Planning Board sets Nov. 7 public hearing for updated stormwater rules under EPA deadline

The Town of Blackstone Planning Board on an evening meeting heard a presentation from Weston & Sampson on proposed updates to the town's stormwater rules and regulations and voted to schedule a newspaper-noticed public hearing for Nov. 7.

Thea Kilkenny of Weston & Sampson, filling in for Jurice Schwartz, said the town needs to adopt revised regulations in short order because "the administrative order that EPA gave to the town requires adoption by December 13th," and the consultant indicated the planning board is aiming to adopt the rules by Nov. 30 and update the bylaw at next spring's town meeting. Kilkenny said legal counsel had made minor edits, including softening language about a "public hearing" to "public meeting," and recommended publishing notice in a local newspaper before formal adoption.

Board members raised substantive questions about the draft. One member asked whether the 45-day timeframe for final action on a completed land-disturbance application should be extended to 90 days; another suggested explicitly distributing the draft to the police and fire departments, the conservation commission and other boards to ensure operational and emergency concerns are considered. Kilkenny said the draft had been shared with the Central Massachusetts Regional Planning Commission and would be revised when additional comments arrived.

The board resolved to collect written comments via staff circulation, have staff (Britney) handle newspaper publication for the required notice, and hold the public hearing at the Nov. 7 meeting. Kilkenny told the board she would incorporate comments received before that meeting and return with an updated draft.

Next steps: the planning board will accept public comments, review any changes circulated by staff, and hold the noticed public hearing on Nov. 7. The consultant said there are two meetings remaining before the Dec. 13 EPA deadline.