A lawsuit against the Town of Winchester's Planning Board has been filed in Superior Court as a result of the ruling giving Mitchell Sand & Gravel a Conditional Approval to build an asphalt plant. The ZBA gave Mitchell a special exception to build the plant in the Agricultural Zone on top of the Protected Aquifer Zone despite the numerous health hazards associated with a plant of this type and the threat of contamination to the Ashuelot River; the Town's water source as well as many private wells. Rushing to judgement; both the ZBA and Planning Boards hastily ruled in favor of this project despite mounds and mounds of evidence and testimony from many concerned citizens of both Swanzey and Winchester.
The suit was filed based on procedural errors and regulation violations which is the norm for this board under Margaret Sharra's direction and will once again result in costly litigation. A copy of the complaint against the town will be made available once the town has been officially served. This is not a frivolous lawsuit as will be claimed by certain individuals; but a very serious matter and violation of laws and regulations on procedures that were simply ignored. It's too bad that we can not hold these individuals that voted in favor of this proposed project, responsible for wasting the town's hard earned taxpayer money defending their illegal actions.
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24 comments:
What is it with this bunch, every time you turn around they are being sued.What gives? There most absurdly is something wrong with a board being taken to court every year over and over again by different people each time. Is this Sharra person the reason behind this?
Scotty, beam me up! There is no intelligent life in this town of Winchester.
It does not take a rocket scientist to figure out that the chosen few are going to do whatever they please. Of course the rest of us will pay for their actions.
Here's the deal people you have had the opportunity to make changes in this town and have chosen not to. There are some of us that can afford the increase in taxes. Then again, there are some of us that thought this would be a good place to live and now have decided to fold our tents. We have known all along that this town was corrupt and thought that we could change it. Oops! When a selectman goes before the board and gets his assessment reduced and others can't what does that tell you. I guess that to get ahead in this town you have to lie, steal, deal drugs or cheat! No people I am not Mr. Towne. Take that to the bank!
Until the rest of you get off your dead duffs and do something we will(the town) always have this reputation. Frankly, I do believe at this point that it is deserved! Think about that!
How come the Town boards never lose? Perhaps the question should be raised about the people filing the lawsuits that end up getting thrown out... costing the town money. The absurdity is the people filing appeals do so with no idea what they are talking about.. and we tax payers have to pay for their stupidity.
A concerned voting tax payer
To the concerned voting taxpayer:
Have you ever read any of the court appeals filed against the Planning Board? Have you ever read any of the responses from the town? I think not. You have no clue what you are talking about, the people filing these suits are a lot smarter than you or some members of the board think. That some appeals have been dismissed is not the same as being thrown out, get your facts straight. Where did you ever get the ridiculous notion that the town does not lose? Please give us a list of these thrown out cases and please include the court case # so we can all become as enlightened as you. If you are such a concerned taxpayer maybe you'd better start voting for people who obey the law, follow proper procedure and treat everyone that comes before them honestly and with the same amount of fairness no matter who they are. No one in this town deserves special treatment like some we know always get, as citizens we are all equal and deserve equal respect.
WHo is filing and where is it filed?
We have been told that the suit was filed in Superior Court in Keene this morning. We have not yet been provided a copy and won't until after the town of Winchester has been served by the Sheriff's Dept. As soon as the information is made available to us, we will post the full complaint on this website for all to judge for yourselves whether the suit is frivolous, a waste of taxpayer dollars and if the person or persons who took the time to put it together are as stupid as some of you seem to think. Some people think standing up for your rights, no matter how others ridicule and poke fun of you and call you names, is important not just for yourself; but for everyone.
Thank God someone cares enough to do these things relating to the environment and caring about the town and its people not the almighty dollar. Sad it has to come to this but it appears it is the only way. I hope whoever the judge is that he listens. Hope the same fight does not have to happen again when Clean Power rears their ugly heads again if they get through the permit process. Anyone heard anything new on those folks lately?
We wish you the best of luck! Perhaps the judge will see the light and note that what's truly frivolous is the fact that the Planning Board keeps getting sued, because they do not follow proper procedure.
There is not enough intelligence to keep Margaret's board out of court.
Can you hear the sounds of scurrying little feet as the mice run for cover and burn up the phone lines making excuses for their conduct. I know it's not all of the members of this board who act this way; but the others should stand their grounds and vote a resounding "no" or refuse to vote at all on the grounds that what the board is doing is illegal.By not doing so, I'm afraid they are just as guilty of breaking the law as the rest of them. What truly confounds me is why the selectmen keep turning their heads the other way and ignoring the problem they have with her in charge and on the board altogether. They are just as much to blame and I wonder when someone or many someones will eventually file a suit against them for not doing their jobs and allowing all of this to go on at great expense to all of us. Enough already, time to act Sherman, what are you waiting on?
So here is the law on Planning Board Appeals. If this person appeals the Planning Board decision from back in January, they are wasting our money to defend this appeal. The appeal period ran 30 days after the decision... which means some time in February. These are the facts.
RECONSIDERATION
The Planning Board may reconsider any decision to approve or disapprove an application, for good cause, provided it is within the statutory appeal period. This may be done through a motion and that specifies the reasons for reconsideration. Upon successful passage of the motion, the board shall schedule a public hearing, with notice as provided in 676:4, I(d), where they shall consider whether or not to revise or alter their original decision. Should the board reach a new decision, a new appeal period shall be considered to have begun pursuant to RSA 677:15, et seq.
(THE BOARD WOULD HAVE NEEDED TO RULE ON THIS WITHIN THE APPEAL PERIOD WHICH THEY DID NOT)
TITLE LXIV
PLANNING AND ZONING
CHAPTER 677
REHEARING AND APPEAL PROCEDURES
Appeal and Court Review of Planning Board Decisions
Section 677:15
677:15 Court Review. –
I. Any persons aggrieved by any decision of the planning board concerning a plat or subdivision may present to the superior court a petition, duly verified, setting forth that such decision is illegal or unreasonable in whole or in part and specifying the grounds upon which the same is claimed to be illegal or unreasonable. Such petition shall be presented to the court within 30 days after the date upon which the board voted to approve or disapprove the application.......the petitioner shall have the right to amend the petition within 30 days after the date on which the written decision was actually filed. This paragraph shall not apply to planning board decisions appealable to the board of adjustment pursuant to RSA 676:5, III. The 30-day time period shall be counted in calendar days beginning with the date following the date upon which the planning board voted to approve or disapprove the application, in accordance with RSA 21:35.
NO APPEAL FILED WITHIN THIRTY DAYS OF APPROVAL YOU ARE OUT
To the poster at 3:12 how about you have to give the people the correct information and not sabotage them. Be advised that this time the town is dealing with people who want their rights protected and truly believe that this is not frivolous. Had Maggie and company followed the rules none of this would have happened.
Perhaps the select board needs to question Maggie about her underhanded actions that keep the town embroiled in lawsuits. Bear in mind that this particular group of people is not going to be intimidated by Winchester. They are law abiding citizens.
I’m sick & tired of hearing people who live off of & work in our Town deny, deny, deny. They are corrupt & their interests are about themselves & not the rest of us. The reason for the numerous lawsuits isn’t because people are frivolous, it’s because the Town has a bunch of employees who hide, lie, cheat, steal & cover-up to get away with things. I’ve lived here my whole life & seen it all. But this stuff takes the cake. The selectmen have done nothing to protect the taxpayers from the onslaught & just sit back for the ride. Maybe because of the kickbacks they are getting. Maggie is a disgrace & her antics are criminal. A bunch of liars & incompetents runs the Police Dept, some have even lied & cheated to go after citizens & their own employees. The highway dept employees have a free rein & escape having to be accountable & then get protected & things get covered up. There’s proof to back these statements up. I didn’t just wing this out there. I’ve taken the time to look at the documents on both blogs & read what they have to say. If there is proof to back up these statements then how can people in Town Hall call everyone else the problem? The problem is them & the lawsuits aren’t likely to stop until the day comes they aren’t necessary. I can’t fight someone else’s fight but I can support their endeavor, so to that end I support those that are fighting back for a chance to be heard.
To the person above who took the time to research and copy the statutes regarding rehearings and court appeals, thank you for your
efforts. It makes it much easier to show how one sided and how misconstrued your facts are. Just more misinformation coming out of
town hall to hide the truth.
Mrs. Ryan's original request for the planning board board to schedule a hearing to reconsider their decision of January 3, 2011, which was the conditional approval of the incomplete site plan application of Mitchell Sand & Gravel, LLC, was hand delivered and filed with Margaret Sharra. It was stamped, signed and dated FEBRUARY 1st,2011.
By law, a request for a rehearing or a request for a reconsideration is considered one in the same.
This was with-in the allotted 30 day time period, no question of that fact. That the board ruled that there are no provisions for a Planning Board to hear an appeal, have a rehearing, or to reconsider any decision was a grave error of procedural law. Was this a deliberate attempt to sabotage the appeal process?
Outlined in the Planning Board's own rules of procedure are 6 or more paragraphs, covering of all things, RECONSIDERATION ..
I wonder why you didn't post this fact too in your little rant above.
Also at the Legal Government Center, where all board members are mandated to attend law lectures to stay abreast of new laws and procedures as well as rules of conduct there is available a 2-page outline on Planning Board Rehearings. This information was also submitted to the board and attached to the request.
As you can clearly see you are the one who has erred, just like the .. continued below
Planning Board and Zoning Boards in their rush to judgment.
Also, here's a bit more information for you to think about.
The Planning Board screwed up when it accepted and approved an incomplete application, among other procedural errors.
Acceptance of a site plan application as sufficiently complete to invoke Planning Board jurisdiction is regulated and spelled out quite clearly by New Hampshire law in RSA;4,I. Now if that's not enough go read the Winchester Site Plan Review Regulations Section III (C) (before Sharra's new changes completely remove all of the town's protections under these regulations), which explicitly states the list of required
submission items are essential in order for the Planning Board to invoke it's jurisdiction.
The Planning Board by law can not accept an incomplete application for review.
The Supreme Court has confirmed the requirements for a complete application, stating when a Planning Board specifies by regulation what must be submitted (as the Town has), then absolute compliance with the regulation and checklist is required .. see DHB,INC. v. Town of Pembroke, 152, N.H. 314 (2005)
I'm not sure exactly what the lawsuit included but I'm pretty sure Mrs. Ryan and the 60 plus abutters, neighbors and concerned citizen's she filed on behalf of didn't miss this point of law.
So to those of you who have claimed these suits are frivolous and misguided let me assure you some of us aren't as dumb as some of you think. We actually know the law and and the rights of citizens, abutters and aggrieved parties to a board's decision and we will hold these boards accountable even if the selectmen won't. There is no excuse for the kind of conduct I witnessed at these meetings.
Mike Towne
Thats right Mike, to heck with the law. it doestn mean anything. If the law say 30 days to file an appeal in Court and you dont you are out... like you failed to do when you appealed the ZBA decision too late. Just file another bogus law suit.. by someone who does not even live in town, and we tax payers have to pay to defend it. Thanks Mike for supporting the waste of our tax dollars. By the way, never suggested you were dumb, just you dont understand the law or are just ignoring what it plainly states. The poster did not make up the statute.... look it up yourself.
Mike, how many votes did you get for Selectman anyway?
Did you actually read all of Mr. Towne's comments you cretin ? He clearly stated that Ms. Ryan filed on Feb 1st, that's 28 days after the board made their decision, can't you count? The law is clearly in favor of the filers in this case no matter how you try and twist the facts. She also requested the board reconsider their denial of her first request which they again denied stating she filed too late, again not true. I am one of the people involved in this suit, Mr. Towne is not. He has simply gone to great lengths to provide this blog with the facts and the truth whereas you on the other hand continue to spout lies and innuendos. And as for how many votes did Mr. Towne get, what has that got to do with this subject being discussed? At least he performed his civic duty, he voted and committed himself to run for office. What have you done besides spout off and attack him and hide behind the anonymous option to post? Go find another sandbox to play in, you're not wanted here.
To the poster at 9:55 pm: What part of the reality check don't you get? Rules and the law have to be followed. If they are not followed then the recourse that people have is to file a lawsuit. This problem could have been resolved had your buddy Margaret follwed the rules. Simple, play the game by the rules. This town does not follow the rules so now all of us will pay for it.
Quit your whining, step up to the plate and admit that the rules were not followed. Perhaps you could suggest to her that she follow the rules.
Interesting how some people get way too offended when they forced to have to defend their stance because of a lawsuit. That’s what courts are for. If you can’t compromise or agree to terms, someone else does it for you.
to the 3/10 3:12 anonymous poster -
There was no motion made because Maggie cited an RSA that said any complaints had to go before the Superior Court. This by no means implies that what was said and done by the Planning Board was legal or accurate. What is does imply is that Maggie gave the board incomplete and inaccurate information in order to make their decision.
And give us a break - they were all eager to listen to her lies because they would rather stick to their guns, rather than listen to the citizens of this town and the surrounding towns.
Both boards ruled this a project of regional impact. That makes the Westport Village "abutters"!
Would someone please tell me why Winchester always attracts these out of state businesses that pollute and ruin peoples lives? First we had that triple T business with garbage composting, then a foolish wood burning so-called green power electric plant that we wouldn't get any power from and that would have filled downtown with smoke and other pollutants and now this out of state guy with his asphalt plant. What the heck gives around here? Are these fools in charge stupid of something? Don't we have enough to put up with with all the damn noise and traffic from those foolish race tracks? Why in hell did we need 3 of them in this town all along our main entrance into town? This nonsense needs to stop if this town is ever going to be anything but a laughing stock for the whole county. Stop bringing in the clowns we have enough here already running the town.
It's called the "People in Power" entertaining these sorts of businesses. They are the ones that think they are good for the town.
Wouldn't expect Mr. Towne to get a lot of votes in Winchester where half the voters are town employees, friends and family, and half the rest pay very little or no taxes. Don't crow too loud, things have a way of changing.
Word has it the town got served today and Maggie is all upset because she's named in another suit. Well what do you expect girl when you act like an arrogant b_ _ _ _ _ and lie and treat others with no respect? Maybe it's about time you seriously think about resigning your position, you continue to cost this town thousands defending your actions and sooner or later you're gonna get what's been coming to you for a long long time. Myself I hope this is the time you finally get your comeuppance.
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