[Massplanners] Legal Advertisements for Planning Board and ZBA Hearings

[Rick Collins]

Is the requirement still print newspaper only?

There is a growing number of digital only outlets, such as the Bedford
Citizen. Are they able to take legal ads?





On Wed, Mar 23, 2022, 11:14 AM John Charbonneau via MassPlanners <
massplanners at masscptc.org> wrote:

> It is ridiculous to ask an applicant to pay upwards of $200-300 simply for
> a legal ad that runs twice!  Luckily the Patriot-Ledger agreed to allow
> Stoughton to continue to pay the previous rate for a period of 1 year, but
> it will come to an end soon enough.
>
> *John M. Charbonneau*
> Town Planner
> 10 Pearl Street
> Stoughton, MA 02072
> (781) 341-1300 x9201
>
>
> On Wed, Mar 23, 2022 at 11:06 AM Matthew Benoit via MassPlanners <
> massplanners at masscptc.org> wrote:
>
>> One major issue we all have for the Worcester T&G; even though billing
>> for us has been OK, people can’t even view the legal ad online without
>> paying for a membership.
>>
>>
>>
>> Matthew C. Benoit, Notary Public
>>
>> Director of Community Development
>>
>> Town of Douglas
>>
>> 29 Depot Street
>>
>> Douglas, MA 01516
>>
>> 508-476-4000  x206
>>
>> www.douglas-ma.gov
>>
>>
>>
>> *From:* MassPlanners <massplanners-bounces at masscptc.org> *On Behalf Of *Joseph
>> Laydon via MassPlanners
>> *Sent:* Wednesday, March 23, 2022 10:56 AM
>> *To:* Kristina Johnson <kjohnson at townofhudson.org>;
>> massplanners at masscptc.org
>> *Subject:* Re: [Massplanners] Legal Advertisements for Planning Board
>> and ZBA Hearings
>>
>>
>>
>> Kristina,
>>
>>
>>
>> You forgot one important point; these consolidated media entities can’t
>> figure out billing.  So not only are the costs high, but we are constantly
>> calling to straighten out billing issues.
>>
>>
>>
>> We may be at a tipping point where planners and towns start asking our
>> legislatures to remove the newspaper requirements and to rely on posting on
>> town websites.  Even moving from planning to administration, I continue to
>> be frustrated by the changing costs and billing errors.
>>
>>
>>
>> Joe
>>
>>
>>
>> _________________________________
>>
>> Joseph Laydon
>>
>> Town of Littleton
>>
>> Assistant Town Administrator
>>
>> 37 Shattuck Street
>>
>> Littleton, MA 01460
>>
>> jlaydon at littletonma.org
>>
>> 978-540-2460
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> *From:* MassPlanners <massplanners-bounces at masscptc.org> *On Behalf Of *Kristina
>> Johnson via MassPlanners
>> *Sent:* Wednesday, March 23, 2022 10:44 AM
>> *To:* massplanners at masscptc.org
>> *Subject:* [Massplanners] Legal Advertisements for Planning Board and
>> ZBA Hearings
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> **THIS EMAIL WAS SENT BY AN EXTERNAL SENDER**
>>
>> 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: kjohnson at townofhudson.org
>>
>> *Acta non verba*
>>
>>
>> --
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>>
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>
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