Caelin Bragg
Advertising & Distribution Manager
Continued from:
Andover Mayor Ben Lawrence vetoed the City Council’s motion to grant Butler a special use permit to expand its 5000 building to hold its facilities from the 6000 building.
The veto on Tuesday, Nov. 6 comes shortly after a month’s worth of discussions, concerning both the City Council and the Andover Planning Commission, of the mayor’s initial veto of the special use permit back on Tuesday, Sept. 18.
“I see no reason to approve the special use request,” Lawrence said in his veto. “I would urge [the City Council] to consider the bigger picture and future taxation demands that will be born from approving this special use case.”
The mayor’s reasons for the new veto mirror his original veto’s factors. He strongly believes that the area Butler is in is not suitable for a college and could harm local industry.
This is not the first time the college has dealt with vetoes by the mayor. Lawrence vetoed the original ordinance on July 12, 2005 that allowed Butler to use the 5000 building. Vetoes can be overridden by the City Council by a 3/4 majority vote, which the council motioned to do on July 26, 2005 but ultimately withdrew the motion and voted on the revised ordinance that Butler is currently still using.
The revised ordinance listed several conditions for Butler to follow, which Lawrence says have not all been adhered to and claims that it shows a selfish perspective from the college, which contributed to his veto on Tuesday, Sept. 18.
