By Beth David, Editor
At its meeting on 8/21/23 the Fairhaven Select Board approved a pour license for Fairhaven’s only vineyard, and heard about an alleged Open Meeting Law violation by Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) chairperson Peter DeTerra.
The board held a public hearing for a Farmers’ Series Pouring License Permit at Nasketucket Bay Vineyard, 237 New Boston Road, petitioned by the owner, Nicholas Christy.
Mr. Christy told the board that he has 52 acres zoned for agricultural use. He said they started the vineyard in 2018 and now have three to four acres of vineyard.
They have also started a farm plot, which has pumpkins this year; and they intend to create an orchard, although they did not say what kind of fruit.
The property has several buildings on it, including an old dairy barn that they want to convert to a tasting room for their wine. The premises include an outdoor patio with fireplaces, and they will add tables and chairs if they receive the license.
At this point, the vineyard can legally produce grow, produce and sell their own wine.
The company started the process a couple of years ago during COVID, via Zoom. There were a lot of continuances, and now they are back.
SB member Bob Espindola said he received an email from former Planning Board member Wayne Hayward who said the legal notice had an error in it. He said the property was not zoned for agricultural use, it was rural residential. Mr. Espindola said they should make sure the application, which also notes the zoning, was correct.
Abutter Craig Soares spoke to the board saying that Mr. Christy had made promises about the property that he had not kept. Mr. Soares said a building had been improperly placed too close to the property line, obstructing his view, and was now causing water runoff issues.
“I’m not against the project,” said Mr. Soares, noting he was the only direct abutter. He said he just wanted to make sure Mr. Christy finished the work he promised before got any new projects approved.
Town Administrator Angie Lopes Ellison said the purpose of the meeting was to approve the pouring license, and any other issues should be addressed to other departments. She also said the board could not put conditions on the license.
Mr. Soares pressed on, making his case and asking if there would be another public hearing when he could be heard.
“It’s a residential neighborhood,” said Mr. Soares. “I just want to make sure it’s done right.”
He also said they needed to address logistics, parking, bathroom facilities, etc.
Mr. Christy said he believed he had addressed all of Mr. Soares’s complaints and was surprised to hear of more drainage problems.
He said he will need a permit from the Planning Board to operate and those other issues with the operation will be addressed then. But first, he had to get the pour license approved to go to the next step with the state.
In the end the board approved the permit pending verification of the zoning of the property.
In her Town Administrator report, Ms. Ellison also informed the board of an Open Meeting Law violation involving ZBA chairperson Peter DeTerra.
Ms. Ellison said he engaged in “chain deliberation” when he called “a bunch of members” of his board and asked them to vote a certain way on a project appearing on the 8/1/23 agenda that he had a vested interest in, resulting in not only an OML violation but an ethics violation, as well.
Ms. Ellison said she tried to get in touch with him. Had he met with her, she said, it would have been a “slap on the wrist.” She would have required him to take the training and that would have been the end of it. However, Mr. DeTerra refused to meet with her, she said, writing in a letter that he did not go to the 8/1/23 meeting.
Ms. Ellison said his actions were a “deliberate and intentional action to go against the Open Meeting Law.”
She said not showing up to the meeting because “you got caught,” does not negate one’s responsibility .
She noted that he had the intention of doing the work for the petitioner that required ZBA approval.
In her letter to Mr. DeTerra dated August 11, Ms. Ellison writes that she had attempted several times to contact him to discuss reports made to her that were addressed at the 8/1/23 ZBA meeting.
She said there was “an Open Meeting Law violation in addition to conflict of interest and potential ethics violations posed on some issues coming before the [ZBA].”
“As a regulatory board it is required that all members act under every aspect of the Open Meeting Law which includes not deliberating outside of the meetings on matters to come before the Board,” writes Ms. Ellison. “Chain deliberation or speaking with a quorum of members collectively or individually as well as advocating for a specific decision and a vote on an issue that the individual board member has a vested interest in financially, personally or otherwise can lead to that individual being held personally liable.”
“The reports are very serious and require attention,” she adds and asks him to contact her office before the 8/21 SB meeting or she may have to “escalate” it to the next steps including referring to the SB and the State Ethics Commission.
In his response, dated 8/18, Mr. DeTerra says he was not present at the “said meeting and did not participate in any way.”
He asks that any violations be forwarded to him in writing.
“As a board member I understand my role and responsibilities on the Board of Appeals, and I maintain the highest level of ethics and morals,” writes Mr. DeTerra. “If you feel there is a situation that you need to bring to my attention regarding myself or a board member, please do so in written form so I may immediately address this issue. The best form of communication is in writing so we have no misunderstandings and everything is on the up and up.”
He promises to respond as soon as he receives the accusations and will address them in an “appropriate way.”
“We all have the common goal of serving the residence [sic] of Fairhaven in the best way we can,” reads the letter.
At the 8/1/23 ZBA meeting, Ms. Ellison addressed the board before the public hearings began. She explained to the board that she became aware of chain deliberation in addition to some conflict of interest and ethics violations regarding an issue coming up in that meeting.
“I want to make it clear to the board that you are a regulatory board and you have to abide by every aspect of the Open Meeting Law and not deliberate outside of this meeting when it comes to an issue before the board,” said Ms. Ellison in open session, adding that board members cannot talk to more than two people about business before the board.
She reiterated what was in her letter to Mr. DeTerra, noting they could be held personally liable.
“If you are not abiding by these policies and also providing some sense of bias to some of these decisions, then you should really consider why you’re serving on this board,” said Ms. Ellison.
She said they could contact her in her office if they had questions.
“But I need to let everyone know that chain deliberation and ethics violations cannot, cannot happen,” said Ms. Ellison.
That meeting is available at fairhaventv.com. The letter from Ms. Ellison to Mr. DeTerra and his response are on our website at www. neighbnews.com, under archives and this issue’s date, 8/24/23.
In another matter, the board approved a draft decision to remove Gary Lavalette from his position on the Historical Commission. The nine-page document is a summary of the two meetings where they addressed Mr. Lavalette’s behavior as a Conservation Commissioner, concluding that he had violated town policies and should be removed from the HC. The draft decision is available on the town’s website under SB meeting packets: https://tinyurl.com/ynv79axz
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