Three months ago, Stan Williams and I posted an "Open Letter" to the Selectboard and Planning Commission asking a series of questions we hoped would spur public discussion of the sewer extension implications of the King Arthur expansion project.
While we expressed our support for the sewer extension, we posed the questions in an effort to help everyone appreciate the difficult planning and permitting issues posed by sewer service regardless of King Arthur's specific plans.
Our Open Letter "respectfully request[ed] the Planning Commission and/or Selectboard to provide written public responses so all townspeople can participate in this discussion."
As yet there has been no public response of any kind to the questions posed in our Open Letter from either the Selectboard or Planning Commission.
I can imagine several possible explanations for the resounding silence in the interim:
They were all stupid questions?
No one has time to determine whether there might be some decent questions among the stupid ones?
There's been no time in busy SB or PC agendas to respond in any way?
It's unreasonable for individual citizens to expect volunteer boards to take the time to respond to every Open Letter they receive?
Public discussion of the planning issues might have delayed King Arthur's plans?
King Arthur may not need a sewer extension after all?
If we really wanted answers, we would have attended Selectboard and Planning Commission meeting to demand them?
No one else seemed to care about these questions, so why not ignore them?
No SB or PC members read the listserv?
This morning, Phil Dechert posted public notice on the DRB mailing list announcing the first public hearing on King Arthur's Conditional Use permit application. This public hearing is scheduled for 7:30pm the day after tomorrow, Thursday, September 16th.
So I have another question:
How should we have addressed these questions to prompt public discussion of what many have said over the years should be a planning priority for this town?
And some more:
This is how land use planning and permitting work in Norwich today.
Is this how planning and permitting should work in Norwich?
Do land use planning and permitting work in Norwich?
The questions are piling up.
