General Laws of Massachusetts - Chapter 40B Regional Planning
- Massachusetts General Laws - Title of chapter - Chapter 40B, Section 1
This chapter shall be designated and may be known as “The regional planning law”.
- Massachusetts General Laws - Purpose of chapter - Chapter 40B, Section 2
The purpose of this chapter is to permit a city or town to plan jointly with cities or towns to promote with the greatest efficiency...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Regional or district groupings; consent to placement - Chapter 40B, Section 2A
No state agency shall place a city or town individually or severally, within a regional or district grouping without the consent of the governing body...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Planning districts; establishment; new members; jurisdiction area; rights and liabilities - Chapter 40B, Section 3
Any group of cities, towns, or cities and towns may, by vote of their respective city councils or town meetings, vote to become members of...
- Massachusetts General Laws - District planning commissions; membership; employees; meetings - Chapter 40B, Section 4
In each planning district so established there shall be a district planning commission consisting of one member of the planning board of each city and...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Executive committees; establishment; membership; powers and duties; reports - Chapter 40B, Section 4A
Upon a two-thirds vote of all of the members of the district planning commission there may be established an executive committee, elected annually from the...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Seals authorized - Chapter 40B, Section 4B
Each planning district may have a seal consisting of a circular die bearing the words, “Commonwealth of Massachusetts, __________ Regional Planning District, (insert year)”, which...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Federal military installations within districts; commanding officer as ex officio member of commission - Chapter 40B, Section 4C
Whenever there is located, wholly or partially, within a planning district established hereunder, a federal military installation having a resident population of at least five...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Powers and duties; reports - Chapter 40B, Section 5
A planning commission established hereunder shall make careful studies of the resources, problems, possibilities and needs of its district and, on the basis of such...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Agreement for water favorability studies - Chapter 40B, Section 5A
Such commission may enter into an agreement with the water resources commission for the purpose of conducting water favorability studies under the direction of the...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Economic development regional commissions; authorization to act - Chapter 40B, Section 5B
A district planning commission may, by an affirmative vote of two thirds of the representatives of the cities and towns comprising the district, agree to...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Cooperation of state agencies with planning commissions - Chapter 40B, Section 6
The several officers, boards, commissions, departments and divisions of the commonwealth and city and town officials may consult with any such district planning commission and...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Preparation of budget; apportionment of costs; disbursement of funds; receipt of gifts; contracts for planning studies and services - Chapter 40B, Section 7
Said commission shall, annually in the month of February, estimate the amount of money required to pay the costs and expenses of the district for...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Borrowing in anticipation of revenue from member municipalities - Chapter 40B, Section 8
The district may authorize debt by a majority vote of the commission in anticipation of revenue to an amount not in excess of that to...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Southeastern regional planning and economic development district; establishment - Chapter 40B, Section 9
The director of economic development may establish a regional planning and economic development district consisting of all the cities and towns in the Southeastern Massachusetts...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Membership; termination - Chapter 40B, Section 10
Upon the designation of the regional planning and economic development district by the director of economic development, all cities and towns within the boundaries of...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Dissolution of regional planning districts; transitional provisions; procedure - Chapter 40B, Section 11
If the district boundary of the regional planning and economic development district established in accordance with section nine includes a majority of cities and towns...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Commission; membership; appointment; term - Chapter 40B, Section 12
In the regional planning and economic development district established pursuant to section nine, there shall be a regional planning and economic development commission which shall...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Advisory committee; membership; appointment; term; removal; vacancies - Chapter 40B, Section 13
Twenty-one persons residing within the district shall be appointed to an advisory committee for the purpose of providing advice and guidance to said commission and...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Powers and duties - Chapter 40B, Section 14
The regional planning and economic development district established under the provisions of section nine shall have the following powers and duties: (a) to adopt a...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Executive officers; committees; meetings; rules and records; expenses - Chapter 40B, Section 15
The commission shall elect annually at its meeting held in the month of June by and from its members a chairman, a vice-chairman, a secretary...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Executive director; employees; tenure; compensation - Chapter 40B, Section 16
The commission shall employ, and may remove, an executive director, who shall be qualified by education, training and experience in economic development, regional and program...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Contracts; expenditures and obligations - Chapter 40B, Section 17
The commission is authorized to enter into contracts and agreements with any department, agency or subdivision of federal or state government and any individual, corporation,...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Estimate of costs; fiscal year; assessment; limitation; payment; reserve funds; audit - Chapter 40B, Section 18
The commission so established shall not later than fifty days from the issuance of a certificate of organization by the state secretary prepare an estimate...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Data exchange between agencies - Chapter 40B, Section 19
There shall be a mutual exchange between the commission and all agencies of the commonwealth and of each political subdivision thereof within the district, of...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Definitions - Chapter 40B, Section 20
The following words, wherever used in this section and in sections twenty-one to twenty-three, inclusive, shall, unless a different meaning clearly appears from the context,...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Low or moderate income housing; applications for approval of proposed construction; hearing; appeal - Chapter 40B, Section 21
Any public agency or limited dividend or nonprofit organization proposing to build low or moderate income housing may submit to the board of appeals, established...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Appeal to housing appeals committee; procedure; judicial review - Chapter 40B, Section 22
Whenever an application filed under the provisions of section twenty-one is denied, or is granted with such conditions and requirements as to make the building...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Hearing by housing appeals committee; issues; powers of disposition; orders; enforcement - Chapter 40B, Section 23
The hearing by the housing appeals committee in the department of housing and community development shall be limited to the issue of whether, in the...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Metropolitan area planning council; composition; appointments; vacancies - Chapter 40B, Section 24
There shall be a metropolitan area planning council, in this section and in sections twenty-five to twenty-nine, inclusive, called the council. Said council shall consist...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Council; officers; meetings; rules of procedure; report; treasurer’s bond; powers and duties - Chapter 40B, Section 25
The council shall elect annually by and from its members a president, vice-president, secretary and a treasurer, each of whom shall hold his office until...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Establishment; composition - Chapter 40B, Section 26
There is hereby established a metropolitan area planning district, in this section and sections twenty-seven to twenty-nine, inclusive, called the district, consisting of the following...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Mutual exchange of data, etc. between council and other governmental agencies - Chapter 40B, Section 27
There shall be a mutual exchange, between the council and all offices, boards, commissions, departments, divisions and agencies of the commonwealth, and all offices, boards,...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Executive committee of council; composition; powers and duties; executive director; staff; technical advisory committees - Chapter 40B, Section 28
There shall be an executive committee which shall be composed of a chairman, who shall be the president of the council, a vice-chairman, who shall...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Inter-agency agreements; expenditures; assessments; gifts, grants, etc.; fund - Chapter 40B, Section 29
The council is authorized to enter into contracts and agreements with any department, agency or subdivision of the federal or state government and any individual,...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Technical assistance center; permitting model; evaluations and reporting; regional planning districts to assist municipalities - Chapter 40B, Section 30
(a) There shall be within each regional planning district created under this chapter or by special act, a technical assistance center for the delivery of...
Last modified: September 11, 2015