Town faces $4 million lawsuit from local builder
By Caitlyn Kelleher Journal Reporter

Local developer and Westminster resident Robert Francis is suing the town and 12 town officials because contending their actions in changing the zoning and not granting variances have decreased his property value.

The lawsuit calls the zoning bylaw "an illegal taking of his private property." Francis's suit says the town devalued his land because they changed the lot size requirements permitting him to put up fewer houses.

"It has sort of been one thing piling on top of the other," said Nancy J. Sterling of Mintz Levin of Boston, the firm representing Francis.

"He's worked fairly with the town, he has lost a great deal of value here. He doesn't see any other way of addressing this," Sterling said.

Francis bought about 950 acres of land from Fort James Operating Company, a paper manufacturer, along Crocker Pond. He me with unofficial town officials at the time to let them know he intended to develop homes on the land, including along the shoreline.

"At that point, I felt that despite everything I had done for the town - donated land for access to the beach, added substantially to the tax base, donated land to the fire department, being active in various civic organizations - I was never going to be treated fairly by my hometown," said Francis, in a written statement. "Therefore, as much as I dislike doing so, I felt that I had no choice but to file suit, as my rights had been violated numerous times over the years."

According to Francis' lawsuit, the Planning Board's proposed zoning amendments passed at the special town meeting on October 12, 1999. The proponents of the amendments said the purpose of the New Lot Area Definition Bylaw was to curtail large developments such as those expected on Crocker Pond.

An article to increase required lot sizes from 43,000 to 60,000 square feet was passed by 80 percent of the voters at the meeting, according to the 1999 town report.

A bylaw that changed building requirements by a pond passed with 73.4 percent of voters in support of it, according to the report.

"He would like to be granted variances as other community members have been," Sterling said. "He said others have been granted variances, including one that was related to a member of the zoning board."

The suit cites a variance that was granted by the Zoning Board of Appeals to Elizabeth D. Lewis, a relative of John Bowen - the former long-time ZBA member and town moderator. The suit says Lewis was allowed to build on a lot that was 13,000 square feet.

"The Board of Zoning Appeals granted a variance to Ms. Lewis, noting in its decision that the purpose of the New Lot Area Definition By-Law 'was basically to curtail large developments and not really to impact the small landowner,'" the suite said.

Besides being given the variances, Francis wants to see the bylaw changed, Sterling said. If that doesn't happen then he would like the court to award him the monetary damages.

Francis is suing Building Inspector Robert Thorell, Zoning Board member Edwin Kaarella, Paul Barkus Jr., Celia Burgess, Elizabeth Aveni, Peter Romano, and Edward Snyder, as well as Planning Board members Marie Auger, Peter Munro Andrew Sears and Barry Davilli.

Westminster Town Coordinator Karen Murphy said as of Tuesday afternoon she hadn't seen the lawsuit yet nor did she have the details of it. The suit also hadn't been served to the town clerk's office at that time.

"I haven't received the lawsuit, so I can't comment on it," she said.

Sterling said the $4 million figure is based on new land estimates for the property that is being left as open space combined with the loss in revenue because of the requirement for larger housing lots.