Welcome to the City of
Leominster 43D Online Handbook
What is 43D?
CHAPTER 43 PRIORITY DEVELOPMENT SITES (PDS)
The Chapter 43D program establishes an inventory
of Priority Development Sites (PDS) located
throughout the state on which the municipality
offers a maximum of 180-day local permitting. The
program provides cities and towns with planning
grants to assist with implementation and site
readiness.
SITE ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA
The minimum site requirements for participation in
the Chapter 43D Program are:
Must be zoned for commercial, industrial or
mixed-use development
Must be eligible for the development or
redevelopment of a building of at least 50,000
square
feet of gross
floor area (may include existing structures and
contiguous buildings)
Sites must be approved by the local governing
authority
Must be approved by the state Interagency Permitting
Board
In order to maintain the integrity of the “Priority
Development Site” designation, the Interagency
Permitting Board requires that these sites are able
to be permitted by local, state and federal agencies
under current law and regulation, and that they are
suitable for new development. The following are
Interagency Permitting Board requirements for any
PDS:
Site must avoid environmentally sensitive areas,
including wetlands, permanently protected
open space
and endangered species currently regulated by the
Executive Office of Energy and
Environmental
Affairs and its subordinate agencies.
Site must have access to appropriate infrastructure
such as water, sewer and utilities;
Site must be accessible by way of an existing
roadway system.
The Interagency Permitting Board reserves the right
to decline any PDS application based on the criteria
set forth above or other local, state or federal
permitting challenges that may preclude the
municipality from honoring the expedited permitting
pledge in that location.
Before submitting an application, municipalities are
strongly encouraged to contact Kurt Gaertner of the
Executive Office of Energy and Environmental
Affairs, at
Kurt.Gaertner@state.ma.us or 617-626-1154,
to review any environmental issues. It is also
suggested that municipalities take advantage of the
information and resources available from the
Massachusetts Geographic Information System Office
at
http://www.mass.gov/mgis. |
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