Dighton Stormwater Committee Rejects Developer Bid to Drop $10,300 Inspection Fee

DIGHTON — June 17, 2026 — Dighton Stormwater Committee holds firm on $10,300 engineering fee despite developer legal threat. Chair Nancy Gulak read aloud a May 19 letter from attorney Michael P. O'Shaughnessy, representing ZES LLC, the owner of a commercial self-storage development at 2231 Elm Street, arguing the committee lacks authority under the town's 2009 stormwater bylaw to require the developer to fund third-party inspections by Weston and Sampson. Gulak rejected the argument, saying the committee was created in 2018 as the Board of Health's designee for exactly that purpose, and said she would respond by letter before considering escalation to town counsel. "I will not leave things off the agenda based on something that I personally consider has no merit," she said. The committee also received a status update from Weston and Sampson consultant Jerece, who said the town's bylaw and regulations revisions — required under the federal MS4 permit since permit year three and now in permit year eight — should be targeted for adoption before the EPA annual report deadline of September 29, 2026, with a proposed change raising the land disturbance permit threshold from 35,000 square feet to one acre. The committee voted unanimously to encumber $2,100 in FY26 funds for 600 stormwater education calendars and to move its July meeting to Tuesday, July 21.