By MARK SARDELLA
WAKEFIELD — Separate ZBA hearings scheduled for Tuesday, Sept. 3 on two proposed Nahant Street 40Bs cannot go forward as planned because that is the same date as the State Primary Election.
Local open government advocate Scot McCauley of Walden Road made the discovery that state law prohibits municipal boards from holding hearings on the same day as a state or municipal election, caucus or primary.
Wakefield Town Counsel Thomas Mullen has confirmed that McCauley is correct. The plan is now for the ZBA to open its meeting on Sept. 3 for the sole purpose of adjourning the meeting to Thursday, Sept. 5. The scheduled hearings related to both projects will now take place on that date.
Separate continued hearings are expected to be held on a 100-unit 40B project proposed at 119 Nahant St. and a 24-unit 40B project at 32 Nahant St. The hearings will focus on traffic and any other outstanding matters. Both projects have been before the ZBA for months.
The special meeting was needed because the ZBA’s deadlines to issue a decision on each project fall on Sept. 11 and the board has not yet had an opportunity to review the traffic impact of the projects with the towns traffic experts present.
Board of Appeals chairman Thomas Lucey has said that the board will not wait until its next regularly schedule meeting on Sept. 11 to vote on each of the projects because it’s too risky to wait until the very last day, in case something goes wrong. If votes are not taken at the Sept. 5 meeting, the board may have to schedule another special meeting before Sept. 11.
At its August meeting, the ZBA discussed some other outstanding details related to the 32 Nahant St. project, including lighting, curbing and other aspects of the site plan.
