[Massplanners] Legal Advertisements for Planning Board and ZBA Hearings

[Gary Ayrassian]

Hi Kristina,

Fortunately, we haven't had any issues here in Attleboro (and we
administer/staff both the PB and ZBA as well as the ConCom). Technically
this is not a problem for the City but rather for the applicant -- every now
and then the local newspaper will contact the Planning Department prior to
the public hearing to inform us that an applicant hasn't paid the
advertisement fee - in these instances, we simply don't hold the public
hearing (the process is articulated in the PB's regulations, ConCom's
wetlands and stormwater regulations, as well as in the Local Wetlands
Protection Ordinance, Stormwater Management Ordinance, and Zoning Ordinance
- advertisement no pay, no public hearing).

Regards,

Gary

 

_____________________________________

Gary G. Ayrassian, Director

Department of Planning & Development 

City of Attleboro | City Hall - Government Center | 

77 Park Street | Attleboro, MA  02703 |

p: 508.223.2222 x 3143 | f: 508.222.3046 |

 <mailto:cityplanner at cityofattleboro.us> cityplanner at cityofattleboro.us |

 <http://www.cityofattleboro.us/> www.cityofattleboro.us |

 

           

 

 

 

From: MassPlanners <massplanners-bounces at masscptc.org> On Behalf Of Kristina
Johnson via MassPlanners (massplanners at masscptc.org)
Sent: Wednesday, March 23, 2022 10:44 AM
To: massplanners at masscptc.org
Subject: [Massplanners] Legal Advertisements for Planning Board and ZBA
Hearings

 

Hello Friends and Colleagues,

 

I am curious to know if any of you are having an issue with legal
advertisements, as many local and regional newspapers either being
consolidated by large corporate media entities,  have a completely online
presence, or have changed their billing policies. Both in Hudson and in
Framingham (where I serve on the PB), the regional newspaper, the MetroWest
Daily News is requiring "pre-payment" for all legal advertisements instead
of the traditional third-party billing method.  Thankfully in Hudson we have
another newspaper that publishes locally, although their deadlines
completely changed our submission deadlines for PB ZBA, as they only publish
once a week.  In Framingham, the only other local newspaper is 100% online,
so Framingham will most likely have to raise fees for application filings to
cover the pre-payment in order to ensure the provisions of 40A Section 11
are met. I should note that legal advertisements are not cheap!

 

What a headache!  Anyone else facing this issue?

 

Best,

Kristina 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kristina Johnson, AICP

Director of Planning & Community Development

Town of Hudson,  MA

President, Mass. Association of Planning Directors

Tel: 978-562-2989  

Cell:  857-939-3427

Email:  <mailto:kjohnson at townofhudson.org> kjohnson at townofhudson.org

Acta non verba

 

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