Candidate’s Night

 

      I would like to begin by thanking the Brothers of the Brush for giving me this chance to explain why I would like to become a member of our Planning Board. 

The most important reason is that, like most of you, I really love this town.

 I love our woods and our fields and our hilltop vistas. And I love the Mill River that flows through our land, and the tranquil beauty of our lake. In a recent Heritage Landscape Report, these were described as “places of the heart,” places that all of our residents treasure during their daily lives.

     So what has that to do with the planning board? Well, if you love something, you want to protect it as much as possible. And the protection of what we love about our town, the protection of our environment, begins with the Planning Board.

It is the Planning Board that oversees how development occurs.

     One tool the Planning Board has to work with is called Site Plan Review. This is primarily for commercial development. At a recent Citizen Planner Training Collaborative at Holy Cross College, I learned that the importance of having a well drafted Site Plan Review Bylaw cannot be overstated. I will use my experience in writing bylaws to improve the present Site Plan Review by correcting certain omissions and including regulations for Low Impact Development. Low Impact Development, as the name implies, lessens human impact on the environment and helps replenish our groundwater.

     In addition, I would like to include regulations for a Visual Impact Report that evaluates the relationship of new commercial buildings to existing buildings and neighboring properties. These will help ensure that developers will know what is expected. They will also help ensure that the architectural style, the scale and proportion, of new buildings will blend in with the character of our community and that our future will honor our past. 

     As for residential development, should a developer come to the board with an Open Space Development that protects the town’s environment by requiring 60% of a parcel to remain as open space, my knowledge of that process could be especially helpful to the Planning Board.

Why? Because my committee and I wrote the bylaw.

     During this process, I also personally traveled to a number of towns, establishing relationships with Town Planners like Elaine Lazurus of Hopkinton, Karen Sherman of Holliston, Jen Hager of Sutton, and Karen Kelleher of Stow. I was amazed at how eager these wonderful people are to share their expertise.

     I also have attended many of the hearings for the troubled 40B project known as Cobbler’s Knoll. The remainder of this project is coming before the planning board as a conventional development so my familiarity with Cobbler’s Knoll could be a plus.

     Another area that could be an asset to the Planning Board is my extensive environmental background.  I have served for 6 years on the Blackstone River Watershed Board of Directors. I have received outstanding achievement awards from both the Blackstone and Charles River Watershed Associations. As water quality monitor for the last 5 years, I have worked to protect Mendon’s waterways.

     In no way do I mean to infringe on the jurisdiction of the Conservation Commission, but that extra bit of knowledge and that extra pair of eyes could prove to be useful.

     I also have quite a bit of knowledge about storm water regulation, especially the new state standards. In order to learn more, I have signed up for the Stormwater Management Conference in Whitinsville on May 14^th.  In order to learn more about how the Planning Board actually works, I have attended every single meeting for almost three months.

           Many of you know me personally.  More of you know me through the letters I write to the Town Crier to increase awareness of town activities. But if you know me at all, you know that I am not one for idle talk and empty promises.

     Here are just two examples of how I have proven that I can get things done!

After a year of communication with state agencies and a renowned Eastern Brook Trout expert, I was instrumental in saving one of our coldwater fisheries, Spring Brook, from a 20 unit 40B development.

     When there was concern about our most precious scenic asset, Lake Nipmuc, I began a movement that resulted in the formation of the Lake Nipmuc Association. This organization now has 50 members involved in protecting and preserving our lake.

     So there you have it. These are the reasons why I would not only like to be a member of the planning board, but the concrete and specific ways in which I can be an effective member of that board. These are the reasons why I believe I have earned your vote.