SNCARC Seeks Superior Court Declaratory Judgment to Overcome Zoning Roadblock
The shuttered Willett School has become the center of a legal dispute between the South Norfolk County Association for Retarded Citizens (SNCARC) and local municipal officials. SNCARC Director William F. Abel announced that the agency filed a request for a declaratory judgment in the Superior Court in Dedham, taking legal action to resolve a persistent zoning disagreement preventing the agency from leasing the building.
Abel explained that SNCARC was left with no alternative to determine whether local zoning bylaws permit their intended use of the school. The impasse arose after Town Counsel Justin C. Barton and Building Inspector John E. Grover ruled that the agency could not occupy the Willett School because its programs do not constitute general education. SNCARC had planned to utilize a portion of the building to provide daily-living and vocational skills training for between 40 and 50 retarded citizens.
Despite the school committee voting in July to rent the facility to SNCARC—contingent upon the issuance of an occupancy permit by the building inspector—the project stalled due to the zoning interpretation.
Skipping Town Meeting Following Planning Board Opposition
Abel noted that the agency deliberately bypassed asking a town meeting to amend the zoning bylaws because the measure would likely have failed without the backing of the planning board, which had recommended against the proposal.
Expressing frustration with the bureaucratic hurdles, Abel highlighted the warm reception received from the surrounding neighborhood: “Everyone seemed to be very supportive, yet we’ve been going around for eight months in red tape.” He noted that local residents raised no objections to SNCARC using the building, which has partially housed the central school administration since closing as a traditional school two years prior.
Despite the eight-month delay, Abel stated that he remained “optimistic” that the court would ultimately rule in SNCARC’s favor.
Archival Note: This article has been dynamically reconstructed from the original public record print archives of the Patriot Ledger
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