Sudbury Speaks

Welcome back!

We had ourselves a busy little week, spanning everything from a Town Election to the Select Board contemplating big questions like “what is a carnival?” The answer? That depends on how you feel about clowns.

This week we’re keeping things streamlined for you.

1. SudburyWeekly.com News Roundup

2. Select Board Lightning Round

3. Gun Talk: Bylaw Information Session Recap

Let’s get into it!

SudburyWeekly.com News Roundup

Select Board Lightning Round

By Kevin LaHaise

The Select Board met on Tuesday, a mere 24 hours after the Town election, to cover some important business. Here’s the running summary:

Report from Finance Committee

• This is a part of the budget process every year. The main point is that the Finance Committee has voted to recommend approval of the FY25 budget. You can review the slide presentation here. (19:30)

• The Parkinson Field driveway came up during the discussion. Prior coverage here. Chair Dretler encouraged the Finance Committee to revisit their prior discussion on the topic with more information about how the driveway project would play a key role in access to the Bruce Freeman Rail Trail. (39:55)

• Co-chairs Mike Joachim and Eric Poch seemed amenable to that idea, so we’ll be tracking it at their next meeting. The Finance Committee previously voted not to recommend approval of the article to Town Meeting.

FY25 Operating Budget

• Town Manager Andy Sheehan presented the budget. Much of this has been covered in prior meetings of the Select Board and Finance Committee, but additional details get nailed down as the budget process moves forward.

• You can watch the presentation at 1:09:30

Positions on Town Meeting Articles

• They took more positions on more articles. However, an article from the Goodnow Library Trustees seeking funding for EV charging stations continues to be a bit of an albatross for both the Select Board and the Finance Committee.

• Both bodies have had questions about this article, which took an unusual path to get onto the warrant. Sudbury’s Combined Facilities Director, Sandra Duran, explained the project in detail during the Select Board meeting, but the Select Board is going to wait to hear more from the Finance Committee before they take a position. (2:12:30)

Update From the Policy Subcommittee

• The Select Board Policy Subcommittee has been working on a comprehensive review of all the Select Board policies, which we learned on Tuesday include a policy banning carnivals and circuses.

• Deliberation about carnivals and clowns is as amusing as you would imagine. Jump to 3:12:20 for your post-election moment of zen. Apparently a carnival didn’t go terribly well in 1971?

• Big picture, the subcommittee is cranking through policies and it sounded like they’re approaching a point at which several policies could be put in front of the full Select Board for a vote.

Gun Talk: Bylaw Information Session Recap

By Kevin LaHaise

The Sudbury Select Board held a public information session Thursday, March 28,  on their proposed Firearm Safety Business Use Zoning bylaw. Attendees reported the community room at Goodnow Library was  approximately half-full, and virtual attendees on Zoom peaked at 81.

Town Counsel was in attendance with colleagues from KP Law, as were Town Manger Andy Sheehan, Police Chief Scott Nix, and Director of Planning and Community Development Adam Burney. The town announced Wednesday that an expert from the Giffords Law Center would attend, but he was not introduced and did not appear to be present.

The first hour included an introduction from Select Board member Jennifer Roberts, who served as moderator, as well as a detailed presentation in support of the proposed bylaw by member Charlie Russo. The proponents argued that failure to pass the bylaw to require special permits for firearms dealers leaves Sudbury without any restrictions on such retailers. There were lengthy comments from members Daniel Carty, Lisa Kouchakdjian and Jennifer Roberts. Member Janie Dretler added her comments later.

Dretler and Kouchakdjian oppose the bylaw, and Dretler suggested it could be put off for reconsideration by indefinitely postponing it at Town Meeting.

Questions were taken from residents attending in person and by Zoom, and pre-submitted questions were also asked during the second hour.

The first wave of questions included if the bylaw could regulate the type of guns sold, why the setbacks from sensitive uses were smaller than those in other municipalities, and whether the intent of the bylaw was to increase safety or to strengthen the process that gun shops would need to follow to open in Sudbury. Members of the Select Board and Town staff fielded most of the questions and explained the thinking behind the bylaw.

One resident questioned what problem the board is trying to solve with the bylaw, as he felt Sudbury didn’t have a known gun violence problem and was unaware of any data linking gun shops to increases in gun violence. He went on to question why the board didn’t get input from groups like the Gun Owners’ Action League. Member Russo commented: “This is not a ban, far from it.”

Sudbury Weekly has contacted the Gun Owners’ Action League twice to get their position on the bylaw in recent weeks. They have not responded.

Later in the Q&A portion of the session, a resident asked if any options had been evaluated other than a ban or the current proposed bylaw. The resident was told this bylaw is the only option being considered at this time.

Other questions focused on concerns about the process by which the Select Board developed the bylaw, public input, and the level of vetting the bylaw has gone through.

One recurring point in favor of the proposed bylaw was that it was consistent with what other municipalities have done in Massachusetts. Member Russo felt that it would better withstand legal scrutiny if it was consistent with multiple other municipalities. The proponents also acknowledged that it varies from similar bylaws around the state in certain ways, like the smaller setbacks from sensitive uses.

To that point, Adam Burney, Sudbury’s Director of Planning and Community Development, explained how the layout of Sudbury’s zoning districts, its preponderance of residential property, and the fact the town has border-to-border rail trails running north-south and east-west, makes it difficult to find an allowable place for gun shops with setbacks that are comparable to other communities with similar bylaws.

Jennifer Roberts encouraged residents to attend the April 10 public hearing of the Planning Board to ask further questions or make further comments.

The recorded session will be available on SudburyTV in the coming days.

Parting Thoughts

The rain is back. And the long range forecast shows some risk of snow next week. Meanwhile, the Weekly is going out to readers at nearly midnight on a Friday. (Sorry! Crazy week over here!)

We’ll leave it there and catch you next week, which looks to be awfully busy.

Onward!