GREENFIELD — Al Norman, the sprawlbuster, has filed a lawsuit against the city concerning language in its charter about citizen petitions.
The civil complaint requests the court to do two things — correct an error in the city charter or for the town to hold public hearings to pass a new measure that clarifies the citizen initiative and referendum process; and to allow the referendum petition he put forward challenging the March 20 city council zoning votes to proceed.
Norman filed the complaint May 30 in Franklin County Superior Court.
In the Tuesday Committee Chairs meeting, the group tasked Appointments and Ordinances with looking into the “problem sections,” according to Council President Karen “Rudy” Renaud.
Mayor William Martin is also seeking the opinion of the city attorney and for the council president to place a binding referendum question for the November election on zoning, according to an email.
Norman filed a citizen’s referendum petition after the March 20 council vote that removed zoning laws from a majority of the French King Highway corridor overlay district in exchange for a vote to approve the library project. His intention was to pause the zoning change and send it to the ballot box for a citywide vote this November.
Former city councilor, Steven Ronhave, filed a petition in protest of the City Council’s March vote to approve financing for a new public library. That petition, signed by 452 registered voters, was certified.
Voters will be going to the polls in November to vote on the $19.5 million library, plus for a new mayor and several city councilors.
However, the city ruled Norman’s petition was invalid and later noted the process had changed following a tweak to the charter in 2017. Norman protested, calling it a clerical error that led to a substantial change in the petition process.
Norman said he used the official number from the charter ordinance section 7-7(a) which he said has the minimum at 10 signatures.
“In both cases, the minimum to commence is 10 names – that’s how the ordinance reads. Then the lawyer looks at the wording and you proceed with the rest of the signatures,” Norman said. “The city lawyer blocked us, saying we didn’t submit enough signatures — we could have gotten more, but there’s no point in gathering signatures for a petition that wasn’t going to be commented on.”
Norman sent the council a letter May 5, requesting the council place two items on its May 15 agenda.
He said with the exception of two responses, he did not hear back from the council.
“I wanted to exhaust my remedies, I don’t like to involve the court until we’ve gone through all avenues,” Norman said. “I don’t like to do this… There’s a simple remedy here.”
He said he hopes the complaint will push the City Council to put its March 20 votes on zoning before all the voters on the November ballot.
“It will cost nothing to let the voters speak on what extent of zoning protections they want for our city,” Norman wrote in a statement. “The council can do this on its own motion under the provisions of section 7-10 of the City Charter.”
His second request is that the council form a committee “to amend the City Charter, in accordance with section 8-3 of the Charter, to redraft the citizen initiative and citizen referendum provisions in the Charter,” according to Norman’s statement.
He said the section’s language is “garbled,” which “results in confusion about what peoples’ rights are.”
Councilor Issac Mass said while he hasn’t seen the civil complaint, he said language around petitions in the charter could use clarification.
“Al has a history of encouraging frivolous lawsuits,” Mass said. “Al could have spoken with his councilor. I don’t know why he’s costing the taxpayers money.”
He went on to say “that section, 7-7, is confusing.” Mass hasn’t submitted a proposed charter revision because the process takes time and has to go through the Legislature, and it wouldn’t be done before November – when his term expires. Mass is not running for reelection.
Mass also said Norman’s referendum could be put on the November ballot if he gets the signatures necessary, which would be 319 signatures from registered voters who resided in Greenfield, which is the equivalent of 10 percent of the voters from the last biennial election in November 2017.
“Trying to raise the issue and solve it at the same time,” Norman said. “If (these problems) were resolved, I would have no strong desire to pursue the legal process.”
Reach Melina Bourdeau at mbourdeau@recorder.com or 413-772-0261 ext. 263.