SOUTHWICK – The Southwick Planning Board agreed to strike the word “grandfathered” from any town bylaws during its March 16 meeting.
Registered Southwick voters will have the opportunity to weigh-in and vote on the removal of the word, which appears currently in one bylaw, during the May 18 Town Meeting.
Planning Board Chair Michael Doherty said the move was prompted by a Massachusetts Appeals Court decision last summer, which states “grandfathered” will no longer be used at the state court level.
Doherty said the origin of the phrase, which commonly means that something pre-existed a law, is based in racist practices.
“I understand it has taken on a much more benign meaning and when people use it today it’s not intended to be racist,” Doherty said.
However, he said knowing its origin, he believes it is “not appropriate for us to use,” especially because the court ruled it would not use the term.
“Grandfathered” appears in the town’s current stormwater bylaw as a definition.
“It’s nowehere else,” Doherty said, “so it’s somewhat useless as well.”
Doherty stressed that he does not believe it is used as a racist term today.
“I don’t think people use it in a derogatory manner currently,” he said. “But knowing its origin, and if a court’s not going to use it, neither should we.”
Town Counsel will create the language for a Town Meeting article and send it to the Southwick Select Board. The board will vote to place it on the warrant.
Doherty said at the start of the discussion that he expected a lot of viewers after numerous comments were made on social media from residents opposing the change, however, few members of the public showed up and no one spoke when Doherty asked for comments.
