It became clear that the MTA is led by a collection of Fact-Free Leftist, Racist, Propagandist Buffoons when its leaders issued their infamous “Dear White Educators” letter following the death of serial criminal offender-doper-counterfeiter George Floyd back in 2020– A message from ALANA educators (massteacher.org) By the way, George Floyd’s Hennepin County autopsy report showed that there was no damage to his airways, BUT that he had heart disease and a potentially lethal amount of fentanyl in his system. Ya, Ya, George Floyd was a paragon of virtue alright. As for the other alleged Black ‘victims’ listed in that letter, ONLY Ahmaud Arbery was a truly innocent victim and his murderers got life in prison– Ahmaud Arbery’s killers sentenced to life in prison for 25-year-old Black man’s murder | CNN
BUT NOOO. The MTA led the 2016 drive to shoot down Massachusetts Charter School expansion– Charter school expansion shot down | AP News The mediocrities inside the MTA don’t like competition and hate being shown-up.
SO NOW the MTA has gotten Question 2 on the November 2024 election ballot. If passed Question 2 would ELIMINATE MCAS testing standards as a high school graduation requirement. That’s right—the MTA is all about NOT BEING HELD TO STANDARDS while scarfing Massachusetts taxpayer funding. That’s yet more proof that it is a collection of mediocrities EAGER TO DUMB-DOWN YOUR KIDS WHILE THEY KEEP THEIR PUBLIC FEEDING TROUGH GRAVY TRAIN GOING.
This is what the Massachusetts Legislature’s Special Joint Committee on Initiative Petition[s] had to say, in pertinent part, about Ballot Question 2:
“[S]imply eliminating the uniform graduation requirement, which will allow students to graduate who do not meet basic standards, with no standardized and consistent benchmark in place to ensure those standards are met, will not improve student outcomes and runs the risk of exacerbating inconsistencies and inequities in instruction and learning across districts… [It] OUGHT NOT TO BE ENACTED….”
On 5 November 2024 VOTE ‘NO’ ON BALLOT QUESTION 2.
Bend over, Sterling Taxpayers, you’re about to get rammed yet again if the D.P.W. gets its wish! In addition to the $$$ Multi-Million Playing Fields Boondoggle Proposal—that while we are already right on the edge of a 2025 Proposition 2 ½ property tax override vote due to out-of-control WRSD budget bloat—here comes ANOTHER BOONDOGGLE. The D.P.W. wants a new building that I hereby dub the ‘Garage Mahal.’ Doubtless the ‘Garage Mahal’ proposal will be for $$$ Millions too.
Do you remember what happened when the D.P.W. built its addition years back? No? Well, at least one of that addition’s floors was poured with a three-inch (3”) pitch. That’s right—on roller skates you could just roll downhill across that floor. I guess they wanted rainwater to run off it in case the roof leaked. BRILLIANT! YEAH, your tax dollars at work—AGAIN!
As I’ve asked previously, how can we say ‘Good-bye’ to John Kilcoyne when he won’t go away? A fruit fly has more brains, more common sense, and bigger balls than that cipher.
Reminder: Kilcoyne opposed expanding the Select Board from 3 to 5 members and, in fact, had a BIG sign made up that he drove around in the bed of his pickup truck opposing that measure. That dumbass’s sign didn’t have any noticeable effect, though. Sterling voters, this year, approved, overwhelmingly, expansion of the Select Board from 3 to 5 members because they know that the 3-member Select Board has been controlled by a self-dealing, behind-the-scenes, pro-property-developer cabal for years. Kilcoyne is one of the cabal members/tools.
Reminder: Kilcoyne opposed the October 2023 Special Town Meeting Warrant Article to audit the bent, out-of-control Board of Health then in place. He was stuffed by Sterling voters then, too.
Reminder: As a Select Board member serving two 3-year terms NOT ONCE did Kilcoyne EVER voice opposition to out-of-control Wachusett Regional School District budget bloat that has pushed the Town of Sterling to the edge of a 2025 Proposition 2 ½ property tax override vote.
Reminder: As a Select Board member Kilcoyne voted repeatedly to maintain Maureen ‘Our Lady of Perpetual Bullshit’ Cranson as Select Board Chair, thereby subverting Sterling tradition and historical practice by which, previously, the Chair rotated each year.
Kilcoyne-The-Braying-Jackass now wants to be on the Sterling Finance Committee—
The fix is in. The current Select Board, and former Select Board member and self-proclaimed pro-development HACK, the new Town Moderator, Richard Lane, will vote to approve Kilcoyne’s appointment to the Finance Committee.
As noted previously on this Blog site the WRSD’s peak enrollment occurred back in 2010 at 7493 students. By FY 2024 WRSD total student enrollment had fallen to 6676, a loss of 817 students—the equivalent of 54.5 empty classrooms using the WRSD’s own, claimed student-teacher ratio. It took 60 years—from its establishment in 1955 to FY 2015—for the WRSD to reach a total budget of $81.3 million. BUT in just the last 10 years, despite that massive enrollment drop-off, the WRSD’s total budget skyrocketed $60.6 million to a total of $121.9 million for FY 2025.
The WRSD Committee and the WRSD Superintendent are outright, blatant cowards. Despite the massive enrollment drop-off they have refused to implement ANY personnel reductions in force (RIFs) authorized by statute—
BUT MAKE NO MISTAKE ABOUT IT– THE STERLING SELECT BOARD, IGNORANT COWARDS ALL, HAVE PLAYED ALONG WITH THE WRSD COMMITTEE AND WRSD SUPERINTENTENDENTS. SINCE 2012, AT SUCCESSIVE STERLING ANNUAL TOWN MEETINGS, THEY HAVE FAILED TO UTTER A SINGLE OBJECTION TO THE OBSCENE WRSD ONGOING, RATCHETED BUDGET BLOAT. THE STERLING SELECT BOARD ARE GUTLESS BUMPS-ON-A-LOG. DUE TO THEIR INCOMPETENCE STERLING TAXPAYERS FACE A LIKELY 2025 PROPOSITION 2 ½ PROPERTY TAX OVERRIDE VOTE.
Oh, so with that threat looming what else can those outright clowns tack on to the Sterling property tax burden??? Gee, how about $$$ MILLIONS for playing fields and associated parking additions???
Well folks, here is what those dopes are up to in that regard:
I repeat the old Sterling joke about the notorious Developer Simpsons, father and son: “The Simpsons never bought a wetland that didn’t perc.”
James Simpson, the son following in the footsteps of his notorious father, proposes to build two homes on land off James Patten Drive. BUT a Coldwater Fisheries Headwaters Tributary Stream flows right through that property as shown by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Wetlands Map/Aerial Survey. Here it is:
That branch of the stream actually forks off the stream that flows under Ashton Lane. The stream that flows under Ashton Lane begins in a wetland located on Kendall Hill near the ‘Malvern Hill’ development.
That tributary stream on Simpson’s parcel flows downhill to join two other tributary streams forming Wekepeke Brook, South Branch, a Massachusetts Coldwater Fisheries Resource. Here is the Massachusetts Coldwater Fisheries Regulation—
SO OF COURSE THE TOWN OF STERLING HIRED HIM TO BE ITS CONSERVATION COMMISSION AGENT!!! You just can’t make up this shit!
Back to that notorious snake, Simpson. He wants to push a driveway over that stream running through his property off James Patten Drive, to be shared by the two homes he wants to build. BUT THAT’S NOT ALL. The only decent soil for septic systems on that parcel is near that stream. Uphill from that stream is the bedrock of Kendall Hill’s north spur.
So where do you think the required soil testing for Simpson’s two planned septic systems was done? Do you trust in the veracity and accuracy of the soil testing reports that Simpson had done? Me neither.
Simpson will be re-appearing before the Sterling Planning Board on 12 September 2024 concerning his proposed “access” to that parcel—
GEE, could the Sterling Planning Board, for once, actually be concerned about protecting a sensitive Sterling natural resource and step into the vacuum left by the Sterling Conservation Commission?
Amended by St.2023, c. 7, §§ 152-153, effective 30 days following enactment pursuant to subsection (c) of section 2 Article LXXXVII of the Amendments to the Constitution.
(1) An MBTA community shall have a zoning ordinance or by-law that provides for at least 1 district of reasonable size in which multi-family housing is permitted as of right; provided, however, that such multi-family housing shall be without age restrictions and shall be suitable for families with children. For the purposes of this section, a district of reasonable size shall: (i) have a minimum gross density of 15 units per acre, subject to any further limitations imposed by section 40 of chapter 131 and title 5 of the state environmental code established pursuant to section 13 of chapter 21A; and (ii) be located not more than 0.5 miles from a commuter rail station, subway station, ferry terminal or bus station, if applicable.
(b)
An MBTA community that fails to comply with this section shall not be eligible for funds from: (i) the Housing Choice Initiative as described by the governor in a message to the general court dated December 11, 2017; (ii) the Local Capital Projects Fund established in section 2EEEE of chapter 29; (iii) the MassWorks infrastructure program established in section 63 of chapter 23A, or (iv) the HousingWorks infrastructure program established in section 27½ of chapter 23B.
(c)
The executive office of housing and livable communities, in consultation with the executive office of economic development, the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority and the Massachusetts Department of Transportation, shall promulgate guidelines to determine if an MBTA community is in compliance with this section.
As you can see, THAT STATUTE DOES NOT APPLY TO THE TOWN OF STERLING BECAUSE STERLING DOES NOT HAVE ANY LAND WITHIN 0.5 MILES OF A TRANSIT TERMINAL OR STATION DESCRIBED IN THAT STATUTE. In fact, the nearest commuter rail station is on Nashua Street, North Leominster, at least 5 miles from Sterling land.
BUT the Sterling Planning Board, Chaired by Self-Dealing Developer Weasel Carl Corrinne; the deceptive, dishonest, misleading, out-of-control Sterling Town Planner (appointed by the Select Board, but up Corrinne’s A$$ at Sterling taxpayer expense); the Select Board (Cranson, Newman, and Smith, with a COMBINEDIQ falling shortof AIRHEAD COMMIE KAMALA HARRIS’S); and the Town Administrator, up the Select Board’s A$$, also at Sterling taxpayer expense, because they appointed him too, have all decided to take a knee rather than buck the pressure campaign mounted by the lying, incompetent DEI hire known as Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell (Massachusetts’ own state-level equivalent to Airhead Cackling Kamala).
Rather than wait for the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court to hear oral arguments in October 2024 and, thereafter, await its ruling on the Town of Milton’s DEVASTATING Counter-Claim against AG Andrea Campbell challenging the application and enforceability of Ch. 40A, Sec. 3A– Towns-Answer-and-Counterclaim-3-27-24 (townofmilton.org)— our Sterling Municipal Building lemmings decided that it was prudent, NOW, to select the parcel off the end of Ford Road, in the far northeastern corner of Sterling, next to the Lancaster Town Forest, to be re-zoned for ‘MBTA High-Density Housing.’
The lax dopes constituting the Sterling Select Board had the opportunity to file an Amicus Brief also. They could have put Town Counsel, K-P Law, Boston, to good use for a change. Abject failures that they are, they declined to do so.
AH, SUCH PRUDENCE AND BRILLIANCE ON DISPLAY YOU SAY???!!!
BUT WAIT, THESE FRIGGIN’ STERLING MUNICIPAL BUILDING GENIUSES PICKED A PARCEL WITH A POND ON IT, A WETLAND ON IT, AND A STATE-PROTECTED COLDWATER FISHERIES TRIBUTARY STREAM RUNNING TROUGH IT! THAT STREAM STARTS IN LANCASTER NEAR HILLTOP ROAD, CROSSES BROCKELMAN ROAD, AND FLOWS THROUGH THAT STERLING PARCEL DOWN TO WEKEPEKE BROOK, ITSELF A FAMOUS COLDWATER FISHERIES STREAM.
ZOOM IN ON THAT AREA OF THE MASSACHUSETTS COLDWATER FISHERIES MAP HERE– MassMapper
ZOOM IN ON THAT AREA HERE AND, IN THE LEFT MARGIN, CLICK ON “LAYERS” THEN “AQUIFERS,” “CONSERVATION 2,” “DEP Wetlands,” and “Outstanding Water Resources”– AxisGIS – SterlingMA
WHO WANTS TO BET THAT THAT SELF-DEALING LITTLE WEASEL CARL CORRINNE WOULD LOVE THE CHANCE TO BUILD-OVER AND WRECK THAT NATURAL RESOURCE?
BY THE WAY, AGAIN, HATS OFF TO THE TOWN OF HOLDEN’S TOWN MANAGER AND SELECT BOARD. THEY HAD THE INTELLIGENCE AND GUTS TO LEAD THE FIGHT AGAINST CH. 40A, SEC. 3A AT THE VERY OUTSET.
In comparison to Holden’s leadership, there is a very apt, crude adjective to describe, collectively, the Sterling Select Board, Planning Board, Town Administrator, and Town Planner, but, in one of my very rare exercises of decorum and self-restraint I won’t use it here.
You can check out the ‘News’ section here for all the other Towns whose leaders have displayed the requisite intelligence and resolve to fight Ch. 40A, Sec. 3A and bloviating gasbag AG Campbell– Milton Neighbors for Responsible Zoning (mnrz.org)
Unfortunately, folks, this will be a looong Blog post necessitated by the Sterling Planning Board’s Self-Dealing Developer Weasel, Carl Corrinne, and his Co-Weasel, Sterling Town Planner Stephen Wallace. As noted previously, CARL CORRINNE REALLY IS LOW ENOUGH TO BLOW THE BUFFALO ON A BUFFALO NICKEL—
The first thing to note is that Sterling’s existing Protective (Zoning) By-Laws are PERFECTLY FINE, UNLESS, THAT IS, YOU ARE A POWER-GRABBING SELF-DEALING DEVELOPER WEASEL SUCH AS PLANNING BOARD CHAIR CARL CORRINNE. This is the stated PURPOSE of our existing Zoning By-Laws—
These regulations are enacted to promote the general welfare of the Town of Sterling, to protect the health and safety of its inhabitants, to encourage the most appropriate use of land throughout the Town, to preserve the cultural, historical and agricultural heritage of the community, to increase the amenities of the Town, and to reduce the hazard from fire by regulating the location and use of buildings and the area of open space around them, all as authorized by the provisions of the Zoning Act, MGL c. 40A, as amended, and by Article 89 of the Amendments to the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
Here are the existing Site Plan Review requirements. As you can see, THEY ARE DETAILED AND STRICT– ON PURPOSE:
Construction, exterior alteration or exterior expansion of, or change of use within a municipal, institutional, commercial, industrial or multifamily structure involving more than 1,200 square feet;
[Amended 6-14-2021 ATM by Art. 29, approved 12-10-2021]
Grading or clearing more than 10% of a lot, except for the following: landscaping on a lot with an existing structure or a proposed single- or two-family dwelling; clearing necessary for percolation and other site tests; work incidental to agricultural activity, work in conjunction with an approved subdivision plan, or work pursuant to an earth removal permit.
A building wholly or partially destroyed may be rebuilt without recourse to this section if rebuilt without change to the building footprint or the square footage of usable space.
The construction or enlargement of any nonresidential building, structure or use in any district where such construction will not exceed a total gross floor area of 1,200 square feet or will not generate the need for more than five parking spaces.
[Added 6-14-2021 ATM by Art. 29, approved 12-10-2021]
Use, structure, or activity available as of right or special permit. An application for a building permit to perform work as set forth in § 301-6.4.1 available as of right shall be accompanied by an approved site plan. Prior to the commencement of any activity set forth in § 301-6.4.1 or available as of right, the project proponent shall obtain site plan approval from the Planning Board. Applicants for site plan approval shall submit 15 copies of the site plan and an electronic copy of all application materials to the Planning Board for review, and for distribution to the Board of Health, Director of Public Works, Police Chief, Fire Chief, the Building Inspector and the Conservation Commission for their advisory review and comments. Approval for a site plan may be issued only after a public meeting held within 60 days of the filing of an application with the Planning Board. It is the applicant’s responsibility to obtain a certified list of names and addresses of all parties of interest, as defined in MGL c. 40A, § 11, by the Assessing Office. The Planning Board shall notify all parties of interest by mail and notice of a public meeting shall be given by publication in a newspaper of general circulation in the Town in each of two consecutive weeks; the first publication to be not less than 14 days and the second publication not less than seven days before the day of the meeting. Said notice and publication shall contain the name of the applicant, a description of the area or premises, street address, or other adequate identification of the location, the date and place of the public meeting, the subject matter of the hearing, and the nature of the action requested. The decision of the Planning Board shall be upon a majority of those present and shall be in writing. No building permit shall be issued by the Building Commissioner without the written approval of the site plan by the Planning Board, or unless 60 days lapse from the date of the submittal of the site plan without action by the Planning Board.
[Amended 6-14-2021 ATM by Art. 29, approved 12-10-2021]
Editor’s Note: Former Subsection 2, Use or structure available by special permit or variance, was repealed 6-14-2021 ATM by Art. 29, approved 12-10-2021.
Submittals. The Planning Board may require narrative assessments of the on-site and off-site impacts of the proposed project, including traffic, drainage, noise, and other environmental factors. The Planning Board may require that such narrative assessments be prepared by qualified experts. In addition, a site plan shall show:
All boundary line information pertaining to the land sufficient to permit location of same on ground with existing and proposed topography at two-foot contour intervals;
Existing and proposed building and structures, including fences, loading areas, accessory buildings, signs, waste disposal areas, and storage areas. Existing building elevations or renderings shall be submitted;
Sanitary sewerage and storm drainage, including means of ultimate disposal and calculations to support maintenance of the requirements in the Planning Board’s Subdivision Rules and Regulations;
All stormwater management systems for new development and redevelopment projects that result in a land disturbance of one or more acres and discharge stormwater into the municipal system must comply with the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Stormwater Management Policy Handbook and Technical Handbook, whether or not the project falls within the jurisdiction of the Wetland Protection Act (MGL c. 131, § 40). This enforcement will include projects that are less than one acre if the project is part of a larger common plan development.
Preparation of plan. Site plans shall be submitted on twenty-four-inch by thirty-six-inch sheets. Plans shall be prepared by a registered professional engineer, registered land surveyor, architect or landscape architect, as appropriate. Dimensions and scales shall be adequate to determine that all requirements are met and to make a complete analysis and evaluation of the proposal. All plans shall have a minimum scale of one inch equals 200 feet.
[2]Approval. Site plan approval shall be granted upon determination by the Planning Board that the following conditions have been satisfied. The Planning Board may impose reasonable conditions at the expense of the applicant, including performance guarantees, to ensure that the following conditions have been satisfied. Any new building construction or other site alteration shall provide adequate access to each structure for fire and service equipment and adequate provision for utilities and stormwater drainage consistent with the functional requirements of the Planning Board’s Subdivision Rules and Regulations. New building construction or other site alteration shall be designed in the site plan, after considering the qualities of the specific location, the proposed land use, the design of building form, grading, egress points, and other aspects of the development, so as to:
Minimize the volume of cut and fill, the number of removed trees six-inch caliper or larger, the length of removed stone walls, the area of wetland vegetation displaced, the extent of stormwater flow increase from the site, soil erosion, and threat of air and water pollution;
Minimize visual intrusion by controlling visibility of parking, storage, or other outdoor service areas viewed from public ways or premises residentially used or zoned;
Minimize contamination of groundwater from on-site wastewater disposal systems or operations on the premises involving the use, storage, handling, or containment of hazardous substances;
Editor’s Note: Former § 301-6.4.6, Waiver of technical compliance, was repealed 6-14-2021 ATM by Art. 29, approved 12-10-2021. This article also redesignated former §§ 301-6.4.7 through 301-6.4.10 as §§ 301-6.4.6 through 301-6.4.9, respectively.
Lapse. Site plan approval shall lapse after one year from the grant thereof if a substantial use thereof has not sooner commenced except for good cause. Such approval may, for good cause, be extended in writing by the Planning Board upon the written request of the applicant.
As-built plan. Within 30 days after completion of the project an as-built plan will be submitted to the Planning Board in both paper and digital form as specified by the Planning Board.
EXTREMELY IMPORTANT TO NOTE: Under Section 301-6.4.8. “The Planning Board may adopt and from time to time amend reasonable regulations for the administration of these site plan guidelines (emphasis added).”
THAT MEANS that the PLANNING BOARD has the authority to adopt regulations as to forms and procedures to allow it to administer “these site plan guidelines.” IN OTHER WORDS, ADOPT ‘HOUSE-KEEPING’ REGULATIONS.
THAT PROVISION WAS NEVER INTENDED TO ALLOW THE PLANNING BOARD, ASSISTED BY THE TOWN PLANNER, TOGO TO TOWN MEETINGAND USE THE VOTERS TO LOCK IN THEIR DEVIOUS, SUBSTANTIVE, WATERING-DOWN CHANGES TO THE SITE PLAN REGULATIONS THAT, IN TURN, TREAT STERLING’S ZONING BY-LAWS AS MERE POLICY.
BUT THAT IS EXACTLY WHAT THEY NOW PROPOSE TO DO AT THE 2025 STERLING ANNUAL TOWN MEETING WITH PROPOSED CHANGES SPREAD OVER NINE (9) PAGES—
THESE PROPOSED CHANGES CONSTITUTE A SUBSTANTIVE POWER GRAB BY THE PLANNING BOARD AND THE TOWN PLANNER. I CAN’T READ ALL OF THOSE CHANGES FOR YOU—YOU HAVE TO READ THEM YOURSELVES—BUT I’LL POINT OUT SOME OF THE REALLY WEASELLY LOW-LIGHTS.
These arrogant clowns actually come up with their own statement of “Purpose” NOT IN ALIGNMENT WITH THE STATED PURPOSE OF THE EXISTING STERLING ZONING BY-LAWS RECITED ABOVE. Under THEIR stated ‘Purpose’ are these elements—
“4. Does not unreasonably impact adjoining and nearby properties or the neighborhood in which it is located; and,
5. Promotes sustainable design and development that supports long-term economic vitality and ecological integrity.”
“Unreasonably” is a weasel word that can be bent to accommodate just about anything. It’s just what you’d expect from Self-Dealing Developer Weasel Carl Corrine.
“Sustainable development” and “economic vitality” means more development by folks like Self-Dealing Developer Weasel Carl Corrinne.
And check out the changes to “Exemptions”– NOW certain “multifamily” dwellings— Corrinne builds them—are exempt AND “The Town Planner, in consultation with the Building Commissioner and the Board of Health Director [Sterling only has a BOH Agent, NOT A BOH ‘Director’], [may determine]” a couple other “Exemption” categories.
OF COURSE, THE PLANNING BOARD’S “SPECIAL PERMIT GRANTING” INTENDED POWER GRAB FROM THE ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS IS ALSO INCLUDED—
“The Planning Board shall act as the Special Permit Granting Authority (SPGA) for all projects requiring site plan approval as determined by the Building Commissioner acting in his capacity as Zoning Enforcement Officer.”
AND CHECK OUT ALL THE INTENTIONAL VAGUENESS UNDER “Adoption of Rules, Regulations, and Standards.” THERE ARE NO STANDARDS!
HERE, PERHAPS, IS THE BIGGEST GIVE-AWAY BY CORRINNE’S CO-WEASEL, THE TOWN PLANNER:
“PLANNER’S NOTE: The Planning Board’s Site Plan Regulations should be guidance for administration of the Bylaw. The Zoning Bylaw should establish “policy” and give the Planning Board some broad authority. Thus, this section makes clear that the Board may adopt Site Design Standards, have a provision for “minor” site plan review, set forth the requirements for notice, etc.”
NO, ASSHOLE, the Sterling Protective (Zoning) By-Laws CONSTITUTE LOCAL LAW, NOT MERE POLICY.
AND CHECK OUT PAGES 5 AND 6 of the proposed changes where ALL of the now-required “Submittals” are eliminated, and the Planning Board gets to decide whatever bullshit “submittals” it wants to review. YEAH, THAT’S JUST GREAT FOR SELF-DEALING DEVELOPER WEASELS ON THE PLANNING BOARD SUCH AS CARL CORRINNE.
CONCLUSION:
Instead of adopting internal site-plan ‘housekeeping’ regulations that the Planning Board is now authorized to adopt under Sterling’s existing Zoning By-Laws, the Planning Board, Chaired by Self-Dealing Developer Weasel Carl Corrinne, assisted by the Co-Weasel Town Planner, are using that provision improperly and maliciously to make SUBSTANTIVE changes to Sterling’s Zoning By-Laws, and facilitate the Planning Board’s attempted power grab, with the intent to USE Sterling’s 2025 Annual Town Meeting Voters to LOCK IN THOSE CHANGES.
Many years ago Sterling Town Meeting voters voted to zone the southeasterly corner of Sterling in the area of Dana Hill Road and Redemption Rock Trail (Route 140) as “Performance Zone 1” because it is surrounded by Stillwater River/Wachusett Reservoir Watershed lands including the Stillwater River aquifer, various wetlands, and numerous tributary streams. Sterling voters did that with the aim of protecting those sensitive resources.
Go to Sterling GIS mapping– AxisGIS – SterlingMA — and, in the left margin, click on “Layers.” THEN click on “Aquifers,” “Conservation 2,” “DEP Wetlands,” and “Zoning.” You will see all the sensitive resources in that area depicted.
At the 2020 Sterling Annual Town Meeting, by “Voters’ Petition,” an effort was made to re-zone “Performance Zone 1” to “Commercial.” That effort was made after the Packards—owners of Karen Packard Realty and the Sterling Greenery—bought up most of the parcels along Redemption Rock Trail between Dana Hill Road/Legg Road and Interstate 190. Go back to Sterling GIS mapping, zoom in on that area, and click on each parcel in that area. You will see various “RRT, LLC[s].” Those Limited Liability Corporations are ALL controlled by the Packards. That re-zoning attempt was shot down by Sterling Town Meeting voters.
Thereafter, the Packards appeared before the Sterling Planning Board Chaired by Self-Dealing Developer Weasel Carl Corrinne and, lo and behold(!), the Crony-Zoning Planning Board sponsored 2021 Sterling Annual Town Meeting Warrant Article 39 to re-zone “Performance Zone 1” to Commercial– 2021_atm_final_warrant_june_7_2021_003.pdf (sterling-ma.gov) The 2021 Sterling Town Meeting voters shot down that attempt too.
The Crony-Zoners–the Packards, the Planning Board, and the Town Planner– have decided to display their UTTER CONTEMPT for YOU, the TOWN MEETING VOTERS, by yet again proposing to re-zone “Performance Zone 1” to Commercial at the 2025 Sterling Annual Town Meeting. They want to call it “The Town of Sterling Gateway Enterprise District.” SEE sterling_gatewayenterprisedistrict_2024_11x17p.pdf (sterling-ma.gov) By the way, LOOK AT ALL THE HOMES BORDERING OR INCLUDED WITHIN THAT PROPOSED COMMERCIAL ZONE. THAT’S RIGHT FOLKS, THE CRONY-ZONING PACKARDS, PLANNING BOARD, AND TOWN PLANNER DON’T GIVE A RAT’S ASS ABOUT ALL THE TAX-PAYING HOMEOWNERS THAT WOULD BE AFFECTED ADVERSELY BY SUCH COMMERCIAL ZONING.
Yeah, ‘Sterling Gateway’ MY ASS! That stretch of Redemption Rock Trail/Route 140 is mostly a pass-through for Princeton and Westminster commuters and folks traveling to and from the Regional Recycling Center in West Boylston.
Scroll down to the proposed ‘Table of Uses’–zoning_proposal_1_-_performance_zone_-_final_for_web.pdf (sterling-ma.gov) — to see all the business types allowed (“Y” for Yes) in the proposed “GED.” Yeah, folks, it’s COMMERCIAL, only the weasels proposing it use a deceptive euphemism to describe it. That’s to be expected– they’re weasels after all.
YET AGAIN, IT’S TIME TO PUT A STOP TO CRONY-ZONING BULLSHIT. VOTE DOWN THE FAUX ‘GATEWAY ENTERPRISE ZONE’ AT THE 2025 STERLING ANNUAL TOWN MEETING.
The Sterling Planning Board, CHAIRED BY SELF-DEALING DEVELOPER WEASEL, CARL CORRINNE, has just posted its plans for a MASSIVE, MALICIOUS POWER GRAB BY MEANS OF PROPOSED AMENDMENTS TO THE PRESENT STERLING PROTECTIVE (ZONING) BY-LAWS. You can and should read the present Zoning By-Laws here– ecode360.com/11816626
There are plenty of alarming, no-good, malicious proposals in that collection— YOU SHOULD READ THEM ALL AND COMPARE THEIR LANGUAGE WITH THE PRESENT ZONING BY-LAWS—BUT MOST ALARMING IS THE PLANNING BOARD’S GRAB FOR “SPECIAL PERMIT GRANTING AUTHORITY” NOW HELD BY THE ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS. WHEN IT COMES TO “SPECIAL PERMIT GRANTING AUTHORITY” THE ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS IS A PROPER AND SOUND CHECK AND BALANCE AGAINST THIS POWER-HUNGRY, OUT-OF- CONTROL PLANNING BOARD.
NEVER FORGET– CARL CORRINNE IS LOW ENOUGH TO BLOW THE BUFFALO ON A BUFFALO NICKEL:
You see, Corrinne had a bit of difficulty recently with the present definition of “Structure” that affected his planned “multi-family development” at 100 Clinton Road, Sterling. The parallel sets of New England Power Company towers and high voltage lines–STRUCTURES– just happened to occupy land he was claiming as ‘open space’ required to be set aside as part of that ‘multi-family development.’
OH WAIT, good ol’ Buffalo-Blower Carl Corrinne HAD ANOTHER BIG PROBLEM WITH THOSE NEW ENGLAND POWER COMPANY TOWERS AND HIGH-VOLTAGE LINES. That’s because above-ground utilities aren’t allowed in ‘multi-family development’ areas claimed as ‘open space.’ Here’s the relevant Sterling Zoning By-Law sub-section—
At least 60% of the parcel shall be maintained as open space, and at least 40% of the parcel shall be contiguous open space, excluding required yards and buffer areas.
The required open space shall be used for conservation, recreation, agriculture, horticulture, forestry, or for a combination of these uses, and shall be served by suitable access for such purpose.
Underground utilities to serve the development may be located within the required open space.
GEE WHIZ, PROBLEMS LIKE THAT MAY EXPLAIN WHY BUFFALO-BLOWER CARL CORRINNE ESPECIALLY WANTS THE PLANNING BOARD TO GRAB “SPECIAL PERMIT GRANTING AUTHORITY” FROM THE ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS FOR ‘MULTI-FAMILY DEVELOPMENTS’– zoning_proposal_3_-_multi-family_-_final_for_web.pdf (sterling-ma.gov)
I’ll be putting out more Blog posts addressing NAKED ABUSES within this GIANT POWER-GRAB SCHEME.
IN THE MEANTIME, RESOLVE TO VOTE DOWN ALL OF THE LISTED CHANGES, AS A MATTER OF PRINCIPLE, AT THE 2025 STERLING ANNUAL TOWN MEETING.
PLAN TO GET OUT THE VOTE. GET YOUR FAMILY, FRIENDS, AND NEIGHBORS OUT TO THE 2025 STERLING ANNUAL TOWN MEETING TO PROTECT OUR PROPERTIES, NEIGHBORHOODS, AND THE TOWN OF STERLING’S CHARACTER AND TERRITORIAL INTEGRITY.
“Sterling Searching for parcel for MBTA Zoning”—that’s a new article (paywalled) in this week’s The Landmark newspaper, Holden.
SO, the ABSOLUTELY GUTLESS WHIMPERING SIMP MORONS running ‘Sterling Town Government,’ such as it is, lack the intelligence and the cojones to join neighboring Town of Holden, and multiple other towns, in fighting back against Mass.Gen.Laws Ch. 40A, Section 3A, the so-called “MBTA Zoning Districts” statute that does not even apply to the Town of Sterling because THE TOWN OF STERLING DOES NOT HAVE ANY LAND WITHIN ½ MILE (0.5 miles) of a transit station or terminal of the type referred to in Ch. 40A, Section 3A.
These F#CKING STERLING TOWN GOVERNMENT MORONS decided not even to wait for the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court’s upcoming October 2024 hearing, and eventual ruling, on the Town of Milton’s DEVASTATING Counter-Claim against dopey and dishonest Massachusetts Attorney General and DEI Hire Andrea Campbell that destroys Mass.Gen.Laws Ch. 40A, Section 3A, especially when it comes to Towns not having any land within 0.5 miles of a transit terminal or station of the type referred to in Ch. 40A, Section 3A. Months ago I suggested that the Town of Sterling defend itself by filing an Amicus brief in that SJC action—the SJC ACTUALLY PUT OUT A NOTICE SOLICITING AMICUS BRIEFS—but, of course, the stupid, ball-less wonders running the Town of Sterling failed to do so.
Here is the link to the Town of Milton’s absolutely devastating Answer to, and Counter-Claim against, AG Campbell—
STERLING, MASSACHUSETTS, OVERWATCH 