[Massplanners] Legal Advertisements for Planning Board and ZBA Hearings

[Bob Mitchell]

Since this is a problem facing many towns and cities and will continue to
face even more, and it is an issue related to the notice requirements for
many aspects of local government, this seems like an issue MMA should be
taking the lead on with the Legislature. Is anyone aware of any MMA
initiative on this topic?

Bob

Bob Mitchell FAICP
Planning Consultant
Land Use, Planning, Zoning, & Training Programs
151 Tremont Street Suite 23A
Boston, MA 02111
617-512-9751 (c)
MitchellFAICP at gmail.com



On Wed, Mar 23, 2022 at 2:52 PM Richard McCarthy via MassPlanners <
massplanners at masscptc.org> wrote:

> Eric,
>
>
>
> Welcome to MA.  I suspect the newspapers lobbyists will do the same here
> if we tried.  I completely agree the time came long ago.
>
>
>
> Best,
>
>
>
>
>
> Richard J. McCarthy, Jr.
>
> Town Planner
>
> 1 Liberty Lane
>
> Norfolk, MA 02056
>
> 508-440-2807
>
> Office Hours- Monday through Thursday 9am to 6pm
>
> Closed Fridays
>
>
>
> *As a reminder, please do not reply all to this email. If you have any
> questions or comments, email me directly. *
>
>
>
> *Please be advised that the Secretary of State has determined that e-mail
> sent by or received by municipal employees is a public record.*
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> *From:* MassPlanners [mailto:massplanners-bounces at masscptc.org] *On
> Behalf Of *Eric Rumsey via MassPlanners
> *Sent:* Wednesday, March 23, 2022 11:13 AM
> *To:* Joseph Laydon; Kristina Johnson; massplanners at masscptc.org
> *Subject:* Re: [Massplanners] Legal Advertisements for Planning Board and
> ZBA Hearings
>
>
>
> A few years ago (when I worked for a municipality in CT), we asked
> everyone who participated in our public hearings how they had heard about
> the hearing.  There wasn’t a single person who had seen the legal notice in
> the paper.  CCAPA, CAZEO (Connecticut Association of Zoning Enforcement
> Officers), and others lobbied for a change to the statutes to allow posting
> on websites, etc.  Sadly, the newspaper lobbyists have/had deeper pockets
> so no change was made.
>
>
>
> Hopefully here in Massachusetts will have better luck.
>
>
>
> *Eric Rumsey*
>
> Town Planner & Conservation Agent
>
> *Economic Development and Planning Department*
>
> *Town of Southbridge*
>
> 41 Elm Street | Southbridge, MA 01550
>
> p: 508.764.5402
>
> e: erumsey at southbridgemass.org
>
> w: ci.southbridge.ma.us
>
>
>
> *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*
>
>
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> This email has been scanned for spam and viruses by Proofpoint Essentials.
> Click here
> <https://gdsprotect.cloud-protect.net/index01.php?mod_id=11&mod_option=logitem&mail_id=1648047421-e_FLJje6uHs8&r_address=erumsey%40southbridgemass.org&report=1>
> to report this email as spam.
> --
> MassPlanners mailing list
> MassPlanners at masscptc.org
> http://masscptc.org/mailman/listinfo/massplanners_masscptc.org
>
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://masscptc.org/pipermail/massplanners_masscptc.org/attachments/20220323/dcbc1b33/attachment.htm>