GROVELAND — The boards are battling in Groveland.
Last year, selectmen pushed for passage of an article at Town Meeting that changed the Planning Board from being elected by voters to being appointed by selectmen. The measure passed, 70-51.
Selectman Chairman William Darke said the change was necessary in order to put more qualified people on the Planning Board. He also said the selectmen believed the town's government would be more orderly with a chain of command.
Meanwhile, the Planning Board and others have been pushing to increase the membership of the Board of Selectmen from three to five. They tried to place the issue before Town Meeting voters in October, but were unsuccessful.
Now, they are trying to put an article before the annual Town Meeting in April to increase the number of selectmen, Planning Board Chairman Walter Sorenson said.
"I don't think it's necessary," Darke said. The board is now "operating very well," he noted, with "three good people" and "no agendas." Darke's fellow selectmen are Bette Gorski and Donald Greaney.
The Planning Board voted unanimously on Sept. 15 to support increasing the number of selectmen. Sorenson said the town needs more selectmen because Groveland's population has been increasing over the years.
"The town's population and diversity now suggest that the representation of the Board of Selectmen increase its numbers from three to five members," he said. "This is commonplace on most boards of selectmen and in neighboring towns."
A few years ago, Georgetown increased its Board of Selectmen from three to five members.
Groveland's population now totals 6,803, according to Town Clerk Anne Brodie. It was 6,923 in 2007 and 6,608 in 2005, she said.
Sorenson and his fellow board members are also trying to return the Planning Board to elected status.
He has questioned the legality of the change approved last year, but Darke said an opinion from the town's attorney supported the move.
Unless the method of selection is changed back, Sorenson and the three other elected members will serve out their terms, and then the selectmen will make the appointments.
The newest member of the Planning Board, Jon Stock, was appointed earlier this year. The other board members are Robert O'Hanley, Carole Gist and James Freer.
The Planning Board and selectmen also clashed recently over the matter of requiring town boards to sign building permits before they can be issued by the building inspector.
Selectmen proposed rescinding the rule and persuaded the special Town Meeting on Oct. 5 to approve it.
The Planning Board, however, voted unanimously to oppose the change.
Sorenson said the provision, proposed by the Planning Board in 1999 and approved by Town Meeting, was needed to prevent illegal building on nonconforming lots.
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