Protecting a Community

It's saddening to watch communities that have failed miserably in conducting their due dilgence and jeopardize the future solvency of their communities.

One would hope the Plainville Planning Board acts to protect the Town's future!


Here's a copy of the letter (email) I just sent to the Planning Board about last night's meeting. Feel free to pass it along.

Best,
Mary-Ann

Dear Plainville Planning Board:

I spent some time this morning looking at the By-law you referenced last night (§ 500-41. Commercial Interchange District.), and I still have the same concerns I had at your meeting.

The By-law states, in part, that "The Planning Board will specify the depth and level of DIS analysis for each proposed development that is commensurate with the magnitude of the project . . . " [§ 500-41]

Last night, you specified that "the depth and level of DIS analysis" will include a "cost-revenue fiscal analysis" done by (contracted for) the Board of Selectmen in preparation for their negotiations with Plainridge toward a Host Community Agreement. This would include:

> [1] Conduct a cost-revenue fiscal analysis describing the cumulative impact the development shall have on Town financial resources.
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> [2] Cost factors include the following: project effect on police and fire protection, highways and public works' service, solid waste and sewerage disposal facilities, educational services, recreational facility impact and health services.
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> [3] Revenue factors, including the following: project effect on property taxes, water and sewer fees, vehicular taxes, licenses and fees, and miscellaneous business taxes.
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> [4] The fiscal impact studies required herein shall be prepared using a methodology approved by the Planning Board during the presubmission conference. All local factors shall be determined from past municipal budgets, tax assessors' information, and other verifiable public records.

I believe this means that the Board of Selectmen is conducting this part of the analysis on your behalf. However, Mr. Chairman, last night you said that the Planning Board "waived" the responsibility of overseeing or conducting the Fiscal Impact review. I don't believe you have the right to waive that responsibility. Rather, given the circumstances, you have specified that another board conduct and negotiate the review, which seems reasonable.

As I read the By-law, however, upon completion of the cost-revenue fiscal analysis by the Board of Selectmen, it must come back to the Planning Board as part and parcel of the materials that must then be included in the public hearing for Change of Use:

> G. Review procedures.
>
> (1) Public hearing. Within 65 days of the filing of a complete formal application for a special permit for a development in the CI District, the Planning Board shall hold a public hearing on the proposal. Notice of such public hearing shall be given in accordance with MGL c. 40A, § 11.
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> (2) Review criteria. In making a decision on an application for a special permit in the CI District, the Planning Board shall consider the following:
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> (a) The purpose of the Commercial Interchange District.
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> (b) Health, safety and general welfare of the public.
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> (c) Conservation and preservation of the natural environment.
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> (d) Impacts on abutting properties and neighborhoods.
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> (e) Proper drainage of the site.
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> (f) Safe access to and from the development.
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> (g) Capacity of the existing traffic network to accommodate projected increases.
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> (h) Adequacy of proposed water, sewer, fire protection and public safety provisions.
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> (i) Impacts on water resources, including wetlands, streams, water bodies, groundwater and floodplains.
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> (j) Visual and aesthetic quality.
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> (k) Impacts on municipal services and fiscal capacity. [Emphasis is mine.]
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> (3) Decision on the special permit. The decision of the Planning Board shall be made within 90 days of the date of the public hearing, unless the decision period is extended by written agreement between the applicant and the Planning Board.
>

I read nothing in the By-law that would allow the Planning Board to "waive" this aspect of the public hearing you are required to conduct. Therefore, I believe that your public hearing cannot be convened before a cost-revenue fiscal analysis has been completed by the Board of Selectmen, and that your public hearing must include "Impacts on municipal services and fiscal capacity."

Furthermore, because the process being used by the Board of Selectmen is opaque to the public, your public hearing about the Change of Use will be the only time that the public will be able to exercise its right — in a hearing governed by the Open Meeting Law — to respond to "Impacts on municipal services and fiscal capacity" as it relates to the Request for Change of Use.

I would like this letter to become a part of the record of last night's meeting. I would also like a response to my interpretation of the By-law and your responsibility in this matter.

Thank you.

Sincerely,
Mary-Ann Greanier