By Kim Siebert MacPhail
Old Billerica Road resident Michelle Puntillo was appointed by the Selectmen on August 19 to serve as an associate member on the Zoning Board of Appeals. Puntillo, her husband and two daughters have called Bedford their home for 12 years, and Puntillo said they “planned to stay here for a long time.” In her application to be considered for the appointment, Puntillo stated that she “would like to participate in Bedford’s government to help the community to be a solid, responsible and happy place to live.” An interior designer by trade, Puntillo has experience with aesthetics, space planning and project management, and deals with a variety of businesses.
Before the Selectman unanimously approved Puntillo’s application, ZBA liaison Selectman Margot Fleischman described what the Zoning Board of Appeals does and how it interfaces with citizens.
“The ZBA is responsible for aspects of the zoning bylaws—particularly for considering petitions for zoning relief and special permits . . . for certain types of developments and certain uses that need ZBA approval. There are a lot of regulatory aspects of it— adhering to the [letter of the law]— and a lot of interaction with the public.
“There are plenty of people who come to those meetings as homeowners [who may not have had] a whole lot of experience interacting with town government,” Fleischman continued. “This might be their first time seeking a petition to build an addition or to make an alteration to their home. There’s a certain level of sensitivity needed for people who don’t have a lot of knowledge [about how the process works.]
To clarify her level of preparedness for the board, Puntillo responded, “I have a strong sense of civic responsibility. I have a background in project management, and I have a strong sense of training, aesthetics and design that will contribute to what the Zoning Board of Appeals does… Everyone comes to [the ZBA] with an agenda—people come to the board because there’s something that they want to get passed. The town has bylaws that have given it a solid foundation and it’s important to keep those in mind as well as to keep an open eye and ear to the folks that are coming before us. There’s got to be a good sense of balance.”
Associate ZBA members, like Puntillo, attend meetings and are, in effect, members-in-training. It was explained at the meeting that the practice of having associate members is especially useful on boards like the ZBA that confront— as Selectman Mark Siegenthaler described it—“technically complex” issues requiring knowledge of bylaws and statutes.
When full members are absent from a meeting, associate members are able to vote on matters that come before the board; once a full member steps down, it is ideally an associate member who is appointed to fill the open position.
In two separate, but related, actions, the Selectmen voted to move two ZBA associate members—Carol Amick and Todd Crowley—to full membership status. With these votes, the ZBA stands now at full membership with no vacancies.
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