To the Editor,
I would like to take this opportunity to thank Moderator Alan Wilson and all those who helped with the Special Town Meeting on November 14.
I also want to express my gratitude to the residents who attended this meeting. Thank you for your patience with the technical difficulties. Thank you for your questions and comments.
Although we were unable to take up all the articles, we were successful on all the warrant articles we presented. The passage of these has allowed us to make important changes to the Zoning Bylaw which will make the regulations clear and understandable.
I and other planning board members have received quite a bit of feedback from those who attended. We learned some important lessons including the need to present zoning changes more clearly with as much explanation as we possibly can.
Zoning laws are complex. We must do a better job of explaining both what a proposed change would do and why we are proposing it. A simple guide to each specific law being proposed as a separate document to the law itself would simplify things.
The proposed changes are not arbitrary but are based on the policies outlined in the Master Plan and the advice from our legal consultant.
We feel that proposed changes that are clearly and carefully presented and that make reasonable improvements to the bylaw will be supported by the voters the next time we convene.
Ron Mastrogiacomo
Chairman, Manchester Planning Board
