STERLING — Emotions are running high in Sterling over parking in the town center, with the town redrawing lines and the local church removing a painted fire lane and then restoring it when fines were imposed.
According to an Oct. 4 press release from the town, the First Church of Sterling removed a fire lane between the church and library and established a parking area on the lawn of the church behind the pavement.
That evening, the board of the church issued its own press release, arguing some of the points addressed by the town.
In a comment on the Item story Oct. 6, since deleted, Rev. Robin Bartlett said the church “in an act of good faith” repainted the lines “on the church’s property … . The church still intends to/hopes to pave the grass on its property for visitor parking and our lawyers are still in negotiations with the town’s lawyers.”
Background
As part of the first phase of the downtown revitalization plan, Sterling had new lines established for parking, including clearly marking no-parking spots near intersections and in areas of congestion. Part of the repainting was marking fire lanes between the church and library.
“The markings … came almost simultaneously with a devastating fire that destroyed a similar church building in the Town of Spencer,” according to the town press release. “While we recognize the new line configuration may have an adverse effect on available parking, our interest in protecting public safety is of utmost importance.”
According to the press release, town officials “attempted to engage church leaders in the decision-making process, they have ignored all our requests. On Sept. 27, the (Sterling Fire Department) was made aware the markings for the approved fire lane between the library and the church building had been removed and the church established a new parking area directly in front of the marked fire lane.
“On Sept. 28, representatives of the SFD visited the church to investigate the complaint and were told by a church employee that these actions were in fact done by order of the church leadership. At that time, the church was served with a letter advising that this action is a direct violation of the fire code and, if the parking area is not removed and the fire lane markings not restored by Oct. 1, the church would be issued a citation and fined for the violations.”
The fines, as prescribed by the Mass. Non-Criminal Fire Code Citation system, are $100 for the first day of the offense, $500 for the second and $1,000 for each subsequent day, “until such time the violation is corrected.”
Church’s response
Peter Rezac, chair of the Governance Board of First Church, sent a letter from that group explaining the history of the church, which pre-dates the town.
“We have been generous with our land for 281 years, allowing use of our building and our church common for town gatherings, recreation, yard sales, fairs and more,” the church board wrote. “We gave land to the town so the Conant Public Library could be built and allowed Meetinghouse Hill Road to cross our property, all to improve the lives of the people of Sterling and surrounding towns.”
The letter states the church serves people of all ages and abilities, “many of whom have been adversely affected by recent changes to downtown.
“The lack of accessible, legal parking close to the church has meant that preschoolers and their families are crossing a busy intersection without crosswalks, elderly people have been ticketed while attending a funeral and people with mobility issues are unable to reasonably access worship, community lunches and other event,” the board stated in its release.
Clarifications
According to Police Chief Sean Gaudette, during the funeral, an officer issued a written warning, not a ticket with a fine, since the driver was not immediately available.
“My officers have the discretion to issue a verbal or written warning or a monetary fine citation, depending on the totality of the circumstances, just like on a motor vehicle stop,” Gaudette said. “My guidance to them from the beginning was ‘education before enforcement.’ It’s my understanding that any written warning/ticket issued was done so because the circumstances were that egregious.”
The car was parked in front of the “no parking” sign on the park side of the street, while the Sterling Street Market and funeral were going on.
The church board stated in its release that a few meetings occurred, “but nothing was done to actually help the people who are being harmed, and our requests for subsequent meetings were rebuffed.”
The board said it appreciates the fire department and its commitment to Sterling’s safety.
“It is our contention, however, that the fire lane, and a related refusal to allow us to create parking spaces on our own land, constitute purposeless government overreach. Our current building is from 1842 and long predates the current version of the fire code,” according to the board’s release.
Fire Chief David Hurlbut said the area with the fire lane is important “because it gives the fire department access to both the First Church and the library. Both of these buildings have very limited access based on how they are situated on the property. This allows our ladder truck to set up to access two sides of each building and, more importantly, that alley gives us access to the sprinkler connections in the library. If there was ever a fire there, we would need to supply those sprinkler connections with a hose from a fire truck.”
Hurlbut said another fire lane is on the other side of the church, so the library side “gives us two-sided access.”
In the absence of “collaborative engagement with the town focused on realistic improvements to both safety and parking,” the church will continue to “assert its civil liberties and land-ownership rights in an effort to improve access to our building and other downtown points of interest,” they wrote. “Our goal is not to cause any unnecessary strife in the town, but rather to protect the people who come to our church and to downtown Sterling, especially elders, preschoolers and people living with disabilities.”
The SFD, in the town press release, stated it “holds great respect for the church and its mission … . However, anyone who intentionally and knowingly violates the fire code must be held accountable for their actions. It is our hope that the church leadership comes to understand this and reconsiders their position, and we continue our willingness to discuss the matter with them. Until then, we intend to take all such actions as are necessary to enforce the law and protect the safety of the public.”
Gaudette described parking as a “long-standing issue. The lack of delineations and faded paint made it hard to do any real parking enforcement. I defer to the traffic engineers on how and why the delineations were made, but I think the safer lines-of-sight for pedestrians and traffic exiting side streets were long overdue.”
