Contractors, business owners raise alarm over city's new wetlands ordinance
The requests were made during public participation at the June 5 City Council meeting when Levesque and several other business owners came to the podium to ask for the review.
'As a land consultant and owner of property and as a business that represents properties, we are very concerned with the new wetlands protection ordinance,' said Levesque. He said more than 125 people signed a petition, and several others wrote letters to the mayor and City Council on the issue.
John Raymaakers, a local business owner of J.L. Raymaakers & Sons, said as a taxpayer, the new ordinance would stop one of the larger projects that is in the final stages that would bring hundreds of thousands of dollars of revenue into the city. 'The problem for our city, for all of you, has been tax income and deficit. Our schools are being hurt. This is just another step to hurt us as a town. I'm all for protecting the environment, all for that. I don't see how this change affects anything but hurting our town,' he said.
'As a contractor, this hurts my business tremendously, and stops projects that I've spent countless hours of time on with Rob, with the owner, with clients. I just fully disagree with this and I'd like you to take that into consideration,' Raymaakers added.
Also speaking was Robert Goyette, owner of Heritage Homes and Charles Pignatare, owner of Liberty Manor.
Goyette said he was there about the overreach of the wetlands protection ordinance. 'We as a company own a significant amount of land in town. As stakeholders, we had zero say in this — I was made aware of it by Rob — it impacts us significantly, to the millions. Thank you for hearing us, and I appreciate you revisiting it,' he said.
'I'm definitely begging you guys to review this. I'm in the construction business with the Scarfo family for 54 years. This is one of the worst,' said Pignatare. 'This is one of the worst situations I've seen us getting into, but hopefully we're able to do it correctly.'
Councilor Dan Allie asked a question of Levesque through the chair of which specific portion of the ordinance they would like to see changed.
Levesque said there are a number of items that have changed, some of major concern. 'I believe a list of the items that have changed would be very eye opening for the City Council. I know it's hard when you get a document and frankly, if you're not reading wetlands protections documents every day like we do, you don't realize what it necessarily impacts or doesn't impact. We all want to protect the wetlands in a proper way and there's science based performance standards that are in place to do that under the Wetlands Protection Act and under the previous ordinance, which we've never had a problem with,' he said.
'We understand this is a very significant overreach and it's not just what we spoke about in the petition, but there are other aspects related to enforcement and control that this gives to the Conservation Commission that are pretty aggressive,' Levesque added.
Councilor Rick Sullivan raised a point of order saying since the item was not on the agenda, he would make a motion to add it to the agenda at the next meeting and refer it to the proper committees.
After the meeting, Levesque explained what he considers the problems with the new ordinance. He said the biggest thing is jurisdictional overreach. He said the council drastically increased the jurisdiction of the Conservation Commission by thousands of acres in the city by passing the ordinance, which gives the power to the commission to create regulations that the City Council won't have a vote on.
'The ordinance gives Conservation a blank check so essentially they can write whatever they want for regulations,' Levesque said.
He referred to the last paragraph of the petition signed by more than 125 business owners which reads, 'Our community deserves thoughtful, science-based environmental protections that do not come at the cost of property rights, due process, and fairness. The current course of action by the Conservation Commission and specifically the Director of Conservation threatens to undermine all three.'
Levesque also referred to a letter given to the City Council from Green Miles Lipton Attorney Michael Pill, which he said claims the ordinance was done erroneously.
'This new ordinance, which amends the City's Code of Ordinances related to the protection of wetlands, imposes extensive new jurisdictional and procedural requirements that raise serious questions about its legality, practicality, and equity. Ordinance No. 1773 exposes the Conservation Commission and the city to potential litigation that would be a waste of time and money for everyone,' according to the letter.
Another letter from Ryan Ratledge, CEO of the Pioneer Valley Railroad Company, an 18-mile short-line railroad, headquartered in the city of Westfield, referred to their significant concerns about the expanded authority now being applied to intermittent streams.
Ratledge said the PVRR provides a real service for several Westfield customers, such as Lowe's, James Hardie, ProAmpac and A. Duie Pyle, among others; and owns property slated for industrial development projects that he said will bring jobs and grow the local tax base.
Ratledge requested a balanced review of the recent amendments to the Westfield wetlands protection ordinance, and said the current course of action by the Conservation Commission would impact their ability to recruit industry and have adverse effects for their business and the community as a whole.
After the meeting, Levesque said he normally doesn't get involved in this way. 'You've never really seen me get involved, but this is so egregious — thousands of acres and millions of dollars in future revenue. The last ten projects that I've done, if those regulations were in place, they probably would have killed them,' he said.
'All of our projects in Westfield are on hold until this gets resolved,' Levesque added.
Read the original article on MassLive.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CBS News
11 hours ago
- CBS News
Grand Prairie residents react strongly to alleged assault video of councilman Mike Del Bosque: "I think it's despicable."
Gand Prairie residents are reacting strongly to watching the video that allegedly shows councilman Mike Del Bosque assaulting a real estate agent in a parking lot. CBS News Texas obtained the exclusive video that recorded Del Bosque allegedly punching the 60-year-old man and breaking his phone during what his accuser calls an unprovoked attack. "I think it's despicable," said Jackie Johnson, a Grand Prairie resident who's lived in the city for 40 years. "If he's in a fight, you know, it's just not right," said Alex Rivery, another Grand Prairie resident. Larry Maifeld, who's lived in Grand Prairie for close to 25 years, said he was disappointed. "Any councilman, you think they'd have more restraint than to do something like," said Maifeld. "It's not right for anybody nationwide to be violent and in a public office," said Rivery. There was a much stronger reaction than from Del Bosque's colleagues at City Hall. CBS News Texas reached out to every member of the council on Thursday, but not one responded to the request for comment. We asked the city if Del Bosque should be reprimanded or kicked off the council, and they sent us the following statement: "The case is still under review by the Dallas County Criminal District Attorney's Office; therefore, the City is not able to comment on the specifics at this time. The City follows its Standards of Conduct for Officers and Employees (Code of Ordinances, Chapter 2, Article IV), which addresses any dishonest or criminal behavior or any behavior that could discredit the City. The City Council may consider a formal reprimand in accordance with these Standards. However, action in relation to criminal behavior is not generally taken until the criminal case has been disposed of through the court under the City's Charter (Article VI Recall and Referendum), only voters, not the City Council, may remove a council member from office through a petition process and recall election, if needed." That would not happen until after criminal court cases have been resolved. That's something residents interviewed agreed with. "You're innocent until you've been found guilty," said Johnson. "I think they need to do a little background and find out what caused the fight to start with," said Maifeld. However, they were skeptical about voting for someone like Del Bosque after seeing the video. "No, I don't vote for him," said Rivery. And they hope for more civility moving forward. "I pray that they do better," said Johnson.
CBS News
12 hours ago
- CBS News
U.S. Department of Justice sues NYC over sanctuary city laws
The Department of Justice has filed a lawsuit against New York City challenging sanctuary city laws. It comes less than a week after a Customs and Border Patrol officer was shot by an undocumented immigrant. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and border czar Tom Homan were furious after the off-duty officer was shot. Homan promised to "flood the zone" with immigration agents to go after undocumented immigrants - especially those with a history of violence. "Sanctuary cities are sanctuaries for criminals, hard stop," Homan said. Homan expressed his irritation with sanctuary cities, especially New York, at the White House Thursday, just hours before the Justice Department sued Mayor Eric Adams, City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams, Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch and others for making it more difficult for immigration agents to arrest undocumented immigrants who commit crimes. "The challenged provisions of New York City law reflect the City's intentional effort to obstruct the United States' enforcement of federal immigration law, by (among much else) impeding the consultation and communication between federal and local law enforcement officials that is necessary for the United States to enforce the law and keep Americans safe," the lawsuit claims. "New York City has released thousands of criminals on the streets to commit violent crimes against law-abiding citizens due to sanctuary city policies," Attorney General Pam Bondi said. "If New York City won't stand up for the safety of its citizens, we will." Federal officials have been particularly upset that the City Council went to court to stop an executive order issued by the Adams administration to allow ICE agents to work on Rikers Island, where they could identify undocumented persons who may be in the country illegally and have committed crimes. "I made a statement the other day about New York. We're going to flood the zones. The sanctuary cities are going to get exactly what they don't want, more agents in the communities and more worksite enforcement. Why is that? Because they won't let one agent arrest one bad guy to jail. They're going to release a public safety threat back in the community. Now, I got to send the whole team to go find that person. So you know, we're going to find a bad guy whether they help us or not," Homan said. A City Hall spokesperson said that while Mayor Adams supports the essence of the sanctuary laws, he feels they go too far when dealing with violent criminals. Adams called on the City Council to re-examine its position so city officials can work more effectively with the feds to make the city safe. The DOJ action was applauded not only by Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, but by the City Council's Common Sense Caucus.
Yahoo
18 hours ago
- Yahoo
Conservative Spokane council candidates attack liberal majority at church's candidate forum
Jul. 23—Voters got a better look Tuesday at some of the conservatives running for Spokane City Council at a forum hosted by Calvary Spokane, where they were asked about a wide range of topics, including the church's role in politics and whether buses are worthy public investments. The two candidates who attended — Chris Savage, running in northwest Spokane, and Jonathan Bingle, an incumbent running for re-election in northeast Spokane — railed against the council's liberal supermajority to an applauding crowd of roughly 100 packed into the spacious church. The conservatives criticized the majority's advocacy for the LGBTQ+ community, incentives to boost apartments and dense housing over single-family units, investments in bus lines and reforms to prioritize outreach over enforcement for homeless people camping in public. And though there are currently four members of the council majority coalition, and two more progressives running for a seat, Savage and Bingle focused almost exclusively on a single man: Councilman Zack Zappone, who Savage is running against. Bingle made no mention of his own opponent, abortion rights organizer Sarah Dixit. "Four years ago, we had a $4 billion surplus at the state level, and this year, they're asking for $17 billion in state taxes, something (Savage's) opponent supported ...and that's why Zack Zappone's got to go, right?" Bingle said. "... Zappone needs to be ousted from office," Savage said at another point. "He goes out there with his own personal agenda, trying to help out with the LGBTQ and all these small groups that really don't have a huge population here in Spokane, and wasting your tax dollars on stupid stuff like transgender bathrooms ..." The council has not approved any spending on "transgender bathrooms." Savage later clarified in a brief interview that he was referring to stray comments made during debate over an April ordinance Zappone sponsored that, among other things, guaranteed continued insurance coverage for gender affirming care for city employees; Bingle introduced a failed amendment to prevent transgender people from using the bathrooms of their choice. In an interview, Zappone rejected what he called "DOGE-like cuts" to state or local services in order to balance the budget and called Savage's comments troubling and personally hurtful. Zappone was the first openly gay candidate ever elected to the Spokane City Council. "That is, sad and troubling ... that Christopher Savage is talking about people, particularly minorities in our community, not mattering," Zappone said. "I believe that we've seen people under attack. I've personally been a victim of these sorts of attacks — I've had people throw things at me while I'm walking down the street holding my partner's hand." Private cigar lounge co-owner and retired Air Force instructor Cody Arguelles — whose last name moderator Pastor Drew Johnson first struggled to pronounce and later had Bingle say for him at every mention — is also running against Savage and Zappone. Arguelles did not attend due to a scheduling conflict, but sent in a brief video introduction discussing his background and platform. Alejandro Barrientos, chief operations officer for the SCAFCO Steel Stud Company and candidate for south Spokane running against former prosecutor Kate Telis, was originally listed as an attendee but did not attend the event for "personal reasons," he said. Ballots have already been mailed out for the upcoming Aug. 5 primary election. While all three Spokane council districts have a seat up for election this year, only the northwest district, where Zappone is facing challenges from Savage and Arguelles, has more than two candidates and will appear on the primary ballot. Homelessness Bingle and Savage argued that the city council had significantly watered down homelessness laws by prioritizing service provider outreach instead of enforcement, pointing to the package of laws approved by the majority in July to replace a voter-approve anti-camping law struck down by the state Supreme Court on technical grounds in April. "There is no real enforcement mechanism in our city laws anymore," Bingle said, arguing that many of the chronically homeless were suffering from a "brokenness of the human spirit" that required forced treatment and potentially jail to extract them from a death spiral. "Personally, in my family, I saw as a brother of mine who struggled seriously with addiction, jail is what got him clean," Bingle said. "Jail is what helped him get his mind right." He conceded that high housing prices were contributing to homelessness, but argued the first step to make housing more affordable was for the state to stop raising taxes. Savage argued the City Council should reinstate the exact language of the voter-approved anti-camping law and that the city, particularly downtown, would benefit from increased law enforcement presence and "harsher laws" to remove the homeless. "We need people coming downtown, patronizing our businesses and making sure that they are enjoying the downtown, because that is their downtown," Savage said. "It's not the homeless' downtown, it's theirs." The city should also change which nonprofit service providers the city works with, moving away from housing and shelter services like those provided by Jewels Helping Hands and Catholic Charities and toward providers like Adult and Teen Challenge, a year-long faith-based residential addiction recovery program, which Savage claimed had better rates of success for their participants. Bingle, meanwhile, argued the city should get out of funding homeless services altogether. "Government should not be in the homeless business at all, that should be done by other entities ... what government exists to do is provide for the public safety and provide for the infrastructure," neither of which the city does well, Bingle said. Public transportation Bingle alone was asked about funding for the Spokane Transit Authority, a regional agency which the city is a member of. "People have seen as little as three or four riders on a bus at a time, and they want to continue to increase funding for it — what's going on?" Johnson asked. Bingle noted that his district has the highest ridership in the city and didn't want to say "transit is bad," but argued the agency and advocates for greatly expanded public transit were living in the past. "There's a lot of people who are interested in infrastructure from 1910 for some reason — we're still talking about building trains in 2025, or light rail to there like an adult, OK ?" Bingle said. He argued that buses were inefficient and the central City Line's $82 million cost was wasteful. "I think we could probably save a bunch of money if we just contract with Uber and say, here you go, for our tax dollars," Bingle argued. "You don't have to stand at a bus stop in the snow or in the rain or, god forbid, there's somebody sleeping in (the bus)." Fund the police Both Bingle and Savage argued the city needed more officers, but didn't need to turn to a voter-approved tax increase last year to do so. "I opposed this measure, and the reason isn't because we don't need more police, we absolutely that doesn't need to be done through a tax increase," Bingle said. Both candidates argued that campaigners had misled the public last year when they pitched the sales tax, meant to fund police, fire and related services, arguing it lacked the promised transparency that would make it easy to follow how the money is being spent. Instead, they claimed the city had simply transferred the money into the general fund, implying it had turned into a slush fund. It is true that campaigners claimed it would be easy to track how the money would be spent, though Bingle arguably mischaracterized the purpose of the general fund transfer. City officials had argued earlier this year that portions of the tax spent on staff needed to be transferred to the budgets of the relevant departments, which are contained within the general fund, because salaries would inevitably increase faster than a sales tax, leading to layoffs. City spokeswoman Erin Hut provided documentation to The Spokesman-Review showing the positions the city anticipated funding with the tax for the next five years, which align with how the tax was sold to the public. Hut noted the documentation is available to the public and would be reviewed in upcoming budget discussions. Bingle also claimed that Zappone had signed a pledge in 2020 to "defund the police," but had since distanced himself from that pledge as it became politically inconvenient. Zappone did sign a June 2020 pledge created by progressive organization Fuse Washington that called for, among other things, no longer providing military equipment to the police and to "redirect police department funding to community-based alternatives." Zappone, along with the rest of the city council, approved on Monday a $430,000 purchase of a replacement for a military surplus armored vehicle that was totaled last summer during a high speed chase. He has also repeatedly voted in favor of budget and salary increases for the Spokane Police Department during his first term. "I've been in office for 3.5 years and that's demonstrably false, and the people trying to spread those lies are trying to scare people," Zappone said. Savage argued the city could significantly increase police staffing by cutting other costs in the city, starting with the city council office itself. He specifically called for cutting the positions of Lisa Gardner, the council's communications director, and Christopher Wright, the council's policy adviser. "We can look into our own budget and pass on those savings to help out more people and more officers become part of SPD, are understaffed majorly," Savage said. "We need more officers in the city of Spokane right now, and we can do that by also helping put people like myself on City need people up there that are backing up our SPD." Churches in politics The first question of the evening in Calvary Spokane was not about city policy, but about whether churches like Calvary should be involved in politics. "We get a lot of pushback at the church anytime we do an event like this," Johnson said. "People say the church shouldn't be involved in politics, we should stay in our own lane. What do you think about that?" Savage argued that churches should feel welcome to engage in politics "when they allow a bunch of other religions (at City Hall) to be practiced and freely done." Savage noted that the City Council has intermittently cut off people's testimony at meetings when they have begun to read Bible passages at length. "But come down there with the Quran or some sort of Buddhist sutra, they'd probably allow it," Savage claimed. It's not immediately clear if anyone has ever attempted, at least in recent memory, to read any other religious text beside the Bible at a Spokane City Council meeting. Bingle, a former pastor himself, argued that Christians have not just the right, but the responsibility to "represent your God at the ballot box," arguing their collective voting bloc could significantly sway elections from the local to state level. "I think one of the things you're going to see is that — church isn't getting more political, OK, politics is getting more theological," Bingle argued. "When they start saying that a boy is a girl and a girl is a boy ... that's not a political statement, that's a theological statement. They're attacking the very creation of God."
