By Beth David, Editor
The Fairhaven Planning Board meeting on 8/25/26 got off to a contentious start, but eventually got back on track with regular business, although occasional spats surfaced throughout the meeting.
At the very start of the meeting, Chairperson, Jessica Fidalgo, addressed a correspondence agenda item from member, Patrick Carr, for an agenda request distributed to the board for the 9/8 meeting.
Mr. Carr, however, said he wanted to discuss it that night, 8/25. Ms. Fidalgo said no one had a chance to read his lengthy correspondence, a five-page list of questions about procedures surrounding the use of Town Counsel (the town’s attorney).
Mr. Carr had submitted the document for the last meeting, but then revised it and resubmitted it on 8/25.
In a followup interview, Ms. Fidalgo said that she felt she had to give the correspondence to board members at one meeting, but then hold it until the next meeting to give them time to read it.
During the 8/25 meeting she said that the emails contained his opinion, so she is not allowed to share it with the board before the meeting.
Generally speaking, opinions have to wait to be discussed during the meeting. Sending it to everyone on the board is considered deliberating outside of a public meeting, which is a violation of the Open Meeting Law (OML). Emails and documents that contain information only are allowed.
The two went back and forth for a bit, until Ms. Fidalgo said she would recess the meeting if Mr. Carr did not relent.
“I am trying…” he began.
Ms. Fidalgo interrupted and recessed the meeting for five minutes, during which time the board members sat at the table not speaking.
When they reopened the meeting, Mr. Carr made a motion for the board member who asked to be on the agenda be recognized to speak. Ms. Fidalgo ruled the motion out of order.
The two went back and forth a bit, both invoking “Roberts Rules of Order.”
Ms. Fidalgo stuck by her decision that the motion was out of order.
Mr. Carr “advised” that there will be more Open Meeting Law violations filed against the board.
The board also had three Open Meeting Law Complaints on the agenda, one from Mr. Carr, one from member Ruy DaSilva, and one from member Jennifer Cardoza.
All three complaints contend that the cancellation of the 8/11 meeting was a violation of the open meeting law.
When an OML complaint is submitted, the board in question is supposed to decide what kind of response they want to send, i.e., that they feel there was no violation and why, or that they acknowledge a mistake. Then a letter is drafted to the complainant who can accept the letter of explanation or appeal to the Attorney General’s Division of Open Government.
Ms. Fidalgo said the complaints were not properly submitted on the form required by the state, but that all three eventually did use the right form, so they would discuss them at the meeting, starting with Mr. DaSilva’s. She said that the discussion had to stick with the information in the box, limited to 3,000 characters, on the state form, not the additional pages.
Mr. DaSilva’s complaint, obtained by the Neighb News, was five pages; Mr. Carr’s was seven; Ms. Cardoza’s was on the form.
Ms. Fidalgo said the Attorney General’s office will not read anything outside of the information in the box.
Although they discussed Mr. DaSilva’s complaint, it was Mr. Carr who did the most talking about it.
Ms. Fidalgo said in her opinion there was no OML violation, that the meeting was canceled because they had no public hearings, no applications, and no other pressing business.
“There really was nothing to discuss,” agreed PB Member, Mona Phillips.
Ms. Cardoza, however, said she had done a lot of work getting information on Battery Storage for solar installations, and had expected to present her findings at that meeting.
Mr. Carr said that Ms. Fidalgo conducted an electronic poll via email and phone, through office staff, to vote on cancelling the meeting. He said Mr. DaSilva felt uncomfortable and pressed to cast his vote electronically.
Mr. Carr also said he was not included and did not have an opportunity to vote.
Ms. Fidalgo cautioned him to stick to Mr. DaSilva’s complaint.
Mr. Carr said he felt he was not being respected as a board member to speak.
Ms. Fidalgo said she was just asking him to stick to Mr. DaSilva’s complaint.
The two went back and forth a bit, with Ms. Fidalgo saying if he coul not “handle” what she was saying then they should table it and ask Town Counsel to weigh in.
The board voted 4 to 3 to table the discussion and find out from Town Counsel if the AG’s office will read beyond the 3,000 characters on the form. Ms. Fidalgo, Ms. Phillips, members Sean Powers and Miles Grant voted yes; Mr. Carr, Mr. DaSilva, Ms. Cardoza voted no. Kevin Grant was absent.
In another matter, the board discussed regulations around battery storage for solar facilities. The board wants to craft a bylaw regulating them. Ms. Cardoza has been working on language, but Ms. Fidalgo said that she learned just that afternoon that the state had just revised their template.
The bylaw would regulate property line setbacks, how close the battery units can be to each other, etc. The board will also have to decide if a special permit is necessary, so they can place specific restrictions on each facility, or if it will be handled like any other building project.
Mr. Grant said he would like to see a process that includes a lot of public engagement.
The board decided to table the item to the next meeting to give Ms. Cardoza a chance to compare the changes that were made in the state’s template.
Town Planner, Dawn Quirk, updated the board on changes to Chapter 40A of Mass. General Laws, which regulates the authority of municipalities to create zoning. Ms. Quirk said there are some changes the town will need to make in its bylaws to comply with the state changes.
Town Counsel, Heather White, is reviewing the changes flagged by Ms. Quirk. Ms. White should be finished with her review and she will be at the next PB meeting.
“You’re probably not going to want to hear this either,” said Mr. Carr, noting he was making a statement and not asking for permission.
He said he had requested two agenda items about policies and procedures and this is why, he said, because they were not following them.
Ms. Fidalgo said they were following them, but noted she had acknowledged a mistake earlier in the meeting.
“I don’t feel comfortable talking about it because it’s not on the agenda,” said Mr. Carr.
“Then you can wait until next time when it is on the agenda,” said Ms. Fidalgo.
In another matter, Ms. Quirk informed the board of a grant opportunity from MIT Department of Urban Studies and Planning seeking to partner with a coastal community interested in resilience zoning.
The town needs to send a letter of interest. If Fairhaven is chosen, the group will study development in low lying areas. They will work with the town and community to work on recommendations.
“I am just so excited about this,” said Ms. Phillips, noting how vulnerable Fairhaven is to coastal storms. “I think this is wonderful.”
The board talked about a few different ways to make sure the letter of interest makes its way to the top fo the pile.
Ms. Quirk said the grant has not been released yet, the organization needs the letter of interest now.
“We need to get this grant,” said Ms. Phillips.
Ms. Quirk also told the board that the town is in the process of replacing PermitEyes with Citizenserve for processing permits online.
She said it will also make it easier to locate ADUs (Accessory Dwelling Units) in town.
Ms. Quirk said she is trying to count the number of ADUs the town has, but has been having difficulty. The process for building an ADU or converting space to one is handled like any other building permit or addition, so she has been having difficulty flagging them.
The state has asked municipalities to start collecting data on ADUs, but it has been difficult, she said
The next meeting is scheduled for 9/8.
The meeting is available on demand at www.FairhavenTV.com
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