Barbara L'Heureux Campaigning for Planning Board Seat

Editor's note: The following is an interview with Planning Board Candidate Barbara L'Heureux. Burlington Patch will feature articles on all of the candidates in the contested Board of Selectmen and Planning Board races.

Barbara L'Heureux is looking to take her long-time interest in development, the work of the Burlington Planning Board and the well being of the town and turn it into a spot on the Planning Board. She is looking to fill one of the two vacant seats in the April Town Election. 

L'Heureux grew up in Burlington and graduated from Burlington High School. After graduation she went to Merrimack College and earned a BA in Business Administration and for 20 years worked in the high-tech industry in marketing and public relations. She moved back to town 20 years ago where she is raising her daughter. L'Heureux has been a member of Town Meeting since 2009 and also volunteers on the Capital Budget Committee. She is a Girl Scout leader and "Cookie Mom" and she volunteers in the school system. She was also part of the group that helped raise funds for the Francis Wyman Elementary School playground designed for children with disabilities, an accomplishment she lists as one of her proudest achievements.

L'Heureux, like many of the candidates for town office, said she first became interested in town politics when changes began to hit home. She said that about 10 years ago a condo project was proposed for her neighborhood and she got involved because she was concerned what it might do to the area. Since that time, she said, she's become interested in planning and development with a view to the whole town and has been a follower of planning board proceedings and an outspoken voice in Town Meeting where development projects are concerned.

"This is not a new thing," she said. "I’ve been involved for years. Attending and watching the Planning Board and seeking out additional information when issues come up that I think I can help with. I have a child in the school system and I want to make sure the town is the same as it was when I decided to move here. I want to preserve the character of the town I really love."

L'Heureux said that if elected to the Planning Board, she would apply her interest in research and getting answers whenever faced with a decision.

"One of most important things with the Planning Board is you have to do a lot of homework, go through a lot of paperwork and you have to meet with both the developers and the neighbors," she said. "I’m interested in that; I like talking to people and I like the work. I may not have all the answers but I do my homework. I talk to people involved and do the proper research before making any decisions."

She added that in her view, the time she has spent as a Town Meeting member will help her on the board, both because of the experience in town government and the connections she has made while serving.

"I think it helps I’m on Town Meeting," she said. "I have built relationships with other members and other town departments and boards and many issues do cross over those lines."

L'Heureux explained that diligent research can give members of the Planning Board more flexibility when making decisions on a proposed project. She acknowledged that for the most part, the Planning Board influence is restricted to the bylaws, meaning that if a developer has a right to build the board must approve, but she argued that having a deep understanding of those rights allows the town to have more input in proposed projects.

"One of the most important things is knowing the town bylaws," she said. "To a  great extent we just enforce the bylaws and if someone owns a property and can do something legally, we can’t stop them and we shouldn’t stop them. But sometimes in the past we haven’t adhered as closely as we could have to the laws."

As an example of how the board can influence the scope of a project by ensuring a close adherence to the bylaws, she pointed to the .

"The developers were originally talking about 80 condos, now they are talking about 32 to 33 town houses," she explained. "I think the Planning Board did a good job negotiating and bringing people to table. It may not be perfect but it is a lot better than what it started out to be, and this is a good example of the board working with a developer to address both the needs of the project and the neighborhood."

Looking ahead, L'Heureux said she sees traffic as something that will continue to be a major issue facing the town. She said she separates those issues into two parts: Middlesex Turnpike and the rest of the town.

"The Middlesex Turnpike is not something Burlington can fix on its own and it's not a problem we can expect developers to handle, that is not their job" she said, referring at least in part to the proposed traffic mitigation plan put forward by the Gutierrez Company as part of its deal for a zoning change to allow a Target store in the area. "When a developer looks at a project they look at a specific area that they must address, but the Middlesex Turnpike must be handled as a complete corridor."

L'Heureux said in her view the town must work with the state to come up with a regional fix to the Middlesex Turnpike, pointing out it would be in the interest of all to do so as Burlington is a driver of economic development in the region.

As for traffic concerns in other parts of town, L'Heureux said her approach would be to take them independently and make decisions based on the information yielded by asking questions and conducting research. Part of that process, she said, is to get all the information on a project's potential traffic impact at the beginning of the discussion.

"What is important is to make sure that traffic issues are discussed very early in the process," she said. "I want to see developers presenting traffic plans with the site plans if they will be impacting traffic. They must mitigate the traffic they bring and present that early so there is plenty of time to review it. Also, we must work with developers to come up with traffic plans so new projects don’t worsen traffic problems and alleviate problems when possible with smart planning."

Finally, L'Heureux said that despite her concerns on the impact projects may have on traffic and the quality of life for residents, she is not anti-business. She said commerce is important for Burlington and acknowledged that sometimes projects take a long time to be approved and suggested that perhaps Planning Department should be bolstered with additional staff to increase efficiency.

"If we’re delaying projects we are delaying our economic own development," she said. "It would behoove us to look at the Planning Department and see if they are overworked as I suspect if they are. Additional resources there would result in rewards at the other end. If we get projects faster we get the benefits, in taxes, jobs, etc. faster. I think its very important to realizes development is a revenue generating force."

The Burlington Town Election will be held on Saturday, April 14 and the polls will be at .