DRB Awaits Legal Advice
On Sunset Hill Apartments
By Sandy Vondrasek Cooch

The Randolph Development Review Board will not reconsider its denial of an application to construct a nine-unit apartment on Sunset Hill Road, until it gets some direction from the town’s attorney, DRB Chair Joel Tillberg told applicant Kevin Blakeman of Sharon Tuesday night.

Blakeman, who has twice been denied an application for the project over the past three years and twice appealed the DRB’s decision to the Environmental Court, attended the opening minutes of the DRB’s Aug. 21 hearing.

Addressing the board before it took up its scheduled agenda, Blakeman asked the DRB what its next move would be. He pointed out that the most recent Environmental Court decision, issued by Judge Meredith Wright three weeks ago, was "in my favor."

In her strongly-worded decision, Judge Wright rejected the DRB’s vote last fall to deny Blakeman a permit, and challenged the DRB’s rationale to deny on several fronts. Wright’s ruling, which vacated the DRB’s October, 2006 decision, remanded the case back to the DRB. However, Judge Wright stopped short of ordering the board to issue a permit.

Chair Tillberg firmly told Blakeman that he would "not entertain any discussion" on the permit until the DRB heard back from Town Atty. Peter Nowlan.

"I put in a call to the town attorney the better part of two weeks ago; I don’t know how to proceed," Tillberg said. "I have read it (the ruling) five, six times, and I don’t understand what Judge Wright wants."

Tillberg added he felt it was in Blakeman’s and the public’s best interest to wait until the town’s attorney makes his findings.

Zoning Administrator Mardee Sanchez said that Nowlan has been given a list of issues to research, including if there is a statutory timeline for action by the DRB.

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