Meetings Ahead
Truro meetings are often held remotely. Go to truro-ma.gov and click on the meeting you are interested in for an agenda and details on joining.
Thursday, Feb. 8
- Select Board work session, 11 a.m., hybrid at Town Hall
- Beach Advisory Committee, 4:15 p.m., hybrid at Community Center
- Commission on Disabilities, 4:30 p.m., Council on Aging
- Housing Authority, 5 p.m., Public Library
Friday, Feb. 9
- Shellfish Advisory Committee, 2:30 p.m., Town Hall
Tuesday, Feb. 13
- Budget Task Force, 8:30 a.m.
- Select Board, 5 p.m., hybrid at Town Hall
Wednesday, Feb. 14
- Council on Aging Board, 9 a.m., Council on Aging
- Planning Board, 5 p.m.
Thursday, Feb. 15
- Pamet Harbor Commission, 3 p.m., Town Hall
- Energy Committee, 5 p.m., remote
Conversation Starters
The Warrant Is Open
The select board voted to open the annual town meeting warrant on Feb. 2. It will close at 4 p.m. on March 5. Until then, citizens and committees may submit articles to be considered at the annual town meeting, which will be held on Saturday, May 4.
A template for petitioned articles is available to voters on the town’s website. Petitioners who have their articles drafted can now schedule an appointment with the town manager’s office “for an informal staff consult with insight on operational impacts, financial impacts, and technical assistance to the extent possible,” according to the site.
Petitioners will need at least 10 registered voters to sign any proposed article. They must attach any explanations or comments to their articles before gathering those signatures. Words added later, after voters have signed in support, will not be considered by the select board or included on the warrant.
The last day to register to vote for annual town meeting is April 30.
ZBA OK’s Cloverleaf Change
The zoning board of appeals voted unanimously on Jan. 22 to consider a modification of the Cloverleaf project an “insubstantial change.”
That decision means that the project will not have to face another public hearing, a process that took more than a year in its first go-around.
The modification of the plan raises the number of housing units from 39 to 43 without altering the number of approved bedrooms, which is 68. Units with three bedrooms will be split into one- and two-bedroom units. The 13 approved buildings will become 12, and the number of parking spaces will increase from 83 to 87.
“As is happening with way too many of my projects these days, the construction costs continue to go up; the interest rates are horrible for rental housing right now,” said Peter Freeman of Freeman Law Group, representing Community Housing Resource. As a result, more revenue must be generated, he said.
After developer Ted Malone of CHR presented the changes, ZBA vice chair Darrell Shedd spoke in favor of deeming the change insubstantial. “I believe it’s the board’s responsibility to act in the best interests of the town, and this decision is certainly doing that,” Shedd said, adding that delays have been “not only costly but have deprived the town of much-needed housing.”
“Hopefully the project can move forward relatively quickly,” said chair Chris Lucy. —Sophie Mann-Shafir
