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Outgoing Acton select-board member reflects on service, housing trade-offs and zoning fixes
Summary
Jim Snyder-Grant described lessons from two terms on the Acton Select Board, including efforts to boost collaboration and transparency, a close internal split over Arboretum land (he lost the board vote), and a zoning change limiting new car dealerships enacted at town meeting.
Jim Snyder-Grant, who said April 28 he will finish his second term on the Acton Select Board and not seek a third, reflected on his time in local office and the practical limits of the board’s authority.
Snyder-Grant said his priorities included improving collaboration with staff and other board members, instituting a meeting-evaluation practice to reflect on what worked, and demystifying municipal jargon for residents.
He described the town-manager model as central to staff relations: "You can talk to the employees, but you have to go through me," referring to John Mangiaratti, the town manager, and stressing consistent communication channels to avoid mixed messages.
On land-use, Snyder-Grant described a substantive debate over an Arboretum parcel. He said he initially favored a mixed approach that included affordable housing to reduce costs but "ultimately I lost that vote and now I'm totally in favor of the town meeting going ahead and buying the land." He framed that shift as part of the give-and-take of municipal decisionmaking.
Snyder-Grant also said the board handled a new car dealership permit on Route 2A by first adding conditions to protect noise and visibility and then pursuing a zoning change to limit the number of additional car dealerships. "We added a bunch of conditions... and then we also then went ahead with a zoning change that would limit the number of additional car dealerships," he said, adding that the zoning change "went through at the subsequent town meeting."
Reflecting on running for office, he said one of his early mistakes was changing positions to try to win votes and urged prospective candidates to be willing to learn, listen and stand by core priorities while collaborating with others.
The interview focused on Snyder-Grant’s recollections and does not present independent documentation of the board votes or town-meeting outcomes beyond the interviewee’s descriptions.
