I spent almost three and a half hours of Nov. 17 listening to three members of the Planning Board being bullied by the chair of that board, and in the last half hour of the meeting, they made a snap decision that totally reversed their initial viewpoints.
If this is the way town government works, then we’re no better off than Democrats are with the president-elect. The body language of the board chair was intimidating: at one point she fixed a stare on a member at the opposite end of the table with a look as if to say, “don’t you dare cross me, buddy.” And instead of accepting that three out of the five voting members were opposed to OK’ing the special permit being proposed, she went on and on ad nauseam, until she basically tired those members out, and they switched their votes. It appeared that two of five members had already made up their minds, before all facts were assessed.
The director of Planning and Development was ominous when he spoke to board members about what a judge would ask if this case is appealed and brought to trial. Obviously not something these folks had thought about, if their expressions were any indication. After meeting twice to discuss an application that had been filed for an ADU on Greenfield property, and receiving more details and a specific location tonight, they suddenly decided they could relocate the house. This was not the application as originally submitted. Changing it, without allowing the abutters any chance for input, seems not only unfair and unconstitutional, but also discriminatory. The board had an opportunity to say “no,” go back to the drawing board with the ordinance, and move on from there.
Diana Roberts
Greenfield