[MassHistPres] Historic application 60-day window for decision

[Gretchen Schuler]

Our town has a plan to attend to necessary time sensitive meetings.  They
will be held in a large room with board spaced apart and remote
participation by applicant and public - these meetings have to be specially
scheduled with Town Admin office and if any board member feels better for
them not to attend they too can attend remotely.  Last night the BOS met
this way to postpone date of elections and ATM and several of us called in
(with no problem) to comment or query their comments in discussion.  They
voted and it all worked.  Remember,  that decisions on applications also
have to clocked into Town Clerk office so hopefully the TC will be
available for that when necessary.
Gretchen Schuler
Wayland Historic District Commission


On Tue, Mar 17, 2020 at 10:15 AM Skelly, Christopher (SEC) <
christopher.skelly at state.ma.us> wrote:

> This issue is also of concern to other local boards, such as planning
> boards, that must make a decision within a certain time or risk
> constructive approval.
>
> There has been some relief granted to cities and towns through executive
> order for open meetings via remote participation.
>
> https://www.mma.org/gov-signs-order-suspending-parts-of-open-meeting-law-to-enable-local-decision-making-during-covid-19-emergency/
>
> I don't think there is any relief yet for an actual public hearing, where
> the public has a right to speak.
>
> I have heard there is some effort to seek a temporary legislative remedy
> regarding constructive approvals.  I would discuss this further with your
> planning staff at city hall.
>
> I would at least recommend requesting an extension in writing from
> applicants.
>
> Christopher C. Skelly
> Director of Local Government Programs
> Massachusetts Historical Commission
> Christopher.Skelly at state.ma.us
>
> ------------------------------
> *From:* MassHistPres [masshistpres-bounces at cs.umb.edu] on behalf of Ralph
> Slate [slater at alum.rpi.edu]
> *Sent:* Monday, March 16, 2020 12:04 PM
> *To:* masshistpres at cs.umb.edu
> *Subject:* [MassHistPres] Historic application 60-day window for decision
> vs. Governor Baker order
>
> Is anyone here familiar with the interaction between MGL 40C, which
> specifies that an application must be acted upon within 60 days of receipt
> (otherwise petition is deemed approved automatically), and actions being
> taken by state and local governments which may not permit historical
> commissions from meeting?
>
> Thanks,
>
> Ralph Slate
> Springfield, MA
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> MassHistPres mailing list
> MassHistPres at cs.umb.edu
> http://mailman.cs.umb.edu/listinfo/masshistpres
>
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://mailman.cs.umb.edu/pipermail/masshistpres/attachments/20200317/e4008f9d/attachment.html>