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| "When ya got trouble, get a lawyer. Then ya got more trouble but at least ya got a lawyer." Chico Marx to Groucho in "At the Circus" |
UPDATE: the first night of hearings by the Zoning Board of Review will take place tonight, starting at 7 PM at the Charlestown Elementary School. There will be NO live Clerkbase live streaming video.
Rumors have been roiling around town that anti-Whalerock leader Ron Areglado attended last Monday’s Town Council Executive Session to ask the Council to bail out his group by hiring their attorney.
However, late Thursday, Charlestown hired a different lawyer, John O. Mancini of the Michael A. Kelly Law Group, to serve as the Town Council's Special Counsel in the fight against the proposed Whalerock industrial wind project.
Rumors have been roiling around town that anti-Whalerock leader Ron Areglado attended last Monday’s Town Council Executive Session to ask the Council to bail out his group by hiring their attorney.
However, late Thursday, Charlestown hired a different lawyer, John O. Mancini of the Michael A. Kelly Law Group, to serve as the Town Council's Special Counsel in the fight against the proposed Whalerock industrial wind project.
When the Town Council emerged from its secret Executive Session last Monday, May 13, they announced their decision to spend $50,000 of town taxpayer funds to hire a Special Counsel plus experts to
represent the Town Council against developer Larry LeBlanc's unpopular Whalerock
proposal.
LeBlanc goes before the Zoning Board of Review (ZBR) on TONIGHT Tuesday, May 21 to request a Special Use Permit that would allow him to proceed with the construction of the wind turbines, presuming he actually has the financing to build the project.
LeBlanc goes before the Zoning Board of Review (ZBR) on TONIGHT Tuesday, May 21 to request a Special Use Permit that would allow him to proceed with the construction of the wind turbines, presuming he actually has the financing to build the project.
Mancini is expected to ask the ZBR for a postponement to allow him to prepare the Council’s case. If the ZBR does not grant a postponement, it may not matter, since it now seems unlikely that the ZBR will be able to hear all testimony and arrive at a decision on the 21st.
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| John O. Mancini (from the Michael A. Kelly website) |
It's far
more likely that they will need several nights spanning several weeks to
complete the process.
There will probably be at least one night for LeBlanc’s team and experts to make their presentation, another night for Town Solicitor Peter Ruggiero to argue against it, another night for Mancini to present the Council's case and who knows how many nights for community members to have their say.
There will probably be at least one night for LeBlanc’s team and experts to make their presentation, another night for Town Solicitor Peter Ruggiero to argue against it, another night for Mancini to present the Council's case and who knows how many nights for community members to have their say.
Then
the ZBR members will need to absorb the testimony and materials in order to
render a decision that meets the requirements of state law and the Town
Charter.
Ron
Areglado leads the anti-wind group that used to be called Ill
Wind RI and is now calling itself the Coalition to Stop Industrial Sized Wind Turbines (CTSISWT, pronounced “sitz-wit”). I was able to confirm that he did attend the closed-door Executive
Session.
Areglado is also the Charlestown Citizens Alliance (CCA) Party’s appointed member of the Chariho School Committee. He ran on the CCA Party's slate for Town Council in 2012, unsuccessfully.
Areglado is also the Charlestown Citizens Alliance (CCA) Party’s appointed member of the Chariho School Committee. He ran on the CCA Party's slate for Town Council in 2012, unsuccessfully.
My
sources tell me that Areglado has been trying to raise money – perhaps as much
as $12,000 – to pay the group’s lawyer James Donnelly for the work he did on
the group’s second lawsuit. That suit was thrown out of court in April because Donnelly missed the filing deadline.
It would have helped Areglado greatly if the town had decided to hire Donnelly, even with his 0 – 2 losing streak on Whalerock and assumed the debt, but that was not to be, at least not for now.
It would have helped Areglado greatly if the town had decided to hire Donnelly, even with his 0 – 2 losing streak on Whalerock and assumed the debt, but that was not to be, at least not for now.
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| Mancini's highlighted client list |
Among the clients he highlights on his webpage are the Rhode Island Builders Association (considered to be the Princes of Darkness by the CCA Party), Bucci Development, Shire Corporation and others (see list, left, for those clients Mancini selected to feature on his webpage).
Mancini also ran as the Democratic candidate for Mayor of Cranston in 2004. He lost by a two-to-one margin to Republican wingnut Steve Laffey.
I’m
very familiar with one of Mancini’s highlighted clients, Cullion Concrete.
Cullion Concrete sought to build a cement plant in the middle of a residential
neighborhood in the eastern part of Cranston just off Pontiac Avenue.
The site was not only within a few feet from dozens of homes and next to a school, but was also in a flood plain. It was actually underwater for days when the Pawtuxet River overflowed (see 2007 photo below).
The site was not only within a few feet from dozens of homes and next to a school, but was also in a flood plain. It was actually underwater for days when the Pawtuxet River overflowed (see 2007 photo below).
I
worked with the citizens group that fought – successfully – to block that plant. Mancini was working
the other side as Cullion’s lawyer.
It
was a tough fight – made tougher by Cullion’s bold move to begin construction
before they had all their permits. Cullion had laid the concrete pad and some
of the framework before the neighbors got the city to stop construction.
The
neighbors did a great job of organizing and forced a very reluctant Cranston City
Council and Mayor to intervene on their side. The only mistake they made was
changing their name from its original “Stop Cranston Concrete” to the more
awkward and unpronounceable “Cranston Citizens for Responsible Zoning and
Development (CCRZD).”
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| Here's Cullion's partially-built site in Cranston after the Pawtuxet River overflowed |
Ironically,
CCRZD faced the same dilemma with Cullion that Charlestown presently faces with
Whalerock.
The developer owns the land and if that developer is determined enough, there’s only so much a NIMBY group can do to block every proposal.
Sooner or later, the developer will put something on that land, something the neighbors probably aren’t going to like, unless he decides to sell out.
The developer owns the land and if that developer is determined enough, there’s only so much a NIMBY group can do to block every proposal.
Sooner or later, the developer will put something on that land, something the neighbors probably aren’t going to like, unless he decides to sell out.
The
only permanent solution for the folks fighting Cullion was for somebody to buy
that parcel of land and set it aside as open space, as a key part of the
Pawtuxet River watershed. It was easy to justify its value as open space since lots of state and federal money were going into restoring the river to life.
You
can read Mancini’s point of view on what happened next by clicking here. The resolution of that dispute – pretty much
a happy ending for everybody – was that the City of Cranston negotiated a $2 million buy-out of Cullion’s land for open space. Most of the money came from DEM.
Mancini brags about this as a win for his client, Cullion. Cullion must have agreed since they still use Mancini as their lawyer.
I can tell you that from the neighbors’ point of view, it also was a win although many of them were disgruntled that Cullion got the money. In 2007 when Cranston was nearly bankrupt, $2 million for a relatively small parcel of land was a lot of money. But the battle was over, permanently, and I think most residents now feel it was worth it.
Mancini brags about this as a win for his client, Cullion. Cullion must have agreed since they still use Mancini as their lawyer.
I can tell you that from the neighbors’ point of view, it also was a win although many of them were disgruntled that Cullion got the money. In 2007 when Cranston was nearly bankrupt, $2 million for a relatively small parcel of land was a lot of money. But the battle was over, permanently, and I think most residents now feel it was worth it.
Charlestown,
does any of this sound like what we face with Whalerock?
In
2007 during the Cullion fight, the neighbors used the classic resistance tactics used by hundreds of NIMBY groups across the country. I advised them on strategy and tactics and taught them how to do strategic research. But
they were nervous because, like Whalerock, Cullion seemed relentless in its
efforts to build that cement plant. Plus they had lots of connections within
the Byzantine political system in Cranston.
The residents recognized that the only long-term solution was to take that land off the table
through an open space acquisition, as I believe this is the only permanent
solution for Larry LeBlanc’s 81 largely unspoiled acres overlooking Scenic
Route One.
It makes me uncomfortable to see the town hire Mancini, given his
history and client list. However, I think his experience in the Cullion Concrete case – from the
developer side – could make him an asset in concluding the Whalerock
fight with a similar outcome.
No
matter what happens in front of the ZBR, the dispute between Charlestown and
Larry LeBlanc over the use of those 81 acres will drag on and on and on until we make the deal. It’s a deal we need to make.
Whether
intentional or not, Charlestown has just hired a guy who knows how this works,
albeit from the other side, and knows how deals like this get made. If he can get it done, I think that's $50,000 well spent. Cheaper than $50,000 would be nice, though.