Plympton Zoning Board shifts certified-mail costs and duties to applicants

PLYMPTON -- September 17, 2025, Plympton's Zoning Board of Appeals voted unanimously Wednesday to require applicants to pick up, mail, and pay for certified-mail abutter notices under new procedural rules effective immediately. The board adopted the changes after a member described advancing nearly $400 out of pocket on postage for the two most recent cases, a special permit for Linda Harju's personal kennel and a variance for Michael O'Neill's garage, both of whose signed decisions the board also formally adopted at the September 17 meeting. Under the new rules, the building department will prepare the envelopes, then notify applicants to collect and post them at least 14 days before their hearing at the applicant's own expense, using certified mail with return receipt requested at roughly $10.48 per letter; failure to submit the green return-receipt cards to the board by the hearing date will result in denial of the application. Applicants will now submit two checks, $125 for the application fee and $50 for advertising, while the abutters-list fee paid to the assessor's office has separately been reduced from $35 to $25.