January 7, 2011
Massachusetts

Attorney to advise on turbine case

By BRENT RUNYON - The Falmouth Enterprise, Jan. 4, 2011

Mark Bobrowski, an attorney from Concord, agreed to counsel the Falmouth Zoning Board of Appeals in a case involving the town-owned wind turbine off Blacksmith Shop Road, and plans to meet with the board soon.

The board requested Mr. Bobrowski’s services at a December 16 discussion, and he agreed last week to counsel the board for a sum not to exceed $1,500.

Mr. Bobrowski wrote in response to a request for an interview that he plans to meet with board members soon.

The town-owned turbine hearing began earlier last month after residents appealed the building commissioner’s decision that the turbine did not need a special permit because it is a municipal project. They said it should be shut down immediately.

Town Counsel Frank K. Duffy Jr. represented the town in that hearing, so zoning board members said they did not feel Mr. Duffy could offer impartial advice.

The board will continue the hearing about the town-owned turbine off Blacksmith Shop Road on January 20.

Mr. Bobrowski is a professor of administrative law, land use, local government, and property at New England Law/Boston. He is the author of the “Handbook of Massachusetts Land Use and Planning Law” and has written extensively on issues affecting municipal government, according to his biography on the institution’s website. He is scheduled to be on leave from the university during spring 2011.

He is also a principal in the firm of Blatman, Bobrowski & Mead LLC, with offices in Concord. Mr. Bobrowski has written zoning ordinances and bylaws for nearly 100 Massachusetts cities and towns.

The voting members of the board for the town-owned turbine hearing are Dennis M. Murphy, Patricia P.Johnson, Kenneth H. Foreman, Patricia J. Favulli, and Ronald H. Erickson.

Chairman Matthew J. McNamara stepped down from the hearing after Mr. Duffy said he felt Mr. McNamara could not be impartial, based on statements he has made in public about the town bypassing the permitting process.

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2011/01/07/attorney-to-advise-on-turbine-case/