Candidates for the two-year Planning Board seat Bruce MacDonald, second from left, Anne Hogeland and Christopher Kapiloff discussed the issues at a forum in April with moderator Bill Densmore, far right.

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The three candidates for a two-year seat on the Planning Board agree that the town needs economic growth, but they have different ideas on how to achieve it.

Anne Hogeland, Chris Kapiloff and Bruce MacDonald participated in a forum sponsored by the League of Women Voters on April 13. It was the second time the three discussed the issues together in front of an audience in advance of the town election on Tuesday.

Unlike the first meeting, the candidates did not take on the Waubeeka Overlay District head on, but there were still plenty of contrasts to be drawn from the forum, telecast on the town's community access station, WilliNet.

Hogeland told the audience that she thinks the current Planning Board has it right when it comes to the idea of promoting smart growth.

"I think the Planning Board has been particularly effective in looking at how we can increase our infill development in our village center and business district, looking at reuse of existing facilities," Hogeland said. "Cable Mills is a perfect example of the kind of reuse that makes sense for Williamstown, and it adds to our housing diversity as well.

"We have a lot of possibilities in the pipeline for bringing Water Street and Spring Street together in a vibrant downtown. I see the Planning Board starting to work on these issues, and I'd like to see them continue to work on these issues."

Kapiloff contended that infill and brownfield development are just part of the solution, and he used an eye-opening statistic to demonstrate what he thinks about the town's current zoning bylaws.

"Right now in our town, approximately five-ten thousandths of 1 percent of our land is available for a new business to build a building on," Kapiloff said. "I'd like to double that over the next few years so that one one one thousandth of 1 percent of the land in our town is available for new business. This will make building far more cost effective and will actually attract people to come here, which will increase the population, increase the demand for housing, increase the demand to fix dilapidated housing, add money to our school budget, add money to the budgets that take care of our elderly people."

He then added a veiled reference to the process used by the current board to consider a potential zoning change at the Waubeeka Golf Links property.

"I'd like to see the Planning Board be more focused on zoning decisions and less focused on business decisions for developers," Kapiloff said.

MacDonald agreed with the current board's emphasis on protecting "natural rural beauty" but suggested that the town revamp its zoning laws to adopt the more contemporary "form-based zoning" approach.

"I have decided to become a proponent of form-based regulations with multi-use zoning with a minimum of five zones in town, which would enable businesses to begin or relocate to Williamstown by right as opposed to proceeding through a number of hurdles with town boards and committees," MacDonald said. "Multi-use will allow businesses and residences to exist in the same locale, but the appearance to the tourist will be one of a bucolic New England village because massing and appearance with regard to setbacks will be maintained, but the use will be variable.

"A chiropractor can run an office in the front of a building but have an apartment in the back and possibly offices on the second floor. … If this multi-use is accepted, I believe it will attract businesses to Williamstown and allow local people to start businesses. My observation is that businesses, if not driven out of town, it's been difficult for them to survive."

Kapiloff maintained that the current Planning Board is part of the reason those businesses find it so difficult to survive and he pointed to the testimony given last year to the town's Economic Development Committee to support that assertion.

"Our current Planning Board presents significant hurdles to development in town," he said. "I think the town should be able to vote on zoning changes, not have the board hold those up, sometimes indefinitely. I think our Planning Board should stick to what they know, which is zoning, and not meander into business models, marketing studies, etc.

"We are known as an unfriendly for business town, and I want to change that."

Kapiloff, a principal of Kapiloff Glass and School Guard Glass, argued that his business experience would provide a fresh perspective on the Planning Board.

The candidates' back stories were a point of discussion at the forum.

MacDonald brings experience on both sides of the table when it comes to land use issues. By trade, he is a developer who has helped develop properties domestically and abroad. In addition, he offers experience in town government.

"I believe that my 13 years on the Bourne Conservation Commission, including two years as its chair, were very helpful in learning how to draft bylaws," MacDonald said. "I was the chairman of the committee to draft bylaws in the town of Bourne for the construction of docks. Bourne has more saltwater frontage than any town in the commonwealth, and it was a very large task."

Hogeland contended that her professional experience as a lawyer, her personal experience as a volunteer on committees in the town's elementary and high schools and her current position as co-manager of the town's farmers market show that she is both knowledgeable and dedicated to Williamstown.

"I've worked with many legal documents, including bylaws," Hogeland said. "Zoning laws are complicated. … I think my legal background will be very useful for the board.

"I'm currently on the steering committee and co-manager of the Farmers Market. And the Farmer's market has taken over a thousand hours of my time. It helps farmers, enlivens Spring Street for residents and visitors alike and builds community. All of these things are in line with the Planning Board's mission."

If elected, Hogeland would be the only attorney — she retired in 2010 — on the five-member Planning Board. But Kapiloff argued he, too, has experience with the law.

"In the last five years, I've twice defeated the attorney general's office in Massachusetts — once when I sued UMass-Lowell and once when the unions sued my company," Kapiloff said. "That time, I represented myself and beat the attorney general's office. I also have what I think is probably more rare than a winning lottery ticket: I have an apology letter from the IRS in an action we instigated against them."

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