Per C. Vaage v. Department of Agricultural Resources (SPR 20253491)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records December 10, 2025 SPR25/3491 Raquel Loayza Paralegal Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources 225 Turnpike Road, 3rd Floor Southborough, MA 01772 Dear Ms. Loayza: I have received the petition of Per C. Vaage, Esq., of Mead, Talerman & Costa, LLC., appealing the response of the Department of Agricultural Resources (Department) to a request for public records. See G. L. c. 66, § 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). On August 27, 2025, Attorney Vaage requested the following records: [1] All decisions of the Department of Agricultural Resources (“DAR”) on applications for Certificates of Approval (“COA’s”) for residential dwelling units on properties subject to Agricultural Preservation Restrictions (“APR’s”) for 2015 – present[;] [2] All decisions of the Agricultural Land Preservation Committee (“ALPC”) on applications for Certificates of Approval (“COA’s”) for residential dwelling units on properties subject to Agricultural Preservation Restrictions (“APR’s”) for 2015 - present[;] [3] Copies of all APR’s corresponding to each of the decisions requested above[;] [4] Copies of all APR’s issues between 2001 and the present not otherwise produced in response to No. 3, above[;] [5] Copies of all APR Program Guidelines governing Requests for COA’s for dwellings in effect between 2001-2015[; and] [6] Copies of all versions of regulations in the CMR applicable to APR’s and/or COA’s in effect between 2001-present. 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

Raquel Loayza SPR25/3491 Page 2 December 9, 2025 Previous Appeal This request was the subject of a previous appeal. See SPR25/2728 Determination of the Supervisor of Records (September 29, 2025). In my September 29th determination, I found it was unclear whether the Department had provided Attorney Vaage with a response. The Department responded on October 24, 2025. Unsatisfied with the Department’s response, Attorney Vaage petitioned this office, and this appeal, SPR25/3491, 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 Department’s October 24th Response In its October 24, 2025 response, the Department stated “[r]egarding parts 1, 2, 3, 5, and 6 of your request, [the Department] has reviewed its records and will provide the requested records to you via SharePoint due to the size of the files… [r]egarding part 4 of your request, [the Department] is in possession of responsive records. Due to the large volume of records, [the Department] anticipates that it will be very time-consuming to compile all responsive records.” Current Appeal In his appeal, Attorney Vaage states “[the Department] stated that records responsive to Requests Nos. 1-3 and 5-6 would be provided via shared link, and that due to the volume of records responsive to Request No. 4, additional time would be needed…To date, no records or any link by which records would be shared has been provided.”

Raquel Loayza SPR25/3491 Page 3 December 9, 2025 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 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. G. L. c. 66, § 10(b)(vi). Where Attorney Vaage’s request was originally submitted on August 27, 2025, and the Department has not provided responsive records, I find the Department has not met its burden in responding to the request in accordance with G. L. c. 66, § 10(b)(vi). Accordingly, I find the Department must provide an estimated date as to when it expects to complete its review and provide any responsive records. See G. L. c. 66, § 10(a) (records must be provided without unreasonable delay). To the extent possible, the Department must provide responsive records on a rolling basis. Conclusion Accordingly, the Department is ordered to provide Attorney Vaage with a response, 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. Attorney Vaage may appeal the substantive nature of the Department’s response within 90 calendar days. See 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Sincerely, Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records cc: Per C. Vaage, Esq.