Facing the futility of fighting with FEMA over inaccuracies in its new FEMA flood plain maps, the board will recommend the Town’s amended flood plain zoning by-law as a utilitarian move to prevent adverse impacts to the entire Town.

Leading the fight against the alleged erroneous flood maps, Planning Board member Bill Bailey, who claims his pond-side property is affected by the new maps, conceded that unless he coughs up the money to pay for an engineer to survey the wetlands, he will have to live with the new maps – for now.

Bailey said he and several other town employees attended a meeting with two representatives from FEMA, who admitted that the maps might have errors, but nothing could be done from their end.

According to Bailey, if the Town fails to adopt a flood plain by-law, FEMA would deny Rochester any disaster relief and restrict Rochester residents from the FEMA flood insurance program, thus forcing residents to turn to banks with rates many times higher than FEMA’s subsidized insurance rates.

Bailey said he recently received a letter from another resident affected by the alleged errors on the flood maps, and he stated, “Now I know it’s not just me.”

“We can’t get anything by pushing FEMA,” said Bailey. Even though he said FEMA is violating his rights, he will vote to recommend the article to Town Meeting on May 19 so that the whole Town will not be punished.

Residents with mortgages who find their properties within a new flood zone will now have to purchase flood insurance and may not be able to make any major additions or alterations to their homes. In addition, Bailey said it would be harder for these affected properties to sell in the future.

“As much as it galls me, I don’t really think it’s fair for [other people] to lose their flood insurance,” said Bailey. “It’s wrong.”

After the unanimous vote to recommend the by-law, Chairman Arnold Johnson said, “That one’s a bitter one. We usually don’t operate that way.”

Also during the meeting, engineers and representatives on behalf of Rochester Crossroad, LLC and Colbea Enterprises, LLC met with the board for informal discussions on plans for a commercial development on Cranberry Highway, with a gas station/convenience store sharing an access road in front of the main development.

Minutes before, the board approved an “Approval Not Required” application to carve out a 1.3 acre lot from the Route 58/Route 28 corner of the larger parcel for Colbea to develop for the gas station. The ensuing discussion focused on the relationship between the two sites, most notably the access roadway.

The discussions were lengthy, and the board had several recommendations for the planning phase, including a recommendation that the engineers visit the Cumberland Farms in Marion since some board members were skeptical that the site layout was large enough to accommodate easy ingress and egress to and from the business.

Engineer Erik Smith for Colbea said the layout was “generous” relative to any of the other 115 gas station sites.

After further discussion, Johnson stated that he thinks the site is substantially bigger than Cumberland Farms in Marion.

He later added that the board would not accept any plans until the projects receive approval for required waivers from the Zoning Board of Appeals.

The board suggested a site visit once the location of the proposed road is staked.

In other news, the board approved an Approval Not Required application for Bradford Morse to divide one lot at 209 Pierce Street into two lots.

By Jean Perry

There were no landslide wins for any of the Marion candidates, for the most part – with the exception of one of the School Committee candidates who took a strong lead, leaving just one single vote difference between the other two candidates.

The now former School Committee member Michelle Oullette will be filing for a recount on Monday, May 19, after losing to other incumbent Christine Winters by one single vote.

Winters received 480 votes, and Oullette received 479.

The big winner was newcomer Kate Ellen Houdelette, with 593 votes, a significant 113-point lead over the other contenders.

The moment after the numbers were called out, Oullette let out a celebratory scream for Houdelette, despite learning that she lost her seat.

“I’m excited for her. I think it’s great,” said Oullette. “I’m very excited she got in because she’s gonna do a great job.”

Houdelette rallied with her family members and hugged her young daughters, appearing surprised by the results.

“I have a vested interest in the school,” said Houdelette holding onto her school-aged daughters. She said she cannot wait to begin work as a School Committee member and with her background, especially in finance, she said she thinks she will contribute greatly to the committee’s work.

Incumbant Selectman Stephen Cushing will keep his seat on the Board of Selectmen, beating opponent William Dale Jones in a 473 – 397 win.

When asked if he was ever worried during the days leading up to the election, Cushing replied, “You have to always be worried. The voters can be very fickle.”

Cushing said it is often difficult to gauge how voters will decide.

“A lot of people keep their feelings close to their chest,” said Cushing. “I’m obviously happy with the results.”

William Dale Jones was not present at the polling station for comment.

The Planning Board will feature three new faces, after three of the contenders beat incumbent Edwin “Ted” North, coming in last at 425 votes.

Robert Lane came out on top with 635 votes, Michael Popitz got 518 votes, and Eileen Marum received 513.

“Not bad,” said Marum, “considering I’ve only been in Town for three years.” She continued, “I am very pleased with the outcome, and I’m looking forward to serving.” She also thanked her supporters for their dedication.

Another Planning Board winner, Robert Lane, was somewhere on the VFW premises, but nowhere to be found, laughed his wife Linda Lane.

When asked why her husband was elected, she responded, “Because he’s the best!”

More seriously, she stated, “I really think that he was extremely well-qualified, and he loves this Town.”

Here are the results for the uncontested races:

Town Clerk: Ray Pickles – 744

Assessor: Catherine Gibbs – 760

Moderator: David Titus – 763

Board of Health: Elizabeth Dunn – 755

Old Rochester Regional School Committee: Paul Goulet, Jr. – 696

Open Spaces Committee: Joseph Keogh, Jeffrey Oakes – 627, 624

There were no candidates on the ballot for tree warden, so a write-in winner will be announced on Monday, May 19.

By Jean Perry

The threat of not having a quorum on May 8 had the three board members present that evening scurrying to call the other four tardy Rochester Zoning Board of Appeals members to ask them to come to the scheduled public hearing.

Time was ticking after the 7:00 pm meeting opening was delayed, and at 7:15 there was still no quorum of five to hear the 7:30 pm public hearing for Mark and Elizabeth Brulport of 45 Noble Road.

Chairman Richard Cutler commented that one member was probably at home sleeping, and none of the other members answered their cell phones while a roomful of about 20 people waited to hear if the hearing would take place.

Member Randall Cabral showed up at 7:20 pm, bringing the group one member closer to a quorum, and finally at 7:27 pm, Benjamin Gilmore appeared and the quorum was met. Kirby Gilmore and Thomas Flynn did not attend the meeting.

Attorney Paul Cavanaugh, representing the Brulports, explained the couple’s plan to build a separate in-law suite for Ms. Brulport’s aging parents, which would include one added bedroom and kitchen and an additional garage bay.

“This type of addition for in-law suites has been allowed in other houses (in Rochester),” said Cavanaugh, “with less than an acre and with less frontage.” The Brulport property is over two acres.

Cavanaugh said the L-shaped 1,443 square-foot addition with the added-on garage bay would not overwhelm the existing structure.

“It’s actually much, much smaller than the existing house,” Cavanaugh said. He added that the addition would not create a nuisance or an adverse impact on the neighborhood, including property value, and Cavanaugh said he had already spoken with the building commissioner.

Robert Mather, attorney for about six homeowners from the neighborhood, argued that the erection of a second dwelling would lower property values of the other homes within the “very nice upscale housing” neighborhood where there are no two-family homes.

The Rochester zoning by-law does not address in-law suites, but rather single and multi-family homes. The special permit for the Brulports’ in-law suite would transform the dwelling into a multi-family dwelling.

Mather argued that one of the requirements to transform a single-family into a multi-family – occupation of the home for five years – was not met, since the Brulports have only lived in the house for two years. ZBA member Benjamin Gilmore later explained, however, that the five year criteria applies to the years the house has been built and occupied, and not necessarily by the same occupant.

Mather pointed out that the construction of a multi-family home requires a minimum property size of 105,000 square feet, which the Brulport property lacks.

In addition, Mather said the addition would make the house look like a duplex, which would change its character and make it inharmonious with the rest of the neighborhood.

The developer had also put a restrictive covenant on the development, stating that only one-family houses could be built within the development, but the board would not consider the covenant, calling it a civil matter and inconsequential toward the board’s decision.

June Goguen of 29 Noble Road said she bought her dream home ten years ago, never considering one of the houses would become a two-family house.

“I never in my wildest dreams thought that somebody would want to build a two-family,” said Goguen. She said she feared after the in-laws were gone, future tenants renting the space could create a nuisance.

Gilmore commented that the Brulports could construct an addition for the in-laws that would serve as an extension to the house, keeping common areas and a common kitchen to avoid the need to seek the special permit for the multi-family. He said it could still accomplish the same purpose the Brulports are seeking.

Neither Ms. nor Mr. Brulport cared to comment before the board closed the public comment section of the hearing.

“In the past, it’s been done without a lot of controversy with the abutters,” said Cutler. This time, he said he was not sure the board could mitigate the neighbors’ concerns.

“This is a tough one,” ZBA member Cabral commented.

The special permit was voted down 4-1, with Gilmore voting in favor.

By Jean Perry