Resident's lawsuit puts city's Technical Review Group on the hot seat

DOVER - A Rochester resident is taking the city to court over its use of a Technical Review Group that advises developers and businesses on how to prepare their plans for review by the Planning Board but operates in total secrecy with no meeting minutes.

The case of Paul Martin v the City of Rochester got under way on Thursday at Strafford County Superior Court with scheduling of arguments set for Tuesday.

Martin's attorney, Tony F. Soltani of The Munilaw Group of Epsom, has filed a petition for statutory relief and permanent injunction, which, if approved would end the Technical Review Group's ability to conduct business in secret.

Soltani, a former state legislator and expert in 91a, New Hampshire's Right to Know law, said no other city or town in New Hampshire has such a nonpublic group that operates in such a way.

He called it a "Jedi mind trick" that the city of Rochester has been able to keep the group intact as long as it has.

"The law says you can have an expert panel or subcommittee and meet whenever they want, but those are also subject to Right to Know law," Soltani said Thursday. "The TRG is an expert subcommittee; it's just calling itself a different name."

Soltani believes no court is going to uphold such a practice.

"They have secret communications with developers on how to get their ideas across to the planning board, and the public has no access to the goings-on," he said. "People are not allowed to attend; there's no agenda and no minutes."

Martin, whom Soltani described as a retired professor who moved to Rochester, became involved when he tried to find out from the TRG about a commercial development that affected his area of town and was told there were no minutes and no answers to his questions, according to Soltani.

Then when Martin went to a planning board meeting, they had their minds made up, because Soltani said, the TRG had already made its recommendation.

In a copy of the complaint obtained by The Rochester Voice, the city states the TRG's purpose "is to review projects that are submitted for review to the Planning Board, including site plans and subdivisions. The applicant/agent presents plans to the TRG which comments on the plans and suggests changes in accordance with various city regulations, laws and policies."

The TRG is made up of the city's chief planner, city engineer, code enforcement director, fire marshal, police captain, economic development manager, and a conservation commission and planning board member.

Soltani suspects the city will rely on one defense in its reasoning for the group.

"For 100 years it's been said town and cities have responsibilities not just to make a decision, but to help out with the process," he said. "They (the city) will say this is to streamline the (permitting) process. We say they can streamline it all they want, but under Right to Know law."

He further said that recommendations from the TRG are almost always OK'd by the planning board and approved.

"By the time this group has made suggestions to developers and told them to do this and that, the planning board has no choice but to adopt," Soltani said. "No matter what people say, it's a waste of hot air."

City attorney Terence O'Rourke was not available for comment on Thursday.