For a very simple reason, the Rochester Planning Board has reversed course on its recent attempt to charge regulatory violations against the Buzzards Bay Coalition for cutting trees on Marion Road.
Town Counsel Blair Bailey told the board during its Tuesday night public meeting that according to the coalition’s legal counsel, the Marion Road parcel is state property, not town property. So Rochester’s bylaw that prohibits tree cutting without a permit on a local scenic highway does not apply in this case.
As a result of this new information, the board approved sending a follow-up letter to the Buzzards Bay Coalition withdrawing the violation recently issued by the panel.
Board members complained at their last meeting that approximately two years ago, the coalition had cut trees on 55 acres that it owned on Marion Road without allowing the Planning Board to review
What has been done since on the property, which is now owned by a farmer, is an improvement, board member Michael Murphy admitted at the time. “But documentation to us is still needed,” he said.
Board members said it would set a bad precedent to let the current landowner off the hook, and they decided to send a certified letter to the new landowners explaining that if they refuse to respond to requests for a meeting or a plan, the town will start fining them.
Attorney Bailey noted on Tuesday that this lack of any word from the Buzzards Bay Coalition has a simple explanation. Coalition authorities did not get the board’s emails because the town had an incorrect address for reaching them. He said, nonetheless, the coalition expressed willingness to meet with the board to discuss any such issue.
Acting Chair Ben Bailey said this jurisdictional confusion means the town’s Scenic Highway bylaw needs to be revised to clear up “what and what is not covered under this bylaw.”
Town Planner Nancy Durfee said she will immediately consult with Highway Surveyor Jeff Eldridge to make those revisions. She said the new language would probably be ready for consideration at the Fall Town Meeting.
Tuesday night’s Planning Board meeting was brief, and other agenda items were tabled due to a lack of a quorum and the fact Chairman Arnie Johnson could not attend.
The Planning Board’s next meeting will be held on Tuesday, July 26, at 7:00 pm.
Rochester Planning Board
By Michael J. DeCicco