A Barrington Planning Board meeting which is expected to feature an important change in the Belton Court Village housing development application will take place on Nov. 3. It is also Election Day.

That apparent scheduling conflict needs to be addressed, said one of the candidates running for a seat on the Barrington Town Council. Neile Hartman, the organizer of a resident group that opposes various aspects of the Belton Court Village plan, believes the planning board meeting should be rescheduled.

“I am frustrated as both a resident and a candidate,” Hartman said. 

“Why is our town leadership making it harder for residents to be engaged in critical affairs? It should be very easy to change that planning board meeting.”

Hartman played a prominent role in the creation of B.R.A.D. — Barrington Residents for Appropriate Development. The group includes hundreds of residents and raised $75,000 in support of the community effort pushing back on the Belton Court Village development plan. B.R.A.D. hired legal representation and recruited more than a half-dozen experts who spoke out against the proposed 344-unit housing development. 

Hartman is concerned that the planning board’s decision to hold its meeting on the night of the mid-term elections will negatively impact meeting attendance by residents. 

“Engagement with residents is critical,” she said. 

Hartman recently noticed scheduling conflicts for two key meetings — the planning board meeting and a Barrington housing workshop which was scheduled for Monday, Sept. 28, the same night as a political forum for Barrington Town Council candidates. Hartman emailed Barrington Town Planner Herb Durfee and the department’s administrative assistant about both conflicts. 

“These issues are too important in shaping our town's future to have such low turnout and for our future elected leaders to not be involved,” Hartman wrote. 

Durfee, in a message to the Barrington Times, wrote that the housing workshop was going to be rescheduled “yet again.”

“Unfortunately, neither the League of Women Voters nor the East Bay Media Group checked with Town Hall before scheduling the candidate forum to see if there already was a townwide forum scheduled,” Durfee wrote.

East Bay Media Group is the parent company of the Barrington Times. 

Planning board decision

In a message to the Times, Barrington Planning Board Chair Roni Phipps explained why the board has chosen not to reschedule the Nov. 3 meeting. 

“It was considered and the decision was made to keep the meeting as scheduled. A Planning Board meeting was held on the night of the previous election in 2024, which was a presidential election,” Phipps wrote.

Phipps was also asked if holding the planning board meeting at Barrington Middle School, where election voting will take place, would create issues. (The planning board meeting and voting will overlap from 7 to 8 p.m.)

“I’m not sure what the issue would be,” Phipps wrote. “The Middle School has sufficient parking for one hour of voting and a Planning Board meeting. Voting and the meeting will be held in different rooms of the school, where the poll workers will screen those who are there to vote and anyone who would like to attend a public Planning Board meeting, as always, is welcome to attend.”

Hartman said she was not encouraged by the planning board’s decision. 

“It is very likely that ShineHarmony's revised proposal will be discussed in detail at this meeting as the current deadline is Nov. 30. This is a meeting where MANY in town will want to attend to hear first hand and participate in the public comment. With schedules disrupted, schools closed, childcare needed, voting happening, and the results of national midterm elections on the news, the odds of people then also prioritizing attending a PB meeting is unlikely,” Hartman wrote in a message to the town. 

Hartman said the scheduling conflicts are examples of why she chose to step up and run for Barrington Town Council. 

“Everything about this is about me standing up and saying ‘Hey, leadership, you are not listening to the town,’” Hartman said. 

“I am running to no longer be limited to three minutes. I will have a seat … and a voice, and that voice is committed to listening to the voice of the people.”