Planning Board

  1. Mon Jan. 24

    Planning Board Meeting

  2. Mon Feb. 7

    Planning Board Meeting
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  1. What is my zoning district?
  2. How do I know what laws apply to my project?
  3. What if I want to construct a new home, addition, or new business?
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2020_06_01_PlanningBoardMtg
Planning Board 07-16-18

Members 

The Planning Board is comprised of five voting members who are elected for a five year term:

  • Chair – Seth Meehan (exp. 2023) 
  • Vice Chair – Paul McKechnie (exp. 2024) 
  • Clerk – James Brand (exp. 2025) 
  • Member – Sarah Lemke (exp. 2026) 
  • Member – Teresa James (exp. 2022)
  • Blake McDermott, Associate (annual appt exp. 2022)
  • Jamie Sullivan, Associate (annual appt exp. 2022) 

Regular Meetings

  • 7:30 p.m.
  • First and third Monday of the month
  • Chenery Room (second floor meeting room)
    Medfield Town House
    459 Main Street
    Medfield, MA 02052

Correspondence for Board members may be submitted to: sraposa@medfield.net or Planning Board, 459 Main Street, Medfield, MA 02052

Planning Board Members May 1, 2017

This is an image of the Planning Board sitting at a table taken on May 1, 2017. Members shown are: L

Planning Board Documents

  1. Downtown Sidewalk Design Guidelines Endorsed by PB 10-20-14 (PDF)
  2. PB Surety Release Request - Road Construction Complete - 2015 (PDF)
  3. Planning Board Rules, Regulations, Policies, and Procedures - January 2018 (PDF)
  4. Change of Use Determination - PB Review (PDF)
  5. PB Application Updated Summer 2020 (PDF)

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Project Applications Submitted to the Planning Board

1/10/22 - Proposed Zoning Bylaw Amendments Public Hearing #1

12/06/21 - Master Plan Summit

11/10/21 - Matt Smith, Dover Farm LLC, 49 Elm Street,  App and Plan

11/1/21 ANR - Matt Smith, Dover Farm LLC, 49 Elm Street,  App and Plan

11/1/21 - 2022 ATM Prep: Folder Link

10/18/21, 9/13/21, 8/16/21 - 8/2/21 - 7/19/21 - 6/21/21 - Site Plan Approval - Solar Parking Canopies at the Kingsbury Club Parking Lot, 2 Ice House Road APPLICATION LINK  APPLICATION WITHDRAWN

8/2/21 - ANR - Bryan and Jacquelyn Cotter, 6 Spruce Way, Parcel ID 66-044, for the purpose of creating two additional lots with frontage on Shining Valley Circle App and Plan with supporting info

6/21/21 - ANR - Town of Medfield, Hinkley South Extra Parcels (off Ice House Road)  App and Plan 

6/21/21 - Change of Use Determination - Kindred Arts Gallery, 38 Park Street - Porchfest Grand Opening with Live Music Application

6/21/21 - Change of Use Determination - Clodhopper Farm Vegetable Stand at Lovells parking area, 154 Main Street   Application


Overview

The Medfield Planning Board came into existence in 1924 and was established under Chapter 41 of the Massachusetts General Laws in 1951.

The Planning Board is an elected town board of five members, each with a five year term. The purpose of the Planning Board is to guide the development of the Town in the best interests of all its residents. The Board has very specific responsibilities and authorities as granted by Massachusetts General Laws and the Medfield Zoning By-Laws.

The Planning Board is responsible for the review and approval of all subdivisions (the division of a tract of land into two or more lots) through a comprehensive process involving review by relevant regulatory agencies, public hearings, covenants with developers, performance bonding, and ongoing compliance monitoring.

Under “Site Plan Approval”, in the Zoning By-Laws, the Board also has the responsibility to assure that prior to any new construction or significant changes to an existing structure, other than single family dwellings, such factors as community needs, abutters’ concerns, visual amenities, safety issues, and environmental and historic features on the site and in adjacent areas are considered.

Any requests for Zoning By-Law changes or amendments are also reviewed by the Board. Public hearings are held to allow input from any abutters or other interested citizens. The Board is required to provide a recommendation on any Zoning By-Law amendment at Town Meeting, where a two-thirds vote is required to approve the change.

The Planning Board serves as a resource to assist interested individuals with the process of proposing plans or projects under the Zoning By-Laws. Communications are maintained on an ongoing basis with related Town agencies including the Zoning Board of Appeals and other planning groups within the Town such as the Medfield State Hospital Master Planning Committee.

The Medfield Master Plan was adopted by the Planning Board on October 4, 2021

In June 2018, TRIC and SWAP met jointly in Medfield for conversation and a presentation by Francis Goyes, MAPC's Regional Housing and Land Use Planner, as part of the "Living Little" project, which investigates small housing typologies in the SWAP and TRIC subregions of the MAPC.

The “Living Little” report was finalized on June 1, 2018, following working meetings with the town planners of Foxborough, Medfield, Medway, Sherborn, and Stoughton. The final report includes analysis and accompanying case studies of smaller housing alternatives, such as detached accessible dwelling units, cottage developments, “tiny houses,” and “tiny home” clusters, as well as assessment of barriers to this kind of development, such as infrastructure, regulation, and health codes.

Click here for the Report and here for the Presentation. 

Living Little Phase II: 

1. Why Living Little? https://youtu.be/Zf6dtAg9pfs

There’s more to Greater Boston’s housing crisis than simply a lack of affordable housing. In the region’s suburbs, where most housing is single-family detached houses, there is also a lack of different types of housing, which leads to a mismatch between available housing options and the needs of the people who live here.

 

2. Barriers to Living Little https://youtu.be/X1qwyLmjA9s

If so many people want smaller housing options, why does it seems like huge, expensive houses the only things being built in many suburban towns? This video explains breaks down housing costs and the ways that local policy can encourage certain types of housing.

 

3. Living Little in our Communities https://youtu.be/XZ5rZV8aX2Q

In most suburban neighborhoods, it’s no longer legal to build modest homes like duplexes or backyard cottages. But these rules can be changed!