This past October in Truro, to borrow a phrase from Charles Dickens, was the best of times and the worst of times.
Much of the month seemed like an implausibly glorious coda to summer, the best autumn in recent memory, with crystalline blue skies, soft breezes, and temperatures hovering in the 70s. The bugs and the humidity were gone, along with the crowds. Although, for most of us, the ocean was too cold for swimming, the ponds held enough heat to welcome a late day dip, and the trails and fire roads inside the Seashore were ideal for hikes at all levels of rigor.
The month was marked by misfortune, too, however, with Police Chief John Lundborn getting arrested for drunk driving by officers of the Truro Police Department on October 14. The Board of Selectmen acted quickly, suspending Lundborn and appointing Lieutenant Kyle Takakjian as acting chief. But the sadness over the incident stretched out through the month, inside the department and the town as a whole.
The Provincetown Banner’s editorial writer may have put it be best: “Out here in our small towns, where most everybody knows everybody else, an unfortunate situation like this is not just a distant episode that happens to strangers on TV. We are all affected,” she wrote. “As a valued member of our community, Lundborn deserves our care, respect, and help as he faces the consequences of his actions...”
As the Board of Selectmen decides how best to move forward, our focus by necessity must be on what is best for the department and for the town as a whole. But we’ll remember, too, all that Lundborn has contributed to the town over his twenty-two years of service.
Special Town Meeting
In the meantime, as October rolls into November, the political calendar is focused on the Special Town Meeting scheduled for the night of November 15.
As usual for a special meeting, nearly all of the ten warrant articles proposed deal with housekeeping matters: increasing the budget allocations for fuel, for example, or creating revolving accounts for Adult Education income and expenses. But one article -- the first item on the evening’s agenda -- carries significantly more weight.
With Article One, the Truro Planning Board once again asks the town's voters to approve the addition of a "lot coverage" bylaw to the town’s zoning rules. For the past twelve years the Board has been bringing forth proposals to deal with the issue of oversized houses in Truro ... and for the past twelve years Truro voters have rebuffed all their efforts at Town Meeting.
The limitations that would be imposed are modest. The bylaw proposes that “building coverage shall be no more than 3.5 percent of the lot area ... plus 1,200 square feet. The Planning Board may grant a special permit to allow greater building coverage not exceeding 4.5 percent of the lot area plus 1,200 square feet. In neither case shall the building coverage exceed 4,800 square feet.
Opposition to the proposal, so far at least, has been muted. Most critics complain that the limitations are far too modest to have any significant effect. Many supporters, likewise, wish the limitations were stronger; but suggest the proposed bylaw, if passed, will be a good first step in the fight against mansionization.
You can jump to the warrant by clicking here, and read the full lot coverage proposal, along with the other 9 articles.
Sincerely,
Curtis Hartman
Chair, Board of Selectmen
eNewsletter@truro-ma.gov
(508) 349-7004