Kingston, Mass., Code of Bylaws ch 440 § 440-6

A. Individual adjustment of maximum rent. The Board shall consider an adjustment of rent for an individual manufactured housing community accommodation upon receipt of a petition for adjustment filed by the owner or tenant of such manufactured housing community accommodation or upon its own initiative. Such petition shall be made on a form approved by the Board. The Board shall notify the owner, if the petition was filed by the tenant, or the tenant, if the petition was filed by the owner, of the receipt of such petition and of the right of either party to request a hearing, in writing, within 21 calendar days of receipt of such notice or the Board may schedule a hearing on its own initiative. If a hearing is timely requested by either party of if the action is undertaken on the initiative of the Board, notice of the time and place of the hearing shall be furnished to the owner and tenant and the hearing shall be conducted before the Board. The Board may consolidate petitions and actions relating to manufactured housing community accommodations in the same manufactured housing community, and all such petitions and actions may be considered in a single hearing. B. General adjustment of maximum rent by regulation. Upon application or petition by an owner or tenant, the Board may make a general adjustment by percentage or otherwise of the rental levels for manufactured housing community accommodations subject to such conditions, if any, as the Board shall determine in accordance with the bylaw. Prior to making such adjustment, a public hearing shall be held before the Board. Notice of this time, place and purpose of such hearing shall be published at least once in a newspaper having a general circulation in the Town, and posted in the Town Hall, both not less than seven days prior to such hearings. C. Limitation of petition for individual adjustment. Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, the Board may, without holding a hearing, refuse to adjust the maximum rent for an individual manufactured housing community accommodation and may dismiss any petition for adjustment if a decision has been made with regard to the maximum rent for such manufactured housing community accommodation within 12 months or if the Board finds that the petition for adjustment is filed for purposes of harassment or for other purpose not intended herein. D. Adjustments at initial purchase as resident-owned community. A corporation or association that intends to purchase a manufactured housing community as a resident-owned community may file with the Board for a one-time prospective increase to the maximum rent in accordance with the provisions hereof, which would become effective only if the corporation or association acquires the manufactured home community as a resident-owned community. E. Hearings conducted pursuant to § 440-6 above shall be conducted as adjudicator hearings in accordance with the provision of MGL c. 30A, §§ 10 , 11 and 12 . Rules and procedures for the conduct of said hearings shall be those rules and regulations outlined in 801 CMR 1.00 et seq. for the conduct of adjudicatory hearings before state administrative agencies, which the Board hereby adopts and shall implement as its own rules and regulations for the conduct of adjudicatory proceedings. Within 21 calendar days of the filing of a petition, the Board shall meet and determine whether to proceed on such petition pursuant to the formal or informal rules as outlined in 801 CMR 1.00 et seq. or under other procedures and shall indicate its determination as to which rules and procedures shall be followed in its notice of agency action to affected parties, and in the public notice of said hearing. F. All decisions made by the Board under this section shall be rendered, in writing, within 60 calendar days from the date the Board closes the public hearing on the petition, provided that the Board has received adequate information and provided that the petitioner and the Board agree to the extensions of time, as may be appropriate. G. The Kingston Manufactured Housing Accommodations Rent Control Board shall levy a filing fee upon any and all parties that make application to request a rent adjustment for a manufactured home accommodation. The filing fee for any rent adjustment requested pursuant to § 440-6 of these rules and regulations shall be $50 per unit; provided, however, that the Board may waive a portion of the fee in the event that a petition is uncontested and/or the petition will not require substantial administrative expense. In addition, a check shall be issued to cover the costs of advertising for the then-current rate of advertising. The above filing fee shall be paid by check or money order made payable to the Town of Kingston and presented upon the filing of the petition to the Town Clerk.