Response to our information regarding the outrageous Princeton Properties proposal for their high-density market rate 40B development on Mill Road was heavy. About 60 messages were sent by residents disturbed by what looks like a total sellout on the part of the ZBA, acquiescing to the proposal’s ridiculously high density, unsuitable location and obscene profit goals.
However, only three of Paul Cohen’s ZBA appointees have provided e-mail or phone contact information on the Town’s web site. So your messages were provided to Paul Cohen to forward to the ZBA board members who are deliberating and will vote on this development.
But Paul Cohen did not forward your messages. Instead, they’ve gone into the “circular file.”
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We are not going to stand for this duplicity. We will keep delivering your messages until they’re properly forwarded. Click here to add your message to the growing list of people who have had enough of the scurrilous tactics of the Town Manager and his appointees.
Meanwhile, at the ZBA meeting last Thursday, residents provided detailed analysis of problems with access and positioning of fire equipment under the 40B proposal. The ZBA asked the Fire Department representative whether the Fire Department has any concerns. “No concerns,” was the predictable answer.
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The residents did the same regarding other public safety issues. The ZBA asked the Police Department rep if there were any concerns. Again, “No concerns,” was the predictable answer.
This is part of a coordinated strategy of denial that our Town Manager and his appointees have used for years. They deny that there are problems with their perpetual growth strategy. They claim that there is no “grass roots” opposition to their pro-growth strategies fostering high density, high impact developments that serve as nothing more than short term band-aids for the Town Manager to balance the budget at the expense of the community’s future.
Click here to send a message to the Town Manager and the ZBA that you don’t approve of excess market rate units in the Mill Road 40B that do nothing but pad the pockets of the developer at the expense of the entire community – forever.
One thing you can be sure of, if the Town Manager believed in Chelmsford’s future, he’d live here. But he doesn’t want to live here. He believes in a quality of life served by a low-density suburban setting with plenty of open space such as, oh, Harvard, MA – where he lives.
We’re not going to stand for the Town Manager’s duplicity. We’re going to keep delivering your messages, over and over, until we get firm confirmation that they’ve been delivered as you have a right to expect. You have a right to petition your government officials – however tone-deaf they might be – and it’s yet another abuse of authority by Mr. Cohen to try and obstruct you from doing that.
The fix is in at the ZBA, business as usual. But in the short term we can let them know we’re not happy about it. We’ll keep delivering your messages until they are acknowledged – click here to add your name to the growing list of people who say, “Enough!”
In the long term we need to get some better oversight on the BOS. Joe Ready rates the Town Manager’s performance “excellent.” No improvement needed, just a terrific performer on all levels. Bob Joyce is more realistic. We need Bob on the BOS – please support his candidacy by writing a letter to the editor (click here for talking points and directions for e-mailing editors) or click here to request a lawn sign.
The Posse is so concerned that their grip on decision making might be at stake in this election that they arranged to renew the Town Manager’s contract 18 months early. That's right, they used the same gambit they used when they were afraid they might be recalled in 2011. They’ve made sure their guy is in the executive office through 2017, and now they feel safe enough to continue to ignore residents input and disrespect you over and over at public hearings and in their decision making process.
Don’t let them get away with it. We have a strategy for requiring accountability and transparency, but it will be much harder if we don’t have proper oversight and transparency at the highest levels. Please plan to vote on April 1, and please vote for Bob Joyce for selectman.
