[Massplanners] Legal Advertisements for Planning Board and ZBA Hearings

[John Charbonneau]

Everyone,

I don't think going to online legal ads would derogate from the law.  Even
with print newspapers, people can't get the papers unless they pay for them
through delivery or at a store.  So I don't see how online newspapers are
any different.  Our conservation commission recently had a legal ad cost
them $1,400 to be published twice.  That is outrageous.  The law needs to
catch up to what is happening and allow publication in online newspapers to
satisfy the legal requirements.

John

*John M. Charbonneau*
Town Planner
10 Pearl Street
Stoughton, MA 02072
(781) 341-1300 x9201


On Thu, Mar 24, 2022 at 8:08 AM Harry LaCortiglia via MassPlanners <
massplanners at masscptc.org> wrote:

> Hi Everyone,
>
> This is becoming a topic of concern for my community as well. Public
> Hearing Notice costs are rising with the near monopoly of the remaining
> newspapers that still serve the area.
>
> Would it be adverse to law to advertise Notices only in a 100% on-line
> publication?
>
> Not only would that save money, but it most likely would have the effect
> of increasing the distribution of the information. Subscriptions for paper
> versions of newspapers are falling every day, while more and more folks are
> reading their news on-line.
>
> It almost leads one to question if the paper versions are truly any
> longer, "of general circulation".
>
> Looking forward to the views of the Planning community!
> H. LaCortiglia
> Georgetown P.B. & CPC
>
>
> On 3/23/2022 10:43 AM, Kristina Johnson via MassPlanners wrote:
>
> 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
>
>
>
>
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>
> *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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