Framingham Unfiltered v. Framingham, City of (SPR 20221788)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records August 17, 2022 SPR22/1788 Paul J. Iversen Records Access Officer City of Framingham 150 Concord Street, Room B-37 Framingham, MA Dear Mr. Iversen: I have received the petition of Framingham Unfiltered appealing the response of the City of Framingham (City) to a request for public records. See G. L. c. 66, § 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). On July 19, 2022, Framingham Unfiltered requested, “…all plans for apartment buildings or mixed use buildings over 50 residential units received by city since March 2022 [and] …all proposals or applications for Marijuana related businesses submitted since March 2022.” On August 2, 2022, the City responded. Unsatisfied with the City’s response, the requestor petitioned this office and this appeal, SPR22/1788, was opened as a result. The Public Records Law The Public Records Law strongly favors disclosure by creating a presumption that all governmental records are public records. G. L. c. 66, § 10A(d); 950 C.M.R. 32.03(4). “Public records” is broadly defined to include all documentary materials or data, regardless of physical form or characteristics, made or received by any officer or employee of any agency or municipality of the Commonwealth, unless falling within a statutory exemption. G. L. c. 4, § 7(26). It is the burden of the records custodian to demonstrate the application of an exemption in order to withhold a requested record. G. L. c. 66, § 10(b)(iv); 950 C.M.R. 32.06(3); see also Dist. Att’y for the Norfolk Dist. v. Flatley, 419 Mass. 507, 511 (1995) (custodian has the burden of establishing the applicability of an exemption). To meet the specificity requirement a custodian must not only cite an exemption, but must also state why the exemption applies to the withheld or redacted portion of the responsive record. 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

Paul J. Iversen SPR22/1788 Page 2 August 17, 2022 The City’s August 2nd Response In its August 2, 2022 response, the City stated: The City of Framingham is in receipt of your public records request, dated July 19th, 2022, in which you requested all plans for apartment or mixed use buildings over 50 residential units received since March 2022 and all proposals or applications for marijuana-related businesses submitted since March 2022. The City intends to provide these records to you insofar as they exist, however due to the need to collect, process, and redact as required by law a number of records, and the number of other records requests your group has submitted in the immediate timeframe before and after making this particular request (58 requests in total) responding to this request within 10 business days places an undue burden on the responsibilities of the City. As a result, the City is extending the due date for this request. The new due date is August 23rd, 2022. We will work diligently to provide you with the records before that date if at all possible… Current Appeal In his current appeal, the requestor suggested that the City’s request for an extension was invalid. Where the City has indicated that they intend to provide a response within the allowed statutory timeframe, it is unclear the basis of the requestor’s appeal. See G. L. c. 66, § 10(b)(vi) (records access officer may identify a reasonable timeframe in which the agency or municipality shall produce the public records sought; provided, that for an agency, the timeframe shall not exceed 15 business days following the initial receipt of the request for public records and for a municipality the timeframe shall not exceed 25 business days following the initial receipt of the request for public records; and provided further, that the requestor may voluntarily agree to a response date beyond the timeframes set forth herein). Conclusion The City is ordered to provide a response to the request in compliance with the Public Records Law and its Regulations. If issues remain once the requestor receives the response, the requestor may file an appeal within ninety (90) days. See 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1).

Paul J. Iversen SPR22/1788 Page 3 August 17, 2022 Sincerely, Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records cc: Andrew Quemere