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ZBA unanimously approves past meeting minutes after counsel recommends release
Summary
The Milton Zoning Board of Appeals voted unanimously March 31 to approve and post meeting minutes from 2023 through March 2026 after Town Counsel recommended making the records public following a request from Openmeetinglawenforcer.com.
The Milton Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) voted unanimously March 31 to approve meeting minutes from 2023 through March 2026 after Town Counsel advised the board to release the records, Chair Kathleen O’Donnell, Esq., said at the start of the session.
The action came after the Town received a records request from Patrick Higgins, the operator of Openmeetinglawenforcer.com, seeking board and commission minutes dating back to 2023. O’Donnell told members the ZBA Senior Clerk had located and posted the minutes on the Town website and that Town Counsel recommended formal approval and posting.
O’Donnell said she had consulted the prior ZBA chair, John Leonard, who indicated that in earlier years formal approval and posting of minutes had not routinely occurred, though notes were kept and made available on request. She also said the ZBA has not met in executive session, that hearings have been open and recorded, and that written decisions are already on file with the Town Clerk and at the Norfolk County Registry of Deeds. She noted the board met only once outside hearings in November 2025 to discuss e-signature procedures and other minor business.
Member Christopher Hart, Esq., cited Robert’s Rules of Order to say the board may vote to approve minutes even when some members who heard earlier cases are not present. Hart moved to waive the reading of the minutes; Francis O’Brien, Esq., agreed. The board then voted to approve the minutes under review.
The recorded vote listed five ‘aye’ votes: Kathleen O’Donnell; Theodore Daiber, Esq.; Francis O’Brien, Esq.; Michael Brown, Esq.; and Christopher Hart, Esq. The transcript does not record a vote for Nicholas Gray, Esq., though he is listed among board members. No public attendees were recorded for the meeting.
The meeting adjourned at 7:08 PM. The board’s action, and the Chair’s statement that the minutes were posted, indicate the Town intends the records to be available on the municipal website as advised by counsel.
