Petitioner enraged over ZBA handling of agenda
Published in the August 15, 2018 edition
By JILLIAN STRING
LYNNFIELD — Petitioners to the Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) stormed out of the August 7 meeting after expressing their disgust for how the meeting had been conducted.
The three-and-a-half hour meeting, held at the Al Merritt Center at MarketStreet, was scheduled to hear six cases listed on the agenda.
Representatives of Case 18-12 concerning 74 Crescent Avenue and Case 18-18 concerning the Bali Hai property at 160 Moulton Drive, respectively, requested continuances to the September 11 meeting, leaving four cases to be heard.
The Boston Clear Water Company property at 165 Lowell Street monopolized the evening. This case, which had been carried over from the July 10 meeting, is set to spill over into the September 11 meeting as well.
ZBA Chairman Brian Shaffer requested that petitioners for the remaining three cases sign continuance forms for the September 11 meeting.
“We do need to continue 18-15, 18-16, and 18-19 because those were on for this evening,” Shaffer said. “I want to request that the petitioners submit an extension to next month.”
The board was up against the clock because meetings at the Merritt Center are not allowed to go beyond 11 p.m.
The three cases on the agenda that were not heard at the meeting were special permit applications. Two of the three cases also included variance requests.
Case 18-15 was filed by the Lynnfield Center Water District to extend a nonconforming structure and this hearing had been continued from July 10.
The applicant for Case 18-16 at 46 Crescent Ave. is seeking a variance as well as a special permit to allow the razing and removal of the existing dwelling and the construction of a new dwelling of which portions will lie within the Wetlands Buffer Zone District. It was also continued from July 10.
The petitioners for Case 18-19 at 20 Stanley Road is seeking a variance from the dimensional and density regulations and a special permit to add a non-conforming front porch and non-conforming garage to the existing non-conforming dwelling on a non-conforming lot which is located within the Ground Water Protection District. It was the lone new case on the agenda.
One petitioner expressed displeasure that only one case was heard at the meeting, stating that petitioners paid for attorneys and engineers to attend the meeting for no reason.
The petitioner, who did not identify himself, said that the ZBA has control over the meeting and that in order for each case to be heard, a short amount of time should be given to present.
“This is a complex case, and we need to give them the time. I do apologize for that,” Shaffer stated, referring to Boston Clear Water.
“Apology not accepted. This is disgusting,” the petitioner replied.
Shaffer noted that the cases not heard at the August 7 meeting will be allowed to present first at the September 11 meeting.
