Suzzane T. Sakr v. Plympton Zoning Board of Appeals (SPR 20200370)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor ofR ecords March 10, 2020 SPR20/0370 Patricia Detterman Office of the Town Clerk Town of Plympton 5 Palmer Road Plympton, MA 02367 Dear Ms. Detterman: I have received the petition of Suzzane T. Xavier-Saler appealing the response of the Town of Plympton (Town) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66, § lOA; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Specifically, on February 25, 2020, Ms. Sakr requested to "check the binder for errors in respect to the original copy versus the new copy in the Office of the Board of Health" and to review the following documents with regards to "Cranberry Knoll" within the possession of the Town: • All permits issued regarding water supply testing and safety inspections from the Plympton Fire Department; • The following records from the Plympton Zoning Board of Appeals; • All permits issued • All postings to the public for public hearings • All DEP documents regarding public water supply, stormwater damage, wetland, and septic approval • All documents pertaining to the park • All documents that pertains to the entrance of Cranberry Knoll • All engineering and surveyor documents • Any and all new plans for a driveway • All ZBA meeting minutes • Any and all changes where abutters were not notified of that the ZBA allowed • All documents pertaining to property lines. 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

Ms. Patricia Detterman SPR20/0370 Page 2 March 10, 2020 Previous Appeals This request is the subject of previous appeals. See SPR20/0253 Determination of the Supervisor of Records (February 25, 2020); Determination of the Supervisor of Records SPR20/0040 (January 23, 2020). In the previous appeal, Ms. Sakr states that she was not allowed to review "the Zoning Board of Appeals files and the Fire Department files of Cranberry Knoll." In addition, she claims that the Town did not "allow her to check the copy of the book in making sure it is exact to the original." Based on Ms. Sala's appeal, it was unclear what paiis of the record Ms. Sala finds objectionable and this office was unable to opine on this appeal. Ms. Sakr petitioned this office and this appeal, SPR20/03 70, was opened as a result. In its January 23, 2020 response regarding Determination SPR20/0040, the Town explained that Ms. Sakr "picked up the intact package with her document and complete response letter dated December 24, 2019." The Town's Marclt 3rd Response With respect to category 1 of Ms. Sala's request, in a phone conversation with a staff member of the Public Records Division on March 3rd, the Town states it is willing to set up a time and place for Ms. Sala to review and check the new copy versus the original copy. It is my understanding that the Town provided additional clarification regarding categories 2 and 3 of Ms. Sakr's request. Existence ofA dditional Records Ms. Sakr claims on February 25th that the Town "violated my access to review public records ... and denied me being able to review the files they have in their custody." With respect to categories 2 and 3 of Ms. Sakr:s request, in a phone conversation on March 3rd, the Town asserts that "there is nothing new to review" in regards to the Zoning Board of Appeals documents. In addition, the Plympton Fire Department provided a response in an email dated November 12, 2019 stating that "after checking our records, attached are the only records we have at this time for Cranberry Knoll." Under the Public Records Law, the Town is not required to create a record in response to a public records request. See G. L. c. 66, § 6A( d). The duty to comply with requests for records extends to those records that exist and are in the possession, custody, or control of the custodian ofrecords at the time of the request. See G. L. c. 66, § lO(a)(ii), (b)(ii). However, custodians are expected to use their superior knowledge of the records in their custody to assist requestors in obtaining the desired information. See 950 C.M.R. 32.04(5). In light of the issues raised in Ms. Sakr's appeal regarding the existence of additional records within the Town, and its responses, I find that the Town has met its burden in providing the requested documents to Ms. Sala.

Ms. Patricia Detterman SPR20/0370 Page 3 March 10, 2020 Conclusion In light of the above, I consider this administrative appeal closed. Sincerely, Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records cc: Ms. Suzzane T. Xavier-Sakr