On Thursday, August 13th, the Planning Board met to discuss several issues. The discussion surrounding the Special Permit for Heavy Use was about whether the Planning Board should have the permit granting authority rather than the City Council. We at Water Not Waste are opposed to the Planning Board having this authority. 

This following information is provided courtesy of North Street Neighborhood Association. 

The board was divided on whether it is the proper body to issue special permits for heavy public uses such as the proposed expansion of the Northampton landfill. Member Marilyn Richards favored the idea, but several other members (Mark Sullivan, Kenneth Jodrie, Stephen Gilson, George Kohout) had reservations, believing that the City Council is the more appropriate venue for major political decisions.

0:29:40... Kenneth Jodrie: "I just feel very strongly that this is a decision that has to do with the economics of how the city is run...in fact we say to lots of applicants, 'Don't tell us about the economics of it because we don't deal with that. That's not our thing.' That is a big part of the decision on that landfill--the money. And that's a city councilor decision. That's all about the finances of the city... If you close that landfill, there's a huge impact on the city's budget. It's a political decision. That's not a site plan approval issue, and I don't think it's...a special permit, at least in the way that we typically deal with special permits."

0:30:36... Stephen Gilson: "The ramifications...of the landfill are far beyond what we are typically involved in... I think there's so many issues that are outside what our general background and our decision-making typically covers that I still think it's a political issue."

The following recording was made by Ben Spencer, on behalf of North Street Neighborhood Association.