Planning Board Member Vows to Press On
Regrettably, our proposed recommendation to the Town Meeting members, advocating for the approval of ADUs, did not secure passage. The Town’s vote, by a margin of 60/40 against, concluded our meeting without a resolution and without a PLAN to confront our Town’s housing and financial crises.
I am resolutely committed to resuming our proposal at the next Town Meeting, advocating for the approval of ADUs solely within existing residential areas. It is evident that there was confusion and apprehension regarding ADUs in commercial or industrial zones. Furthermore, I will champion the establishment of smart 40R overlay districts along Route 6, drawing inspiration from the benchmark development of the Mashpee Commons on Cape Cod as a model for our Town’s growth.
My promise to the residents of Fairhaven, in seeking their trust to serve on this vital Board, was to prioritize the Health, Safety, and Prosperity of our community today and for generations to come. This year, my focus will be threefold: addressing the housing crisis, developing smart tax growth — not new taxes —and raising awareness of the daily pollution of Buzzards Bay by our neighbor, New Bedford. We cannot delay in finding and funding immediate solutions to halt this economic and environmental catastrophe affecting our coastal community.
With unwavering conviction, I affirm that our community faces imminent peril due to a housing crisis that impacts our youth and young families, who struggle to find affordable housing or rentals, as well as our elderly population, who fear being priced out of their homes by rising taxes and inflation.
Financially, our Town is in dire straits, bound by the constraints of Proposition 2 1/2, which rightly limits government’s ability to raise taxes beyond a certain threshold. We must not resort to stopgap measures such as fee hikes, but rather, as the Planning Board, we must innovate with housing and strategic development means to ease the tax burden without further straining our residents, especially the elderly and fixed-income families.
It is imperative that we do not permit any elected official to circumvent Prop 2 1/2. We must demand transparency from every candidate and officeholder on this critical issue. If we allow our Town government to breach this fiscal threshold, no family will be able to afford to reside and thrive in our picturesque Town.
To my colleagues on the Fairhaven Planning Board, let us be the architects of proactive, visionary solutions to address our housing and financial crises. Let us not merely react but lead with bold, intelligent decisions for the betterment of future generations.
I vow to persist in my mission to RESOLVE our housing crisis, tackle our Town’s financial challenges, and combat the pollution destroying our bay, which jeopardizes our fishing and shellfish industries and endangers recreational activities in our waters. from Westport to Marion to the North facing shores of the Elizabeth Islands .
Let us work together for the prosperity of our Town. Our community is relying on our resolve and ingenuity!
With determination and hopes of solidarity,
Rick Trapilo, Fairhaven Planning Board
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