The Marion Zoning Board of Appeals has closed the public hearing for Peter Douglas’ appeal pertaining to 324 Front Street, meaning it will not consider any further new information while it deliberates its decision next month. But it had plenty of new input to process during its last meeting on June 28 as to whether or not to uphold Building Commissioner Scott Shippey’s denial of Douglas’ request for zoning enforcement against Christian Loranger’s condominium development next to Douglas’ house.

Douglas submitted another 54-page packet, and his formal letter asking for the recusal of three ZBA members: Chairman Marc LeBlanc, and members Bob Alves and Michelle Smith, citing conflicts ranging from alleged prior Facebook posts about the project to some members’ positions as real estate agents Douglas says could profit from a sale of one of Loranger’s condos.

And as requested by the board, the one who performed the surveying for Loranger’s project, John Romanelli, came to explain his initial inconsistencies that are considered inaccurate compared to the latest ones.

Simply re-stated, “[This hearing] is about whether this building complies with the building permit and the three provisions of the bylaw as written,” said Douglas. Which are side setback, volume, and area. “Not about whether any of us like the bylaws or we like the building,” he claimed. For Douglas, it’s a “straight up and down case of application of bylaws.”

But it was hardly straight up and down last Thursday in the packed meeting room of attorneys, engineers, and abutters.

The conflict persists as to whether the basement Loranger had counted in the project’s overall volume and square-footage could even be considered a basement, as well as the impossible-to-improve existence of an alleged rear basement that Loranger also factored in as volume. Only affidavits and legal opinions exist to guide the board.

Douglas and his hired engineer Doug Schneider assert that a ceiling height of less than 7 feet-8 inches does not a true basement make, and maintain that the basement was less than the 50 percent above grade required to count it as area or square-footage as a footprint for the reconstruction.

Douglas’ attorney, Mark Bobrowski, in 2002 helped the Town of Marion write the very bylaw contested in this case, and now argues against how it was applied to the issuance of Loranger’s building permit.

Loranger’s attorney, Richard Burke, told the board that Douglas doesn’t even have a legal standing to bring the matter to the ZBA in the first place. “He has no legal aggrievement, no unique harm,” said Burke, and playing “zoning policeman” is not demonstrable damage.

Burke defended Romanalli’s surveying, pointing to the latest report, saying, “I think it’s fair to say that the calculations we submitted to you are more accurate than the earlier [calculations].”

He defended Loranger, saying his intent was to build a “by-right” structure, keeping within the bylaw’s requirement that the project not exceed the volume “or” area of the previous structure. “He certainly doesn’t want to be here,” said Burke. Loranger’s defense is that, with the use of the word “or”, only one had to be satisfied.

“Floor by floor … room by room … it is less square-footage [than the prior structure]; therefore, it does comply under the bylaw,” said Burke.

Romanelli defended his work and specified that he is overseen by a licensed land surveyor with whom he has worked for decades, Kurt Nunes. But he was never able to enter the supposed rear basement, leaving some ZBA members scratching their heads without any definitive proof, only an affidavit from Loranger stating he had been inside it.

Romanelli defended the discrepancies of his first calculations, saying two years ago he started his measurements from the corner board of the preexisting porch, not the 14-inch overhang as he should have.

“I was a little unclear as to what I’d actually done until I sat down and looked at the raw data,” said Romanelli. He said he also omitted other overhangs in the original.

When asked to explain why he wasn’t licensed, Romanelli said, “I do not have a four – year degree.” He took the SIT exam – the first step of two steps – and passed in 2002. But with a young family prior to that he never got the degree.

When Douglas’ hired engineer Doug Schneider took the podium, he was visibly perplexed. He listed the staircases, below-grade basement, prior porches, attic space, and other aspects of the original house that Romanelli should not have factored into square-footage. Schneider completely negated Romanelli’s report and spelled out his assertions on the scope of the project – if you exclude the front basement, Loranger’s project is still 74 percent greater in area that the original house, he claimed. Take out the attic, it’s another 29 percent bigger. But when you add in the front and rear supposed basement, its now 94 percent larger, Schneider asserted.

So, Schneider said, it is an increase in both volume and area, “And both would be subject to requirement for a special permit because it’s an increase in volume or area, depending on how you want to look at it.” Furthermore, the vertical expansion, he added, would need a variance from the ZBA.

Shippey stated that when he issued the building permit, he used the information that was submitted. “I went by the calculations of Mr. Romanelli. … At the time all the documentation seemed correct for a permit by right. Then I got conflicting documentation stating that, where this is a sensitive matter, I put it on your table,” he told the board.

“I think the appeal is my non-action to Mr. Douglas’ [request] for zoning enforcement.

I did not act on his first zoning enforcement because I believed, in my opinion … it was a permit by right. He appealed that,” said Shippey.

This is where it is going to get complex, Town Counsel Barbara Carboni explained. “My focus right now … is, the board collects all the facts it can, get the legal arguments of both sides … and we’ll have to do a little bit of figuring out later on how to make a decision.

“Keep an open mind,” Carboni told the board. “Take in all the facts.”

Bobrowski asserted that, should there have been a mistake on Shippey’s part, “Buildings come down because of that.” He said he wasn’t urging that to happen, and the Land Court has been more lenient in that regard more recently, but he cited anyway another case when after many years the judge finally ordered a building be torn down.

And as for Douglas’ legal standing, Bobrowski said, “He’s entitled to a presumption – he’s a party in interest.” Loss of privacy, diminution of property values, said Bobrowski – It’s not enough to say he doesn’t have an injury.

That was all a lot to take in, said the chairman, and despite the encroaching end to the 90-day action period, the board preferred to continue. Douglas was at first uninterested in another continuance, but he acquiesced in the end. But coming up with a date wasn’t easy since various parties were not available for the next two meetings in July.

The board had to settle on closing the public hearing to deliberate at its next meeting, but before doing so, Loranger’s wife, Aileen, came to Loranger’s defense.

“[He’s] an honest, Roman Catholic man – he’s as honest as they come,” she said. The prior house at 324 Front Street was old, decrepit, “It was not a pretty building.

“We love this town. We want to raise our family here. … We care about how it looks,” she continued. “It was built: it was based on a permit that was granted,” she said. “You need to support the man (Shippey) that you put in this position – It’s not good for a community –  it’s not.”

Also during the meeting, the board heard two other cases: Tim Harding for Evelyn Crocker, 47 Main Street, for a special permit for a one-story addition, to which ZBA member Betsy Dunn said she was an abutter and ‘recused’ herself but remained at the table and asked questions, and a special permit request for Kristina Tomlinson Revocable Trust, 12 South Street, with the request for the same exact permit to be reissued to the next owner of the property.

Both public hearings were closed but not deliberated by the board that night.

The next meeting of the Marion Zoning Board of Appeals is scheduled for July 12 at 7:30 pm at the Marion Town House.

Marion Zoning Board of Appeals

By Jean Perry

For about 30 minutes on June 8, the Town of Rochester’s regionalized 911 dispatch service experienced a communications failure. And although the police, fire, and EMT services in Rochester could still communicate with each other, the Regional Old Colony Communications Center, or ROCCC, (pronounced like ‘rock’) 911 dispatch was down.

Rochester Town Administrator Suzanne Szyndlar revealed the occurrence to the public and explained the situation to the Board of Selectmen on July 2 after she attended a meeting with the ROCCC and its client towns on June 19 to hear more about what happened.

Industrial Communications, the company that manages the microwave and fiber networks, Szyndlar said, took full responsibility for the communications failure.

“This system-wide failure impacted many of their customers, not just the ROCCC,” said Szyndlar.

To clarify, Szyndlar explained, Rochester’s local equipment did not go down. Emergency response departments could still communicate by switching to the radio frequency backup.

“So, basically, what happened was that Industrial’s microwave network went into failure, and the redundant backup system also failed, causing loss of connectivity of around 30 minutes with the ROCCC,” said Szyndlar.

She said Industrial Communications has since implemented another added layer of redundancy and has completed a radio tower expansion.

“They are also in the process of replacing microwave and fiber systems with updated systems,” said Szyndlar. “As we all know, equipment can fail at any point in time, but the goal is to come out of this stronger and better prepared.”

The ROCCC is based in Duxbury and provides 911 dispatch service for the Towns of Rochester, Duxbury, Plympton, and Halifax. Rochester just switched over to the regionalized 911 service on May 22 of this year.

Also during the meeting, he’s the acting chief for just a few more months, but Rochester Police Sargent Robert Small introduced three police appointees to the Board of Selectmen, including one promotion to permanent sergeant.

Shawn Peterson has been acting as sergeant for two years, Small said, and now, as the September 16 retirement date for current Police Chief Paul Magee approaches, it’s time to make that sergeant position permanent.

Peterson has been on the force since 2010, Small said, adding, “He’s a very motivated police officer.” Especially now, Small emphasized, during these past few months as Small eases into his position as chief and Peterson has assisted in Small’s sergeant duties.

“It’s been a lot of extra work,” said Small. “[Officer Peterson] stepped up … taking on a lot of my responsibilities as I try to take on a lot of the chief’s.”

The switchover is still a few months away, Chairman Greenwood Hartley pointed out, adding, “The Police Department has been outstanding in the way they’ve helped us do this. … They really work together.”

The board appointed Ben Coucci as a reserve officer to assist during storms and take on police details. Coucci is an Old Rochester Regional graduate and has a BA in criminal justice.

Casey Levecque was appointed as a part-time officer and has an Associate’s degree in criminal justice and is working towards his Bachelor’s at UMASS Dartmouth.

In other business, the board appointed two members to the Capital Planning Committee – Steve Penna and Chris Parks.

The committee was formed years ago by a Town Meeting vote, “And this is the first time it’s been instituted,” said Hartley. The selectmen will appoint two members, the Finance Committee will appoint two more, and the Planning Board, one. The committee will meet to make recommendations on planned capital improvements and present it annually at Town Meeting.

“Our capital plan is finally starting to take shape,” said Hartley.

Also during the meeting, the board approved a 10-year bond for the estimated $498,000 tanker pumper approved by Town Meeting.

Szyndlar recommended the 10-year bond over the 15-year bond, saving the Town an additional $60,000 in interest. An interest rate has not yet been set, and Szyndlar said she would not be able to lock in a fixed rate for this loan, as rates are about to go up.

The rates presented to the board that night were only estimates – starting at 2.25% in 2019 and inching up to 5% in 2029 in increments of about .20-.25% each year.

And in other matters, as the Town sets its sights on a Green Community designation, the board, in speaking with Planning Board Chairman Arnie Johnson, determined one thing is certain: “People want to learn more,” as Hartley put it.

The selectmen and the Planning Board are going to hold a joint meeting and invite Seth Pickering, Green Communities regional coordinator, to a public meeting to give further information and offer answers to any questions the public may have. The selectmen will announce that date once it is scheduled.

The next meeting of the Rochester Board of Selectmen is scheduled for July 16 at 6:00 pm at the Rochester Town Hall.

Rochester Board of Selectmen

By Jean Perry