William Varrell v. Brookline, Town of (SPR 20200358)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor ofR ecords March 9, 2020 SPR20/0358 Patrick J. Ward Town of Brookline 3 3 3 Washington Street Room#208 Brookline, MA 02445 Dear Mr. Ward: I have received the petition of William Yarrell appealing the nonresponse of the Town of Brookline (Town) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66, § 1O A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Specifically, on January 11, 2020, Mr. Yarrell requested the following records within the possession of the Town: • All documents showing executed Chapter 40B comprehensive permit application requirements for stormwater have been met. Specifically, but not limited to, Item 24, all final storm water management report and plans that were reviewed and approved by the Director of Engineering. • Proof there will be no standing water in low-lying areas of the site. This includes areas visible to the public as well as within the stormwater collection systems as standing water that cannot drain from the collection system will reduce the capacity of the system. • All documents showing the applicants documents are in conformance with these requirements and the Engineer has formally approved them, including any review comments, and or notes that were part of his review. Claiming to not yet have received responsive records, Mr. Yarrell petitioned this office and this appeal, SPR20/0358, was opened as a result. One Ashburton Place, Room 1719, Boston, Massachusetts 02108 • (617) 727-2832• Fax: (617) 727-5914 sec.state.ma.us/pre• pre@sec.state.ma.us

Mr. Patrick J. Ward SPR20/0358 Page 2 March 9, 2020 Current Appeal A representative from the Town indicated on February 5, 2020 that the "Town's Engineering Department will make the records available tomorrow." However, according to Mr. Yarrell in an email dated February 10, 2020, he claims that the "Town of Brookline has refused to send me the documents I requested ... they sent me some miscellaneous calculations and a partial set of plans." Conclusion Subsequent to the intervention by a staff member of the Public Records Division, I learned that a representative from the Town provided an update on March 6, 2020 stating it intends on providing a response to Mr. Yarrell's request. Accordingly, the Town is ordered to provide Mr. Yarrell with said response within ten (10) business days in compliance with the Public Records Law and its Access Regulations. It is preferable to send an electronic copy of this response to this office at pre@sec.state.ma.us. Mr. Yarrell may appeal the substantive nature of the Town's response within ninety (90) days. See 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Sincerely, ~~ Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records cc: Mr. William Yarrell