End of a ZB-erA

Above, Bruce Hunchard has ended his 34 years of involvement with the ZBA

According to the memo to the Town Council included in the ‘packet’
for Wednesday’s meeting, Town Administrator Jamie Hellen is seeking
approval for his nomination of two new Zoning Board of Appeals
members, Jennifer Williams and Isabella Carter.

And those
nominations signal that long-time-member and Chair, Bruce Hunchard,
who logged some 34 years in the position, and Robert “Archie”
Acevedo, with 22 years, are now gone. The former formally ended his
term on June 30, 2025 but stayed on to complete work on the
controversial 444 East Central Street 40B project, and the latter
resigned from the ZBA on January 7, 2026 with a term nearing
expiration on June 30, 2026.

Many had grown
frustrated with the ZBA over what at times seemed like high-handed or
at least insensitive statements and rulings. But, of course, in
addition to those actions drawing disapproval there were innumerable
matters brought before the ZBA, with complex and competing claims,
that generated decisions that were probably about as good as could be
achieved. As Hellen noted in his memo, “The ZBA oversees a
complicated, dense and deep set of issues that are affected by federal, state and
local laws, case law and with potential significant consequences to
the community, private property
owners, residents, and commercial businesses.”

Stepping into the
breach, Williams, who has served on the Planning Board, is an
architect, and Carter a structural engineer. Those backgrounds will
help but will always be challenged by competing claims of residents
and developers and ever-shifting political pressures.