Welcome back!

It appears we have entered the stage of the Town Election season when everyone has big feelings. The healthiest way to deal with those big feelings is, of course, to post long messages on social media platforms and then have a couple glasses of wine and doomscroll for hours.

There are a lot of events happening in the weeks ahead. Those include a “Meet the Candidates” event ahead of the Town Election, and a big economic development meeting hosted by the Chamber of Commerce in March. More on those below.

Here’s what we have for you this week:

1. Firearms Business Bylaw Discussions Get More Contentious, More Complicated

2. SudburyWeekly.com News Roundup

3. Q&A With Fairbank Septic Pumping

4. Events!

5. Meet the Candidates Event Sunday, March 10

Let’s get into it!

Firearms Business Bylaw Discussions Get More Contentious, More Complicated

By Kevin LaHaise

The Tuesday, February 27, meeting of the Sudbury Select Board featured a contentious debate about a public forum on the proposed Firearm Safety Business Zoning Bylaw, as well as draft articles about the proposed bylaw that will run in the Select Board’s quarterly newsletter. 

The proposed bylaw would require firearms businesses to get a special permit from the Select Board, impose regulations on their operations, and limit the locations of a maximum of two firearm businesses to an industrial district along the southern side of Boston Post Road at the Wayland border. The relevant parcels include a local restaurant, Soul of India, and a portion of the Land Rover/Jaguar dealership. 

Though the Select Board has yet to vote its position on the warrant article containing the bylaw, Members Russo, Carty and Roberts voted to add it to the Town Meeting warrant in January, and Members Dretler and Kouchakdjian voted against doing so. 

Deliberation turned sour when Member Russo indicated a desire not to have minority members of the Select Board speak as Select Board members at a public forum hosted by the Select Board. (2:01:05) Chair Dretler and Vice-Chair Kouchakdjian, the two who voted against putting the bylaw on the warrant, voiced dismay at what they believed was an attempt to muzzle different opinions. 

Russo argued that the board’s code of conduct policy requires all members to support a decision of the board, even if a member disagrees with the decision, after the board has voted. Chair Dretler argued that the board hasn’t taken a position on the warrant article yet and the Planning Board hasn’t held its hearing yet. The board did vote to add the bylaw article to the warrant for Annual Town Meeting, but they will take positions on all articles at a later date. 

What About Wayland? 

Another tense exchange occurred when Chair Dretler informed the board that Wayland has proposed to zone the parcel adjacent to Land Rover for by-right high-density housing. Wayland, like Sudbury, is seeking to comply with the new MBTA Communities law that imposes housing zoning requirements on many municipalities. 

Late last year the board was told that Wayland was going in a different direction with the MBTA Communities zoning, so the proposed zoning in Wayland’s warrant article was a reversal of what the Select Board had been told previously. It doesn’t appear anyone was tracking the MBTA communities planning process in Wayland after the Select Board was told Wayland would not be locating a housing zone in that area. 

If a developer were to build housing on that Wayland parcel, it would put housing much closer to the Sudbury parcels that could allow gun businesses. It would also put housing closer to the parcels that allow gun businesses than the proposed Sudbury bylaw currently permits via its setback requirements. However, it is unclear if those setbacks would have any applicability based on the uses on the other side of the town line, or if zoning in Wayland has any influence on zoning in Sudbury. The Select Board opted to seek counsel from the town’s legal and/or planning experts. 

In addition to Wayland’s proposed MBTA Communities zoning, Chair Dretler noted that the town line between Sudbury and Wayland bisects the parcel currently used by the Land Rover dealership. It was unclear if that had an impact for the Sudbury firearm bylaw, because the portion of land in Sudbury would permit a firearm business if the bylaw passes. The board is seeking guidance on that as well. 

Vice-Chair Kouckakdjian made a motion to withdraw the article from the warrant based on her concerns that the bylaw has not been fully vetted. Chair Dretler gave it the second but the motion was eventually struck based on concerns that such a vote may not have been properly noticed based on the language of the agenda item. 

Accusations of Misinformation

Later in the meeting, the majority sought to edit a Select Board newsletter article (page 86) authored by Kouchakdjian (3:12:30). After a debate about the precedent for editing other members’ articles, the majority relented and the two articles submitted for the quarterly newsletter were approved without edits. 

The majority opinion is that the firearm bylaw significantly restricts gun businesses in both locations and operations. That’s typically contrasted with the current state of Sudbury’s zoning bylaws, which have no regulations for firearms business uses. The minority opinion is that the bylaw allows two firearm business uses, and codifies that in Sudbury’s bylaws. Both statements are technically accurate. Whether the bylaw “limits” firearms businesses to two or “allows” two firearms businesses appears to be a semantic distinction that has more to do with framing the bylaw to influence public perception. 

Highlighting the dysfunction in the meeting, Member Russo at several points argued that statements from the minority were not factual. But Russo himself began framing the minority position on the bylaw as “opposition to gun control” during the meeting (2:13:30). The minority members have called for stronger gun control than the bylaw provides, including larger setbacks from sensitive uses in the existing draft bylaw, and a preference for an all-out ban on gun shops, in prior meetings. The majority has objected to a ban because a proposed ban failed as a Citizen Petition at the last Annual Town Meeting, and because Town Counsel has warned of a potentially expensive lawsuit if the town implements a ban. 

Next Steps

The bylaw will likely be on the agenda again for the next Select Board meeting, since the board is seeking to understand more about any possible conflicts with Wayland’s proposed MBTA Communities zoning. It also remained unclear what exactly the agenda would be for the public forum, though they did pick a date and location: March 28 at the Goodnow Library.

The Planning Board will also hold a public hearing at a later date, as is required by law. 

SudburyWeekly.com News Roundup

Here’s some of what you’ll find on the site this week:

Thoughts In Return?

A Q&A With Fairbank Septic Pumping

[Editorial Disclosure: the publisher of Sudbury Weekly is a Fairbank customer, and will not use any other septic pumping service for the rest of time and all of eternity.]

1 -- Tell us about your business. How did you get started and how has the business grown and evolved since you got started?

Prior to owning my own business I spent almost a decade working for a local company as a technician. When the owner decided to retire I made an unsuccessful attempt to purchase his business. In time I decided I didn't want to go into another industry but I also didn't want to work for the incoming ownership. I decided that the best option was to borrow some money and try to start my own pumping company. I started small, with a pump truck and some hand tools and a couple customers. Along the way we have grown dramatically from the beginning. We currently operate 3 trucks, a small backhoe for inspection and have 5 employees. It's been an amazing experience.

2 -- You have many loyal customers in Sudbury who recommend you to neighbors with great enthusiasm. What has been the key for Fairbank Septic to build that kind of customer base?

I think the most important part of success is being honest and transparent. My approach has always been to talk to customers and handle each job as if I was working on my own property. I strive to educate people about the systems they own so that they can make informed decision about maintenance, construction and upgrades. We want everybody to walk away from an interaction with FSP feeling like all their questions were answered thoroughly and they got value from the transaction.

3 -- You have some deep roots in Sudbury. What does it mean to you to serve this community via a local business that you built from the ground up?

My family has a lot of history in this town. It has been humbling to see and feel the support for my business from the community. I have always had a soft spot for supporting local business. I have looked up to many people locally that have created successful business inside the community. It feels amazing to be part of that group of people. It’s a great feeling to help people in the town that I grew up in and be supported by them. It has been a wonderful experience.

4 -- What services do you offer today? How have your services grown or evolved since you got started?

We haven't changed what we offer from day one. The growth of the business has allowed me to offer the service to more people without burning myself out. I have technicians that rotate an on-call schedule with me in the mix, so now I can get a couple weekends a month off, whereas before I was the guy 24/7/365.

5 -- What is something more people should know about septic systems? Do you find that there are any common misunderstandings about how they work?

I think the most common misunderstanding I find is what happens to the water you use in the house. A septic system is a recycling system for your water. The septic and soil absorption system removes the majority of solid waste from the water before that water reenters the groundwater. Here in Sudbury and most surrounding towns the drinking water is pulled from municipal wells. The water that passes through your septic system is the same water that comes back through your tap water for drinking, cooking and cleaning. It’s the same water in streams, ponds and wetlands. This is why its very important to clean your septic tank. The septic tank is the first stage of “treatment.” If the solids are not removed from the septic tank at regular intervals they will build up to a point, and will pass through your tank to the soil absorption system. Over time this process leads to failure and in turn can lead to pollution of the water supply.

6 -- What's next for Fairbank Septic? What's your vision for the business in the long-term?

When I first started my goal was to build a business that my children could be part of if they wished to be. I still have that dream. My brother has become part of our team in the last 6 months, and is helping to streamline office processes and bring us into the 21st century technology wise. I would like the business to be self sustaining and be able to meet the needs of the Sudbury community and many other surrounding towns. I would like it to be able to take care of the families of the employees, and be a place that people work for most of their careers. I would like to grow it to a point that we can use the resources to create/achieve some other projects I have always wanted to undertake. Most of all I just want to be able to keep doing what I am doing, because most of all I love what I do.

Meet the Candidates Event Sunday, March 10

By the League of Women Voters of Sudbury

The League of Women Voters of Sudbury is hosting a drop-in event for members of the community to meet the candidates for town offices and school committees Sunday, March 10, 2-4 p.m. in the Community Room at Goodnow Library.

All candidates in both contested and uncontested races are invited. Members of the community can stop by any time and talk to the candidates. Students are encouraged to come and ask questions. Families are welcome. Light, allergy-friendly refreshments will be served.

The election is Monday, March 25, with contested races for Select Board and Sudbury School Committee.

The League’s Voters’ Guide is now available on its website, www.lwvsudbury.org.

A Candidates’ Forum for the Sudbury School Committee is airing on SudburyTV cable channels Comcast 22 and Verizon 30 during March, and is available on-demand at sudburytv.org. A cable subscription is not needed to view the on-demand version on a computer or smartphone. A separate forum with uncontested candidates will be available in early March.

Parting Thoughts

Endorsements and opinions pieces are trickling in at Sudbury Weekly as election season heats up. Take a look at our submission policies on this page to get a sense of how it works. We stop running endorsements two weeks before the election.

We have yet to receive an endorsement in haiku form, nor an op-ed in cartoon form, but that’s an idea somebody should jump on. If we had merch, we’d probably give out a Sudbury Weekly-branded fanny pack to the first non-narrative opinion submission. Alas… all we have is this animated gif of a fanny pack filled with bacon. That will have to suffice.

Onward!