East Longmeadow Zoning By-Laws, Site Plan Review Criteria
Topics: Traffic/Sprawl | Zoning Regulations
The town of East Longmeadow, Massachusetts has a series of 10 criteria that they use to judge a site plan, including protection of abutting property values, vehicle and pedestrian safety, protecting wetlands, watersheds and acquifers, providing for open space, integrating uses into the existing landscape, and consistency with the town’s Master Plan for land use. Equally important, the town’s zoning by law says the Planning Board can approve a project as a suitable development, approve it subject to conditions, or deny it. This is critical, because Wal-Mart’s lawyers will argue that a site plan review is an “as of right” matter if the land is commercially zoned. In this by law, site plan review is not automatic, and can lead to a denial if the project does not satisfy the 10 criteria. Local zoning codes should take criteria like these, and make them even stronger.
