Happy 4th of July Weekend

Welcome back!

Either it was a slow news week, or I ate too many hot dogs and missed everything. Here’s what we have for you:

1. Zoning Board to Take a Crack at New Firearms Business Zoning Bylaw

2. Mosquito Spraying — No Need to Hide In Your Basement

3. Representative Gentile to Hold July District Virtual Office Hours

4. Sudbury’s 4th of July Parade (In Photos)

Let’s get into it!

Zoning Board to Take a Crack at New Firearms Business Zoning Bylaw

By Kevin LaHaise

On Monday, July 1, the Sudbury Zoning Board of Appeals discussed a new firearms business zoning bylaw after the Select Board’s version of a bylaw failed at the May 2024 Annual Town Meeting. Chair John Riordan stated that a draft of the bylaw was circulated to members of the board, and that he would scheduled a dedicated meeting to discuss the draft at a future date. He indicated a preference to host that meeting when fewer residents are on vacation and they can have broader participation from the public.

Member Frank Riepe introduced the broad framework of the draft bylaw, while indicating that he was working with an ad-hoc committee of private citizens to develop the draft.

The new bylaw would locate firearms businesses, under a special permit, in the area currently known as ID-6. ID-6 is an industrial district south of the Town Transfer Station on Boston Post Road.

Rather than relying on setback distances for protections, the draft bylaw would simply designate a single district (a new “Industrial District Special Use”) for firearms businesses where ID-6 is today. The prior approach by the Select Board allowed firearms businesses in all Industrial Districts under special permit. However, when the Select Board layered on required setbacks from sensitive uses, it left only ID-4 (near Land Rover and Soul of India on Boston Post Road) as a viable location for firearms businesses based on nearby existing uses in and around Sudbury.

The new approach may raise questions about spot zoning, for which the Zoning Board of Appeals will likely need to have a compelling answer in order to gain the support of other Town boards like the Select Board and Planning Board. The Select Board regularly discussed its desire to avoid “spot zoning” when developing their version of the bylaw.

The city of Beverly, MA offers the following definition of spot zoning: “Spot zoning occurs when just one parcel or a small area is singled out to allow more flexible development than the surrounding area, particularly when planning documents (such as master plans or area plans) call for either completely different zoning or the rezoning of a larger area.” (Page 4)

The land in ID-6, according to Riepe, is more tucked away than what was previously proposed by the Select Board, though it’s still very close to the Mass Central Rail Trail, which was a criticism of the Select Board’s prior approach. In a copy of the draft bylaw, which was provided by the Town of Sudbury, the approach varies from the Select Board bylaw in several other ways.

The current draft would eliminate ID-6 as an ID category, and relabel that area as “IDX-1” which would stand for “Industrial District Special Use.” The bylaw would then list the permitted and prohibited uses for the district. In the current draft, the permitted uses include firearms businesses, manufacturing, warehousing, sales of industrial/agricultural tools and equipment, repair of commercial vehicles and commercial landscape uses. That protects the existing businesses in the district and adds firearms businesses.

The prohibited uses include many of the sensitive uses that the Select Board tried to protect with setbacks in their version of a bylaw. The new draft would prohibit housing, daycares, banking, farm stands, restaurants, healthcare services, athletic facilities and meeting halls.

Other provisions of the draft bylaw address the weaknesses members of the Zoning Board of Appeals perceived in the Select Board’s proposed bylaw. That includes increasing the limits of liability in the insurance requirement from $1,000,000 to $5,000,000 and listing the Town of Sudbury as an insured party. The video surveillance provisions also add a requirement for a direct connection to the Sudbury Police Department in order to accelerate alerts to a break-in or theft.

Perhaps the most notable change is that the current draft would make the Zoning Board of Appeals the special permit granting authority for firearms businesses. The Select Board opted to make itself the special permit granting authority in their draft bylaw, a choice that held together a three-member majority in support of their bylaw.

The draft bylaw was characterized as a very early draft during Monday’s Zoning Board of Appeals meeting, so much could change between now and the next discussion.

Mosquito Spraying — No Need to Hide In Your Basement

By Kevin LaHaise

The Sudbury Health Department is keeping a close eye on mosquito populations, and they’re taking a vigilant approach. In a recent Board of Health meeting, the topic was discussed at length. (22:22) The bad news was that mosquito populations are very high in Sudbury and they expect high numbers of mosquito-borne diseases, but the good news was that they haven’t (as of the time of their meeting in late June) seen any human cases of concerning diseases like Eastern equine encephalitis. The Health Department is working to provide educational materials to the public.

On Wednesday the Health Department announced the next round of truck-mounted spraying. That will happen on July 9 in a variety of neighborhoods. More details here. Spraying starts after sunset.

They advise residents to go indoors and close their windows for a few minutes if they see truck-mounted sprayer going past their homes. “As with any pesticide, people should minimize their exposure.” However, they also note: “Zenivex E4 is a non-ester pyrethroid and is classified by the EPA as a reduced risk pesticide. Mosquito control applications of Zenivex E4 do not pose a significant risk to people or their pets due to the low toxicity and the small amount used to control mosquitoes.”

So that’s that. If you see a truck, go inside and close the windows. And maybe crank the air conditioning, really get those hydrofluorocarbon refrigerants pumping, and give next year’s mosquito population a fighting chance to set new records? Either way, you don’t have to hide in your basement when they spray.

Representative Gentile to Hold July District Virtual Office Hours

Submitted by the Office of Representative Carmine Gentile

State Representative Carmine Gentile (D-Sudbury) will hold virtual office hours on Friday, July 12th, 2024.

Constituents are encouraged to schedule a time to talk with Representative Gentile and his staff. Meetings will take place via Microsoft Teams video call from 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM. A timely RSVP is required for a meeting.

Office hours are for Rep. Gentile’s constituents, residents of the 13th Middlesex District, which includes:

• Sudbury

• Wayland: Precincts 1 and 4

• Marlborough: Ward 1 Precincts 1 and 2, Ward 2 Precinct 2A, and Ward 7 Precinct 2A

• Lincoln: Precinct 1

• Concord: Precincts 3 and 4

If residents are unsure who their representative is, they can input their address on this page: https://malegislature.gov/search/findmylegislator.

Any constituent who wishes to speak to Representative Gentile can sign up for a 20-minute time slot by emailing Rep. Gentile’s legislative aide, Ravi Simon, at ravi.simon@mahouse.gov. Constituents signing up for a meeting must provide their full name, address, phone number, email, and their discussion topic.

Individuals must provide sufficient detail in describing the topic of discussion so that Representative Gentile may prepare for the meeting if needed. Individuals should also make sure that they have the appropriate equipment and good internet service for a video call.

For any questions regarding office hours and other matters, please contact Ravi Simon.

Sudbury’s 4th of July Parade (In Photos)

Readers who visited the main Sudbury Weekly website earlier today were greeted with a collection of resident-submitted photographs from Sudbury’s 4th of July Parade. You can get that story here.

If any newsletter subscribers would like to submit a batch of their own photos, we will happily add them as additional galleries in the original story. You can email photos to SudburyWeekly@gmail.com. Please provide your first and last name if you want attribution for your photographs.

Parting Thoughts

It’s a holiday weekend, y’all. I’m outta here!

Onward!