Politics & Government

Was STM Warrant Article a Message to the ZBA?

Some voters believed so.

A citizen's petition to remove the Northborough Zoning Board of Appeals' use variance granting authority was "more about the lack of understanding than the process itself," Chairman Fran Bakstran told voters during Monday night's special town meeting.

The measure ultimately failed to get the two-thirds' majority required for approval, with 84 for and 151 against.

Proponent Lisa Maselli said state law prohibits use variances unless a community adds it to their bylaws.

A use variance "violates the intended allowable uses of land and activities within that district," Maselli said.

However, selectmen (4-0-1), the planning board (3-2) and the ZBA (unanimously) voted against recommending removing the use variance option.

Selectman Aaron Hutchins said he abstained from his board's vote because "I think that the unfortunate reality is that the zoning board of appeals, with all due respect, have brought this on themselves."

"I say that because over the last couple of years, there have been a number of projects that have been undertaken in town. There's certainly been a large outcry from certain citizens. Obviously, there's been some discontent," he said.

"And what I find unfortunate is I don't think the zoning board of appeals has during the process of these deliberations educated the public sufficiently. So by the time the decisions were rendered, people understood exactly why it was that they came to the decisions that they did. And therefore, created a lot of confusion, and ultimately led us to this night."

Bakstran replied that "I personally don't favor one way or another how you all decide tonight."

"As a member of the zoning board of appeals, I will work with the tools that I have in order to enforce the bylaws and the state statutes that I have the authority to do so. Whether you take this authority away from us or not doesn't change how I'm going to proceed as a volunteer on a board in my town," she said.

"It saddens me that there is such a lack of trust in what the presenter said as well as the response from the selectman behind me (Hutchins). Because we are all residents of the town of Northborough."

Bakstran said Northborough revised its table of uses in 2009, but "it's not perfect. It did not answer every question."

A use variance allows a property owner "to propose a use that we might not have thought of," she said.


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