Westborough planning board adopts new open-forum policy; chair says copies will be posted online

The Westborough Planning Board voted July 7 to adopt a new open-forum policy setting aside 10 minutes at the start of each agenda for brief public comment, Chairman Hazel Nurse said.

The policy limits public speakers to three minutes, asks speakers to identify themselves if they want follow-up, and instructs the public that comments made during open forum “will not be considered part of the public record hearing for any matters scheduled for a public hearing,” Nurse read during the meeting. Nurse said copies of the adopted guidance will be posted on the town website and made available at meetings.

Board members asked whether the chair has discretion to continue the open forum later in the agenda if more residents wish to speak than time allows; Nurse said the town attorney reviewed that point and the chair retains the option to continue open forum to the end of the meeting in such cases. Speakers may provide identifying information privately to staff if they do not want it made public, Nurse said.

Joanne Arimini, a resident who spoke during the new open forum, thanked voters for creating the comment period and accused the planning board of previously resisting public comment. “This forum exists because the people of Westborough insisted that their voices be heard,” Arimini said.

The board’s motion to adopt the policy was moved by a board member and seconded by Nurse; members voted in favor. The board approved the change without postponing other agenda business and will publish the written guidance on the Town of Westborough website.