Planning Board Resources

State Laws

- Open Meeting Law (Several documents distributed by the Town Clerk on OML/FAQs)

- Roberts Rules of Order

- Subdivision Control Act

- ANR Handbook from Mass Department of Housing and Community Development, Rev. Sept 2010

- Procedural Requirements for the Subdivision Control Law – Mass Department of Housing and Community Development

Permitting Process

- Best Practices Model for Streamlined Permitting - Massachusetts Association of Regional Planning Agencies, November 30, 2007

Planning Document/Plans

- Town of Boxborough Open Space and Recreation Plan, July 2015

- Town of Boxborough Master Plan 2030

- Town of Boxborough Zoning Bylaw Diagnostic 2020

Mixed Use Zoning

- Citizens’ Guide and Citizens Guide Supplement Things to Consider in Reviewing Mixed Use Proposals (Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC) with support from the Minuteman Advisory Group on Interlocal Coordination (MAGIC) and the Commonwealth’s Priority Development Fund (PDF)

- Planner’s Toolkit (same sources as above)

-Metropolitan Area Planning Council's Climate Resilient Land Use Strategies webpage 

- Town of Bolton Mixed Use Development District 2014 (Funded by MAPC DLTA Grant)

- Common Sounds – Noise Decibel Level chart

Roles & Responsibilities of Planning & Zoning Boards Part I, Citizens Planner Training Collaborative

- Municipal Net-Zero Playbook (Metropolitan Area Planning Council or MAPC; 2021)

- Green Zoning: Using Local Zoning to Achieve Community Energy Efficiency and Resiliency (Northeast Energy Efficiency Partnerships, Inc. or NEEP; 2019)

Planning Board Rules and Regulations from other Towns:

- Town of Harvard Planning Board Rules and Regulations, Rev. March 2017

- Planning Board Resource Book, 2015 – Berkshire Regional Planning Commission

- Town of Stow Planning Board Rules and Regulations for Special Permits, 1990, Rev 2017

- Town of Stow Planning Board Handbook, Rev 2013

Making /Writing Decisions

- Decision Making Requirements of the Zoning Act – Department of Housing and Community Development, November 30, 2009 (This outline gives limited information relative to certain procedural requirements of the Zoning Act.)

- Writing Reasonable and Defensible Decisions – Citizens Planner Training Collaborative