Ostrich Tactics Continue at Town Hall

Waiting until the last day to appeal the Zoning Board’s 5 December  nuisance decision, Falmouth’s Board of Selectmen have directed the town attorney to file suit against it’s own ZBA in Barnstable Superior Court.  The town attorney submitted the filing yesterday.  

Apparently the recent superior court ordered injunction hasn’t been fully appreciated by Selectmen in the context of environmental liability.  Nor has the Board, in coming to this action, considered the growing number of other cases catching the attention of regulators, wind energy developers, and courts across the country.

Despite the relative affluence of evolving health impact data, modifications to protective safety standards (our own bylaw included) and the growing success of litigation claims, the Selectmen have once again “stuck their collective heads in the sand.”

The Falmouth community, to say nothing of the wind turbine world, is closely watching as the number of potential nuisance claimants likely increase as claims are upheld.  A corresponding financial burden to the community will result in the associated costs of litigation and resulting payments of mitigation/damage awards to larger numbers of claimants.  

Consequently, town leadership will continue to hinder efforts to protect the health, safety and welfare of not just some, but all of Falmouth's residents.  

“No one, and no entity, is legally, socially or morally afforded the protection or "right" to inflict harm on citizens. The town's suit against its own zoning board's "nuisance" determination strikes me as being totally indefensible, as well as being absolutely absurd!” 

 (excerpt previously printed, Cape Cod Times, Aug 12, 2013 “No town has the right to inflict harm on citizens”)