- Propose Amendment – in section 55.01 – delete d.2 and in section 55.

02
– delete f

- Thank Steve Magoon, Gerry Mee and his staff, Councilors Falkoff and
Piccirilli – considerable time and effort putting this proposal together

- Generally agree with and support the ordinance – establishing a street

classification, standardizing materials for construction of curbs and
sidewalks, the general emphasis on encouraging the upgrade of our
curbs and sidewalks

- I cannot support however the provision that would require the owners
of new construction projects to install and pay for these improvements
to public property

- While I’m not questioning the validity of the legal opinion provided by
the town attorney – I do disagree with the conclusion and I seriously
question whether it would hold up to a court challenge – but that’s not
the main point I’d like to make

- If however we in fact do have the authority to order private

individuals to improve the public way at their own expense, and we
really are serious about upgrading our curbs and sidewalks – why stop
at new construction. Let’s just proclaim that any individual seeking any
building permit, or an occupancy permit or a license for whatever, first
must replace their curbs and sidewalks. Or if we want to be more
arbitrary about it we could say just people with white houses have to do
it. Or if we want to be more equitable as well as achieve our goal faster,
we could simply require everyone in town to do it. It seems to me the
same legal argument would pertain to each of these scenarios.

- Obviously – we wouldn’t do any of those things because it wouldn’t be

politically palatable and we’d have an uprising on our hands. In fact,
this council has never had the nerve to require property owners to
shovel the snow off their sidewalks, much less construct new ones.

- What’s being proposed here is that we single out a small group of

property owners and require that they improve the public way. The
reason – as far as I can tell – is simply that we feel we can get away with
it. I don’t think doing something just because you can get away with it,
is a good reason to do it.

- Let me be clear that I’m not talking about large-scale development

projects involving the planning and zoning boards and the development
of conditions that are publicly discussed and agreed to. And I’m not
talking about contractors repairing any disturbance they’ve made to the
public ways. And I acknowledge that most builders or developers will
voluntarily install new curbs and sidewalks simply because it enhances
the property – but, this should be at the owner’s discretion.

- The main point, I believe, is that this provision represents bad policy
and I offer the following reasons.

1. - I’m opposed to the principal of mandating that a private

individual improve the public way
2. - This policy is completely arbitrary and unfair – singling out a
small group of people
3. - The policy is anti-development
- Rather than dictating new obstacles – I believe we should
be encouraging new economic activity, upgrading our housing stock,
investing in our community and enhancing the tax base
4. - I’ve been involved in numerous new construction projects in
surrounding communities – including Boston, Cambridge, Wellesley,
Beverly Farms, and Marshfield – and I’ve never encountered this type
of requirement
5. – Finally let’s look at the example of 30 Westland Rd. A young
couple bought the property which was a modest bungalow, had never
been updated and was in significant disrepair. They decided to
demolish the house and construct a new one also of modest size. Being a
corner lot, with approximately 150 ft. of frontage, new curbs and
sidewalks and planting strips were estimated at approximately $15,000.
Many people would abandon such a project if faced with this
considerable additional expense.

I ask you how does the town benefit from discouraging this type of
investment? I urge you to support this amendment and remove this
provision from the proposed ordinance. Thank you.