Brendan Deveney v. Chelsea, City of (SPR 20253305)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records November 17, 2025 SPR25/3305 Beatrice Hernandez Legal Assistant City of Chelsea City Hall, Room 307 500 Broadway Street Chelsea, MA 02150 Dear Ms. Hernandez: I have received the petition of Brendan Deveney appealing the response of the City of Chelsea (City) to a request for public records. See G. L. c. 66, § 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). On August 4, 2025, Mr. Deveney requested “all public records since April 2, 2021 concerning the property at [a specified address:]” [1] For the period January 1, 2021 to present: [a] All lead surveys, investigations, or reports relating to [the specified address;] [b] All asbestos surveys, investigations, or reports relating to [the specified address]. [2] For the period August 1, 2024 to present: [a] All building permits (issued, denied, expired, or renewed) and inspection reports for [the specified address;] [b] All email correspondence between the City Manager’s Office and [a specified email address], including where [the specified email address] is in the To, CC, or BCC fields, and including all attachments[;] [c] All email correspondence between the City of Chelsea Law Department and [the specified email address], including where [the specified email address] is in the To, CC, or BCC fields, and including all attachments. 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

Beatrice Hernandez SPR25/3305 Page 2 November 17, 2025 The City responded on August 6, 2025, August 18, 2025, and September 17, 2025. Unsatisfied with the City’s responses, Mr. Deveney petitioned this office and this appeal, SPR25/3305, 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. Attorney 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. If there are any fees associated with a response a written, good faith estimate must be provided. G. L. c. 66, § 10(b)(viii); see also 950 C.M.R. 32.07(2). Once fees are paid, a records custodian must provide the responsive records. The City’s responses In its August 6, and 18, 2025 responses, the City provided responsive records for Item 1 and Item 2a of the request. In its September 17, 2025 response, the City stated, “they are currently sifting through thousands of emails” and “[t]his is going to take some time, once it is completed you will be sent the file.” Timeliness in providing records G. L. c. 66, § 10(b) provides, in pertinent part, that if the magnitude or difficulty of the request unduly burdens the other responsibilities of the agency or municipality such that the agency or municipality cannot provide records within 10 business days, the agency or municipality must inform the requestor in writing within 10 business days. With respect to the timeframe to produce responsive records, the written response shall: identify a reasonable timeframe in which the agency or municipality shall produce the public records sought; provided, that … for a municipality the timeframe shall not exceed 25 business days following the initial receipt of the request for public

Beatrice Hernandez SPR25/3305 Page 3 November 17, 2025 records; and provided further, that the requestor may voluntarily agree to a response date beyond the timeframes set forth herein. G. L. c. 66, § 10(b)(vi). Where Mr. Deveney submitted his request on August 4, 2025, and the City has not provided responsive records for Item 2b and Item 2c, nor cited an exemption for withholding records, I find the City has not met its burden in responding to the request in accordance with G. L. c. 66, § 10(b). Consequently, the City must provide an estimated date as to when it intends to complete the search and provide the responsive records. See G. L. c. 66, § 10(a) (records must be provided without unreasonable delay). To the extent possible, the City must provide responsive records on a rolling basis. Additionally, this office encourages the City and Mr. Deveney to continue to communicate directly in order to facilitate providing records more efficiently and affordably. See G. L. c. 66, § 10(b)(vii) (a municipality shall suggest a reasonable modification of the scope of the request or offer to assist the requestor to modify the scope of the request if doing so would enable the municipality to produce the records sought more efficiently and affordably). Conclusion Accordingly, the City is ordered to provide Mr. Deveney with a response to the request, provided in a manner consistent with this order, the Public Records Law and its Regulations within ten (10) business days. A copy of any such response must be provided to this office. It is preferable to send an electronic copy of the response to this office at pre@sec.state.ma.us. Mr. Deveney may further appeal the substantive nature of the City’s response within ninety (90) days. See 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Sincerely, Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records cc: Brendan Deveney