Moratorium on Building and Revisions
to Building Code
I believe that our Town Council and our Town
government have been too much influenced in decision-making by the
economic interests of the builders and developers who do business
in this Town. I am therefore calling for a new Moratorium on
Building within our Town, which would allow for a very limited
category of exceptions for emergencies, where building plans are
for small changes, and neighbors do not object. This would
give the Council an opportunity to revisit the FAR ordinance that
was passed several years ago, and strengthen the protections for
the environment, including the tree canopy, green space, and water
quality, and also strengthen the protections of the privacy and
peace of mind of neighbors to new construction.
If you look at the preliminary language to the FAR ordinance that
was passed several years ago, in its resolution form, you will see
many “whereas” clauses preliminary to the actual ordinance.
These “whereas” clauses point to various problems with much of the
new construction that has taken place: houses that loom over their
neighbors, concerns about the tree canopy, concern for storm water
management issues, etc. I know that people who worked on the
FAR ordinance several years ago were well-intentioned, and put in
long hours and a lot of hard work. But the ordinance has
failed to adequately do the job. In short, the FAR does not
go far enough.