorney General has elected to proceed under the limited defect waiver authority conferred by G.L. c. 40, 32. Suspension of Review of Zoning By-Law Amendments The 90-day period prescribed by law for the Attorney General's review of local by-laws is therefore suspended in accordance with the provisions of G.L. c. 40, 32. Ad# 79890 10/17/2023