Writing about Lancaster, Massachusetts

  Photo by Towfiqu barbhuiya on Unsplash The " Paycheck Protection Program " was a Federal Program that supported businesses during the COVID pandemic; it accepted applications in 2020 and 2021.   Businesses received federally-backed loans, but those loans could be forgiven if the loan was used to avoid payroll reductions during the crisis.  (The vast majority of the loans were used that way and have been forgiven.) The program provided a lot of support to businesses in our area:  Lancaster businesses were approved for more then $24.6 million in loans.   The largest loans in Lancaster went to the Doctor Franklin Perkins school ($3.8 million), Monroe Wire and Cable ($1.8 million), and Ron Bouchard's Auto Sales ($3.7 million over two draws.)   Built-rite Tool and Die received $1.6 million, and D'Ambrosio Eye Care received $2.8 million over two draws. Churches also received loans to encourage them to maintain their payrolls.  In Lancaster,...

  Photo by Tingey Injury Law Firm on Unsplash Tonight at 7PM the Planning Board will review an "Open Meeting" complaint from Lancaster  ZBA Chair Jeanne Rich.  The complaint demands "...a public apology to the Board of selectmen for using the town green without permission and violating the open meeting law."     Ms. Rich filed her complaint on 8/15.   You can grab a copy of her complaint from this link:  Jeanne Rich's 7/15 OML Complaint. The response requested in Ms. Rich's complaint. Ms. Rich alleges: "On Saturday, July 16th and Sunday July 17th, 2022 I was parked on Thayer Memorial Drive to collect signatures for possible recall's [sic] in the town of Lancaster.   At approximately 9:00 a.m. Planning Board member Carol Jackson and Roy Morabito [sic] appeard on the town green with lawn chairs and sat across from me.  About a half hour later Planning Board member C. Peter Christoph appeared and sat with Carol and Roy.   I ...

  Photo by Christian Wiediger on Unsplash LIV golf will hold a tournament at the International Golf Club September 2-4, and will be using the Fairgrounds on Seven Bridge Road for parking. You can watch Police Chief Everett Moody talk about the arrangements in the recording of last night's select board meeting, here:  August 16, 2022 Select Board Meeting.    He starts at 20:50 in the recording. According to the chief the parking in Lancaster should be comparable to a "Friday or Saturday" at the Bolton Fair. I chatted with the chief briefly this morning, who wanted to reinforce that the event will be paying all the police and fire costs  -- it should not cost the town anything.   The town charges a 10% admin fee over those costs -- not a windfall, but maybe $5K or so. Protesting is anticipated around the event:  LIV golf is owned by the Saudi Royal Family though their sovereign wealth fund, and their have been protests at the previous tournaments....

  Lancaster Planning Board chair Roy Mirabito, vice chair Peter Christoph and clerk Carol Jackson submitted their resignation this morning.  Their resignation letter is below.

This coming Wednesday the Planning Board was scheduled to hold a "Zoning Bylaw Public Hearing" for a reworked zoning change proposal for North Lancaster.    It will have to be rescheduled and re-advertised:  the hearing notices that ran in the item were faulty. Two published legal notices should have advertised a hearing for a change the the Enterprise Zone in North Lancaster.  What actually ran was a notice about a hearing for a new Smart Growth Overlay District: it was the text for the 40R Bylaw hearing that was held on June 8th. In the paper copies of the Item on 7/29 and 8/5, the notice that ran incorrectly advertised a "Smart Growth Zoning" district change.  One of the bum hearing notices.  This is the one that ran on 7/29. If you think you remember attending a hearing for the Enterprise Zone change already, you may be correct -- this is a new hearing for a somewhat revamped zoning change.   On January 18th the Planning Board held a public he...

  DHCD released it's final regulations for the  "Multi-Family Zoning Requirement for MBTA Communities."   The difference for Lancaster is tremendous:  rather than a multi-family district of at least 50 acres, accommodating at least 750 units of mutifamily housing, Lancaster is now required only to establish a district that would fit 139 units at a minimum gross density of 15 units/acre.  There is no longer a minimum land area required.  ( LINK ) This is a huge improvement for Lancaster and many other small towns.  The draft regulations included a minimum 750-unit multifamily unit capacity that would have radically altered the composition of many small communities, with tenuous actual access to the MBTA, whose proportiaonately small existing housing stock could be joined by hundreds of by-right multifamily homes in contiguous 30-50 acre districts.  These new requirements introduce a challenge, but it will be achievable, and it will certainly p...