We were disturbed this week to hear of the Planning Board’s decision to fine residents on Stow Road for allegedly cutting down a tree they had been forbidden to cut. Our concern arose because the homeowners in question were not contacted by anyone on the Planning Board about the issue or about the meeting at which the homeowners’ alleged actions were planned to be a topic of discussion. Although the board isn’t technically required to notify residents when they are on the agenda, we think it’s a reasonable and fair thing to do.

The homeowners say they did not have the tree cut down, and the Planning Board gave them no opportunity to defend themselves against the accusation. It appears that the burden of proof is now on the homeowners to prove that they did not have the tree taken down, possibly becoming burdened with legal fees in the process. Can this really happen? Can a board really slap residents with a fine because of something it thinks they did? It seems to us that the burden of proof should be on the Planning Board, to prove that there was an offense committed.

And we have to wonder about the Planning Board’s evenhandedness in applying the rules, based on our report out of the last Planning Board Meeting. In that meeting, the chairman argued that a business owner’s request for a permit to move a sign on his property should be approved, despite the property’s noncompliance in other areas.

We understand that he was trying to be reasonable to the businessowner. We think reason and fairness should mark all of the Planning Board’s decisions, not just a few.