To the editor:

Town hall has only itself to blame for Braintree’s revolt over the proposed zoning ordinance. The four-month window allotted for public feedback felt to residents like a calculated maneuver designed either to hide something unpalatable or to disguise a done deal as a fair and open process.

Worse, examination of the document quickly produced numerous unanswered questions because zero information on what this legislation will yield down the road has been made public. Specifically, how much housing does the proposed ordinance open the door for?

If town hall knows, they’re not saying, and that’s making Braintree nervous. A population increase will create ancillary growth in demands on town services, but town hall has said nothing about having a plan in place to manage that growth. The silence has generated nothing but fear and suspicion.

Confronted with an information vacuum, residents turned to social media, where at least they could find discussion, if not reliable information. Belatedly grasping that its control of the narrative is forfeit, town hall is now begging people to come to them with questions rather than trusting online speculation.

The solution is information. Without it, Braintree’s zoning legislation will languish until it’s dead.

