At least one of the three citizens’ petitions ruled “out of order” for Saturday’s Town Meeting is back on the agenda after its supporters agreed to drop a late change to their original petition.
Plymouth’s longtime Town Moderator Steve Triffletti had initially decided to bar all the citizens’ petitions on procedural grounds. On Wednesday, he said he has changed his mind on one and agreed to let it go forward.
The citizens’ petition brings to the floor Article 24, which calls for stiffening setback regulations for some commercial developers.
The three citizens’ petitions are included among 26 articles on the agenda, or “warrant.” Most articles are brought forth by the Select Board, but state law also allows citizens to place articles before Town Meeting through a petition signed by at least 10 registered voters.
The petition affecting commercial developers came with an amendment that Triffletti would not allow, arguing the late change exceeded the scope of the original article. The amendment specified the Planning Board, and not the Zoning Board of Appeals, will oversee special permits issued under the stiffer regulations.
The article now does not specify which board will enforce the regulations.
The new proposed regulations were sparked in part by a controversy at a development at 71 Hedges Pond Road in Cedarville. Developers there were allowed by the Zoning Board of Appeals to bypass the normal setback requirements from roads and adjacent neighborhoods.
Supporters of the measure say developers have used the claim that they are building a “unified complex” – a type of development where underground infrastructure and utilities are shared by several commercial buildings – to skirt town rules for minimum setbacks and natural buffers.
Richard Serkey, the leading advocate for the proposal, said the late amendment has been dropped so the article can advance, and supporters can come back to the spring Town Meeting to specify which agency has enforcement authority.
In an interview Wednesday, Triffletti said that was good enough for him.
“I received a new motion on behalf of the petitioners which is consistent with the language presented in the warrant and it does not include that additional Planning Board language, and therefore, I’ve approved it,” Triffletti said.
Triffletti still will not allow the two other citizens’ petitions, which call for increased transparency in the operations of Plymouth Municipal Airport and changes to neighborhood steering commissions.
Fred Thys can be reached at fred@plymouthindependent.org.