The following letter was recently sent to the Board of Selectmen:
On behalf of the Harvard land-use boards, we are writing to inquire about the process used by the Board of Selectmen to reach a decision in support of a Chapter 40B development as a Local Initiative Project (LIP), as well as to establish a more clearly defined process for future reviews of such projects, including the elements expressed in this letter.
During a recent discussion with representatives from each of the land-use boards, we became aware that input had, in fact, not been requested from any of these boards regarding either of the most recent decisions to support the LIPs requested by the Massachusetts Housing Opportunities Corporation (MHOC).
We agreed that it only made common sense to have the input of the land-use boards, as well as the general public, during your review of a request to support a Chapter 40B project, especially in order to identify and understand any significant concerns that these boards may have. When this input is missing, it puts all of the land-use boards in the extremely awkward position of raising their concerns when a project has already been designated as a LIP, implying that it is a project fully supported by the town, when, in fact, it may not be, if the Board of Selectmen do not include the land-use boards as part of this town definition.
Local Initiative Project review by the selectmen should ideally be prior to, and distinctly separate from, the public meetings conducted by the Zoning Board of Appeals. We believe this should be an equal, and perhaps even significant, part of the process.
The land-use boards are formally requesting that the Board of Selectmen clearly define the process for reviewing a LIP application and that you include each of the land-use boards in future public discussions pertaining to LIPs by requesting comments from these boards with enough advance notice to allow the boards to meet and discuss the projects at their regularly scheduled meetings. We also request that the selectmen invite a member from each land-use board to attend the Board of Selectmen’s public meetings at which these matters are scheduled to be reviewed. We believe it would also be advisable that the general public be appropriately notified of such meetings as well.
We trust that you will agree with this suggestion for a more clearly defined process that includes input from other town boards, which look forward to assisting the Board of Selectmen with any future comprehensive permit projects in which the developer is looking for local support as a LIP.
Christopher Tracey, chairman, Zoning Board of Appeals
Mary Essary, co-chair, Planning Board
Joseph Sudol, co-chair, Planning Board
Paul Willard, chair, Conservation Commission
Thomas Phillippou, chair, Board of Health
