Corey and Tina-Marie Partlow lost their home to the tornado, but now they are at risk of losing the temporary trailer they put up where Tina-Marie’s mother lives.
Corey J. and Tina-Marie Partlow, whose Bethany Road home in Monson was destroyed by the June 1 tornado, want to keep their emergency housing trailer on Mill Street. Selectmen Tuesday night discussed efforts to change or override the bylaw restricting the placement of such trailers.MONSON – Town officials are working with the state to try to change a bylaw that restricts the placement of emergency housing trailers to the site of a destroyed residence.
The bylaw change is important at this time because there are people living in trailers on property other than their own while they try to rebuild following the June 1 tornado.
Corey J. and Tina-Marie Partlow lost their home on Bethany Road to the tornado, and now they are at risk of losing the temporary trailer they put up at 18 Mill St., where Tina-Marie’s mother lives.
Initially, the Partlows were told that it was OK to place the trailer there, but then they were told Friday morning that the trailer has to go.
The town’s local zoning bylaw states that temporary housing must be placed on the same site as that of the destroyed residential dwelling unit.
“It would be a lot cheaper and easier to leave it here,” Corey Partlow said.
The Partlows have not been able to get electricity at the trailer as a result of the confusion and were told they have two weeks to remove the 60-foot trailer from Mill Street.
During a board meeting Tuesday, embers of the Board of Selectmen said neither they nor other town officials have the authority to ignore the bylaws because of an emergency and the governor does not have the authority to override town bylaws because of emergency.
However, Selectman Edward Maia said that with help from state Sen. Stephen Brewer and his staff there are ways to speed up the process of changing the town bylaw. One thing that could speed up the process would be to have the attorney general expedite the normal review process, something that can ordinarily take months.
Maia said Tuesday that Brewer and his staff coordinating efforts between Monson officials and representatives of Gov. Deval L. Patrick and Attorney General Martha Coakley.
Maia said the Planning Board has started working on language for such a bylaw change and has scheduled a meeting to discuss the language tonight at 7:30 p.m. and a public hearing for a full discussion July 19.
One aspect that Brewer and his staff are working on is special legislation that would allow a special Town Meeting, and hearings related to it, to be called with less than the full 14 days normally required by town bylaws.
Maia said that with Brewer’s help, the town would also be looking to Patrick to file an executive order asking the town not to enforce the current bylaw.
In its proposed amendment to the bylaw governing the location of trailers during rebuilding, the Planning Board is considering such circumstances as when a property owner does not have enough land for a trailer on the existing lot and whether a special permit could be issued so the trailer cold be located elsewhere in town with the permission of a different land owner.