s
Sec. 218-3.

Terms defined.

ARTICLE III
General Provisions
Sec. 218-4.

Basic requirements.
Sec. 218-4.1.
Minimum standards.
Sec. 218-4.2.
Compliance with Zoning Bylaws.
Sec. 218-5.

Administration.
Sec. 218-6.

Certification of plans.
Sec. 218-7.

Waiver of compliance.
Sec. 218-8.

Severability.
Sec. 218-8.1.
Notification of abutters and parties at interest of public hearings.

ARTICLE IV
Submission and Approval of Plans
Sec. 218-9.

Plan believed not to require approval.
Sec. 218-10.
Preliminary plan.
Sec. 218-11.
Definitive plan.



1 ARTICLE V
Design Standards
Sec. 218-12.
General guidelines.
Sec. 218-13.
Specific design requirements.

ARTICLE VI
Construction Standards for Required Improvements
Sec. 218-14.
General requirement.
Sec. 218-15.
Street grading.
Sec. 218-16.
Surfacing.
Sec. 218-17.
Utility installation, grading and surfacing.
Sec. 218-18.
Shoulders.
Sec. 218-19.
Sidewalks.
Sec. 218-20.
Planting strips.
Sec. 218-21.
Side slope.
Sec. 218-22.
Trees
Sec. 218-23.
Monuments and markers.
Sec. 218-24.
Cleaning up.
Sec. 218-25.
As-built plans.

ARTICLE VII
Fee Schedule
Sec. 218-26.
General provisions; fees enumerated.

ARTICLE VIII
Street Acceptance Procedures
Sec. 218-27.
General provisions.
Sec. 218-28.
General guidelines.
Sec. 218-29.
Procedure sequence.
Sec. 218-30.
Street acceptance documentation.

2 APPENDIX
[Added 10-25-04]



Fee Schedule
Special Permit and Site Plan Review

Application Administrative
Review

Form A:
ANR Plan Application

Form B:
Preliminary Plan Application

Form C:
Definitive Plan Application

Form D:
List of Abutters.

Form E:
Subdivision Covenant Bonding

Form F:
Subdivision Bank Passbook Bonding

Form G:
Street Improvement Guarantee Statement

Form L:
Conveyance of Easements and Utilities

Form M:
Bound Placement Certification

Application Special
Permit

Application
Site Plan Review


Checklist
Basic Permit Requirements

Manual
Guidelines for Preparation of a Transportation Impact Assessment
(Copies at Engineering Office)

Details
Standard Detail Sheets (Copies at Engineering Office)


[HISTORY: Adopted by the Planning Board of the Town of Westford 11-3-1981; amended
through 1986. Subsequent amendments noted where applicable.]
[GENERAL REFERENCES: See Ch. 173, Zoning.]






3 ARTICLE 1
Authority and Purpose
Sec. 218-1. Authority.
Pursuant to the authority granted by The General Laws of Massachusetts Chapter 41, Section 81-
Q, and for the purpose specified in Sec. 218-2, the Planning Board of the Town of Westford has
adopted the following rules and regulations governing the subdivision of land in the Town of
Westford.

Sec. 218-2. Purpose.
These subdivision regulations have been enacted for the purpose of protecting the safety,
convenience and welfare of the inhabitants of the Town by regulating the laying out and
construction of ways in subdivisions providing access to the several lots therein but which have
not become public ways, and ensuring sanitary conditions in subdivisions and, in proper cases,
parks and open areas. The powers of a planning board and of a board of appeal under the
Subdivision Control Law shall be exercised with due regard for the provision of

adequate access
to all of the lots in a subdivision by ways that will be safe and convenient for travel; for lessening
congestion in such ways and in the adjacent public ways; for reducing danger to life and limb in
the operation of motor vehicles; for securing safety in the case of fire, flood, panic and other
emergencies; for ensuring compliance with the applicable zoning bylaws;
1
for securing adequate
provision for water, sewerage, drainage, underground utility services, fire, police and other
similar municipal equipment, and

street lighting and other requirements where necessary in a
subdivision; and for coordinating the ways in a subdivision with each other and with the public
ways in the Town and

with the ways in neighboring subdivisions.



















1
Editors Note: See Ch. 173, Zoning.

4 ARTICLE II
Definitions
Sec. 218-3. Terms defined.
For the purpose of these rules and regulations, the following words and terms used herein are
hereby defined as follows:
ABUTTER An owner or owners of property which has one (1) or more boundaries or
parts thereof in common with the property being subdivided, or which has frontage in whole
or in part directly opposite any portion of the property being subdivided, or which is deemed
by the Planning Board to be affected by the proposed subdivision of land.
APPLICANT A person who applies for approval of a plan of a subdivision or who applies
for a determination that approval is not required. The applicant (or applicants) shall be
the owner (or owners) or the duly authorized agent or representative of the owner(s), or his or
their assigns, of all land included in the subject request for action before the Planning Board.
If a plan for a subdivision of land is to be submitted by one representing to be the agent or
assign of an owner, a notarized certificate shall be submitted, signed by the owner,
authorizing the person filing the plan to act as agent or assign.

BOARD The Planning Board of the Town of Westford.

DESIGNER A professional civil engineer, landscape architect, architect or land surveyor
registered to practice in Massachusetts. All public and private utility design and other
engineering practices as defined in G.L. Ch. 112, Sec. 81-D, shall be done by or under the
direct supervision of and shall be endorsed by a registered professional engineer. All layouts
of lands and subdivisions shall be done by or under the direct supervision of and shall be
endorsed by a registered land surveyor.
FRONTAGE An uninterrupted distance, secured through a fee-simple ownership of the
full property length adjacent to and along a single way, or along two (2) or more intersecting
ways, providing vehicular and pedestrian access to the principal use of a lot.
[Added 9-30-96]

STREET A public way or a way having, in the opinion of the Planning Board, sufficient
width, suitable grades and adequate construction to provide for the proposed use of the land
abutting thereon or served thereby (major, secondary and minor streets are defined in Article
V of these regulations).
SUBDIVISION The division of a tract of land into two (2) or more lots and as further
defined in G.L. Ch. 41, Sec. 81-L.
SUBDIVISION CONTROL LAW G.L. Ch. 41, Sec. 81-K to 81-GG, inclusive, and any
acts in amendment thereof.
VERNAL POOL A vernal pool as defined by the Massachusetts Natural Heritage and
Endangered Species Program.
[Added 11-3-95]

5 ARTICLE III
General Provisions
Sec. 218-4. Basic requirements.
A.
Only those plans which constitute subdivisions as that term is defined in the
Subdivision Control Law require approval of the Planning Board. However, all plans,
whether subdivisions within the meaning of the law or not, must have either approval as a
subdivision or endorsement that they do not require approval before they will be accepted
for recording at the Registry of Deeds or registration at the Land Court.
B.
No person shall make a subdivision within the meaning of the Subdivision Control Law
of any land within the Town, or proceed with the improvement or sale of lots in a
subdivision or the construction of ways or the installation of municipal services therein,
unless and until a definitive plan of such subdivision has been submitted to and approved
by the Board as hereinafter provided.
Sec. 218-4.1. Minimum Standards.
[Added 11-3-95]


The Planning Board standards for subdivisions are minimums. A developer should not consider
these minimums as a substitute for best engineering practices, and for giving full consideration to
the many aspects of a development. In all cases construction shall be in full conformity with
approved plans and specifications.
Sec. 218-4.2. Compliance with Zoning Bylaws.
[Added 11-3-95]

All plans submitted shall be designed so as to be in compliance with all Zoning Bylaws or have
all appropriate variances issued by the Board of Appeals in effect at the time of submission.
Sec. 218-5. Administration.
No plan shall be deemed to have been submitted to the Board until said plan, together with all
application forms, fees and other items as required and executed as specified herein, has been
delivered in person to the Board at a meeting thereof, the Planning Board delegates to the Town
Planner, the authority to determine whether applications are complete and, therefore, deemed
filed under these Rules and Regulations, or by registered or certified mail to the Board and by
giving of notice by mail to the Town Clerk by the applicant.
[Amended 2-16-99; 1-3-00]
Sec. 218-5.1 Administrative Review
All proposed amendments to an approved subdivision must be submitted to the Director of Land
Use Management who shall make a determination as to whether the revisions are minor or major.
If the amendments are determined to be minor, the Director shall submit such decision to the
Planning Board for approval by majority vote. Upon such approval, the public hearing
requirements shall be waived and the