Plymouth County Superior Court has denied Michael D. King’s request for immediate court intervention in a dispute with Mattapoisett over his use of a privately owned vacant lot at 0 Cove Street on Angelica Point.
King, the town’s Conservation Commission chair, filed suit October 15 seeking $1 million in damages and alleging disability discrimination, selective enforcement, and interference with agricultural activities.
“Although my Motion for a Temporary Injunction or restraining order may have been denied, I have every confidence that the appropriate legal process will play out over the long term,” King said in emailed comments to The Wanderer.
In his recent complaint, King challenged the Board of Health (BOH) enforcement involving a seasonal tent and sought court orders requiring approval of a 14-day camper permit and participation in a composting-toilet pilot program.
“105 CMR 410 State sanitary code applies to dwellings; it does not apply to temporary structures,” King stated. “Mattapoisett does not have a tent camping bylaw for pitching a tent on private property. [Absence] of [a local] bylaw normally defaults to state law.”
King argued that under the state building code, his 120-square-foot tent qualifies as a temporary structure. He said the tent also has a valid conservation permit for beach camping and therefore should not be considered a dwelling subject to state sanitary code regulations. He further disputed the board’s position on the composting toilet, saying the state’s definition of a privy requires an underground excavation, such as a hole in the ground, which he said was not present.
He also rejected the suggestion that the Cove Street campsite was part of the Point Connett Association and subject to its bylaws. “It is not a part of Point Connett. The property owner is not a member of the association, nor am I a member of the association,” he said.
Following an October 20 hearing, Judge Sharon E. Donatelle denied without prejudice King’s request for a preliminary injunction in an order dated October 21, finding that he had not demonstrated a likelihood of success on his claims or irreparable harm without court intervention.
The judge credited town affidavits stating that the camper and composting-toilet requests had neither been approved nor denied. The order does not dismiss the lawsuit. In an amendment and supplement to his complaint dated October 26, King alleged that enforcement against his campsite was retaliation for his work investigating regulatory violations as a town official.
“I have made referrals to the AG’s Office of Public Integrity and the State Ethics Commission,” King stated.
By Jeanne Hopkins