Well, seems like my self-imposed break from watching stuff, well at least mostly watching, will need to be lessened a tad. Either that, or I need to stop reading the newspapers. The latest edition of the Fairhaven Neighborhood News has several articles that caught my attention.
Interesting reports on the recent planning board, BPW and ZBA meetings/hearings.
First up, the planning board. Whether you support pot plants or not, the reality as it exists under the present status of Massachusetts laws and legal opinions is pretty clear. You cannot ban such facilities from town. You cannot do so any more than you can act as the morality police in banning adult entertainment from town.
You can "zone" it. You can try and be as restrictive as allowable under the law. You can wish upon a star, and if you are crafty enough, or just a good wisher, you might be able to get a by-law restrictive enough to make it untenable for an operator to operate, but not so restrictive as to get rejected by the Attorney General, or even worse, fail to get a 2/3 vote from Town Meeting.
Believe it or not, despite past writings, if our planning board manages to pull off a Jiminy Cricket, I don't have a problem with that. That is the process. We elect them. They do what they see fit under their charge.
I may not agree with what gets done, how it gets done, or the reasoning it gets done. If the result passes legal muster and obtains the approval of Town Meeting, well folks that is life isn't it. It is the system we have, and live under.
That is not to say I will support whatever by-law the board eventually proposes to Town Meeting, but if it does pass, than I will accept it as the zoning law of the Town.
There are several members on the board with clearly opposite points of view to my own on this matter. Such is life. If they can manage to get their wish by passing the most restrictive by-law possible, again such is life. I absolutely have no problem with someone expressing an opinion openly and honestly that they do not want pot plants in town. Neither do I have a problem with any member attempting to tailor a by-law to be as restrictive as possible in conformity with the public will.
It is impossible for any human being to keep personal beliefs completely out of the decision making process. I get that. There are very few issues however where personal should trump public, at least in government. Which is essentially the problem in the big picture. Too many officials at all levels tend to believe extreme positions on either end of the spectrum are what the vast majority of people stuck in between want. Life should be about choosing the lesser of two extremes, it should in fact be about reasonable options.
Anyway, I also get the contradiction between federal and state law. What I also get is the simple fact that the law exists for these facilities. These facilities have not been banned anywhere under federal law. They operate at their own risks under federal law. The state has all ready told its towns you need do nothing, or you can impose zoning, if you choose; but you cannot ban them. The town is at no risks imposing restrictions. The town faces much greater risks by no zoning, which absent a 2/3 vote at town meeting on a article may in fact happen.
You may feel Fairhaven is no place for "businesses like that". Just what does that mean? Heck, I would rather see a business like that rather than a methadone clinic. Which by the way, would absolutely be allowable.
It is what it is. Please, get over that fact.
Skipping over the BPW for the moment and on to the ZBA ... perhaps later. I am out of time right now. Might be able to get some more done latter this A.M. might not. In any event, enough for today.
Be safe.
What is truly disturbing, is that the Planning Board somehow has forgotten what their job actually is. Sabotage, based on the personal opinions of a few board members is not doing the town's work, it is furthering the agenda of only those few. Their approach, in attempting to make a dispensary impossible, is a serious over reach. Their job isn't to mandate opinion for anyone, but to represent the letter of the law, and the will of the electorate. This is what they have forgotten. This what has been disregarded in the heat of their individual moral righteousness.
ReplyDeleteDispensary? Not the biggest issue here. The elephant in the room issue is corruption by personal agenda by a few board members. And I challenge any of them to convince otherwise------keeping in mind, that there is video proof of their comments to support my observations and resulting opinion.
*Hubris: /ˈhjuːbrɪs/, also hybris, from ancient Greek ὕβρις, means extreme pride or arrogance. Hubris often indicates a loss of contact with reality and an overestimation of one's own competence, accomplishments or capabilities, especially when the person exhibiting it is in a position of power. *
An you wonder why so many boards have problems keeping members or recruiting new ones has become common practice in the town. Like the former blogger states a lack of reality is evident in the pot store fiasco.Pot is here to stay wether legal or illegal ,only we have the choice to say where with no reservations.
ReplyDeleteGo to the WBSM website. Headline today (12/7/13): Marijuana plants confiscated from a residence on Dogwood Street. The resident said he was growing it for medicinal purposes. Not so. Maybe we need to approve a location sooner than we think.
ReplyDelete