Public hearing Jan. 18 for lake rule

SALISBURY — The efforts of the Lake Wonoscopomuc Association to get a change in the town’s zoning regulations got new life Tuesday night, Dec. 7, as the Planning and Zoning Commission voted to set a public hearing in January to revisit the matter.

The association, which gathered more than 300 signatures on a petition, had submitted language that would prohibit adding second stories to non-conforming homes in the Lake Protection Overlay Zone.

In two public hearings, support for the zoning text amendment was overwhelming, with only a couple of individuals objecting.

The commission was to have voted at their regular Nov. 16 meeting. However, the item was not on the agenda that night.

Commissioner Jon Higgins, noting that at the previous meeting the commission had agreed to hold a vote, asked that it be included on the Nov. 16 agenda. Alternate member Alan Cockerline, voting in the absence of then-Vice Chairman Michael Klemens, raised a question about the wording of the amendment, which he found unclear.

After some discussion, the commission voted to deny the amendment, 3-2.

Subsequent reaction from proponents was swift and furious.

Asked by The Lakeville Journal if the commission could rewrite the amendment and reintroduce it as their own zoning change, then-Chairman Cristin Rich replied in the affirmative.

And that’s what happened at the Dec. 7 meeting, right after the commission elected new officers, with Klemens as the new chairman and Rich as vice chairman.

Klemens reworded the lake association’s text amendment that evening, and after some discussion, the commission agreed to hold a public hearing Jan. 18.

By law the language of  the original petition could not be changed. With Tuesday’s action, “It’s no longer the lake group’s amendment, it’s ours,â€� Klemens said.

Dan Dwyer (who was reelected as commission secretary) said the matter had generated “unparalleled community interest� and urged the hearing date be set.

Klemens noted the strong support in favor of the amendment, and called it unusual. “I expected a group for and a group against� and wondered aloud if perhaps property owners against the change might come forward this time around.

Meanwhile, the lake association, which had prepared an appeal of the Nov. 16 decision and had to decide whether to file by Wednesday, Dec. 8, opted not to file, preferring to concentrate on getting the word out for the Jan. 18 hearing.

Higgins and Cockerline continued to express reservations about the amendment’s restrictions on the property rights of individuals.

Higgins also defended his actions at the Nov. 16 meeting, saying he brought the matter up because he believed there was an expectation of a vote. “I had no interest in trying to hasten the decision.�

Klemens backed Higgins’ statement, saying he had watched the video of the meeting. “That’s actually quite clear.�

Klemens also said there was confusion about how the regulations concerning the lake had evolved. “We did not in 2008 make things easier� (for vertical expansions, by adopting a special permit process). At previous hearings proponents of the text amendment had argued that the special permit process was inadequate, while Higgins and to some extent Klemens had disagreed.

Klemens also said as chairman he would require roll call votes and a note in the minutes of who is present and voting. He also said in future, “We’re not going to add significant items to the agenda� during the meeting, adding he was surprised that the item was added Nov. 16 without the lake association’s attorney present.

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