Town moves $4 million Francis suit to federal court
By Caitlyn Kelleher Journal Reporter

Westminster town officials hope that a federal court will decide whether developer Robert Francis has standing under the constitution in his $4 million suit against the town.

This week, town officials have requested to move the case, which was filed in Worcester Superior Court at the end of January, to the federal court system instead of the state system.

"We filed to move it to federal court because the suit claims a violation of equal protection under the constitution," Town Coordinator Karen Murphy said. "It is what our council determined."

Francis filed suit against the town claiming that the zoning bylaws and their enforcement is "an illegal taking of his private property." He says he lost approximately $4 million because of the re-evaluation of the land under the current zoning methods.

Francis released his reaction through his spokesperson in a written statement.

"I'm not yet sure of the impact of the town moving this case to federal court, but I hope that forum will give me a chance to explain that all I want is to be treated fairly by my home town," Francis said.

Francis bought 950 acres of land from the Fort James Operating Company, a paper manufacturer, around and including Crocker Pond.

The intention was to develop homes on the land and the suit alleges that town officials wanted to prevent such development so they rezoned the property.

The zoning bylaws Francis objects to were passed at a special town meeting in October 1999. The bylaws include two that increased lot sizes from 43,000 square feet to 60,000 square feet and change the building requirements by a pond.

Francis' suit also cites unfair granting of zoning variances by the Zoning Board of Appeals, whose members are defendants in the suit.

The suit cites 12 individual town officials including ZBA members Edwin Kaarella, Paul Barkus Jr., Celia Burgress, Elizabeth Aveni, Peter Romano and Edward Snyder, as well as Planing Board members Marie Auger, Peter Munro, Andrew Sears and Barry Davilli, and Building Inspector Robert Thorell.

"There have been some inconsistent comments from town officials both before and since the suit was filed and I was really looking forward to finding out where things stand," Francis said. "The switch to federal court probably means even more of a delay."