To watch the video of the meeting of February 27, 2024, click here! (numbers in parenthesis refer to the running time of the video, hours:minutes:seconds.)
After watching the other four members till 7 PM, I finally told them (at 37:40), that all they are looking for is part of the Zoning Bylaws which are posted on the Town’s website all along (I did not attend the meeting, I participate from home via GoToMeeting).
The chairman, William Robertson, after looking it up stated surprised, “this document has it all (at 40:10)!”
What puzzles me is that he seem to have never consulted these Bylaws; did not even know about them ... no wonder that he had/has no clue about how to process a Siteplan Review Application, or for that matter, how to do anything we do at the Planning Board.
Attending meetings is a TOTAL WASTE OF MY TIME. The Board, since Robertson is chair, does not get anything done. Robertson just talks endlessly about nothing.
The history of the area which was once zoned “Special Conservancy” can be followed by reading the story about the once planned
Truck Stop,
Harhey’s property, and
Andre Cormier’s role in developing the locus east of Butterworth Road.
The resident which called in via GoToMeeting, Violette, wife of Gary Louise, with address 410 Mashapaug Rd, owns one of the narrow parcels which is located in the residual part of the “Special Conservancy” district. She voiced her frustration that they had to place their residence 40 feet from the property line instead of the 20 feet if the parcel would not be zoned “Special Conservancy.” The rest of the Board seem to intend to accommodate the Louise’s and keep the residual part zoned “Special Conservancy.”
In my opinion , keeping the Special Conservancy district at this time could be considered “spot zoning,“ a policy which will prove problematic in the long run. Violette seems to believe that keeping it zoned “Special Conservancy” will guarantee that her future neighbor will build his/her dwelling 80 feet from her house and not 60 feet. This is nothing more than wishful thinking. Harhey who owned once one of these narrow lots to the south of the Louise’s property would not have it and simply went to the Zoning Board of Appeals for a variance allowing him to build with a 20 foot setback. The Zoning Board of Appeals had no problem with Harhey’s application outside the law and granted his request,
click here,
to read a detailed account about it.
Or consider this; out of the six lots east of Butterworth Road, all located inside the “Special Conservancy” district, all of them unbuildable due to a steep slope and the little brook in the back, five of them were granted variances to reduce the front setback from the mandated 100 feet down to 50 or 60 feet.
The 24.47 acre unbuildable parcel which changed hands for less than $100, yes, you got that right, less than one hundred dollars, was turned into five valuable building lots for the developer with help by the Zoning Board of Appeals! To read about how that was done by Andre Cormier,
click here!
The zoning map at the end of the Zoning Bylaws shows that the central, most sensitive area, a sensitive watershed area, was rezoned to commercial and business. (Scroll down all the way, and if you do not have a fast internet connection, give it some time to download!)
This was done to accommodate, of all the things, a truck stop! To read about this stupid act,
click here!
A “Special Conservancy” district makes sense if established before land gets developed as the purpose is to force developers to plan buildings with larger setback requirements. In Holland, that was done, the district was established before any of the involved land was developed. However, rezoning a large portion to commercial and business, the endorsement of Approval Not Required plans submitted by developers to the Planning Board which created narrow lots, and granting variances by the Zoning Board of Appeals outside the law, systematically undermined the purpose of the “Special Conservancy” district, leaving only two lots undeveloped out of about a dozen. In the process, the idea of zoning bylaws to regulate development was lost.
Exit 74 of I-84 in Connecticut and also exit 1 of I-84 in Massachusetts are strategically well located as there are interstates going in all directions close by, I-90 est and west, I-84 and I-91 south, and I-495 north. The perfect place for a distribution warehouse. Massachusetts is one of the few states with a corporate excise tax codified in Massachusetts General Law chapter 63. This is the reason why there are no large warehouses in Massachusetts. A business like the Campers Inn RV of Union on the east side of I-84 could not operate in Holland as the corporate excise tax burden would make them less competitive or outright impossible to do business.
The kind of business which could operate in Holland is restricted to the service sector, a truck stop would fit that bill but for obvious reasons it is the worst business to have in a “Special Conservancy” district.
The Town’s ignorant officials with their past actions ruined a great idea once legislated by visionaries.
To keep the “Special Conservancy” district at this point in time does not make any sense any longer.
The best solution would be to lower the assessed value of the Louise property by $50'000, which would reduce their property taxes by about $800 every year, and get rid of the “Special Conservancy” district as the remaining part is no sensitive watershed area worth keeping zoned like that to avoid spot zoning. (Violette asked during the meeting, whether her property taxes would go down if the property would be rezoned.)
Bill, if you read this, you may realize that I know a few things you don’t. If you would/could shut-up once in a great while and listen, I could inform the Board about some of the history and give some helpful background information. But you just can't help it I guess.
March 6, 2024, Peter Frei