Thank you.
On May 14, 2021, immediately after the Town Clerk announced the tally, John Henry and I were sworn into the Planning Board. Our first meeting was May 17.
You can find the Planning Board Agendas on the Town web site. You may also want to keep in touch with the Zoning Board of Appeals.

Marion 2050
The next three years will impact Marion thirty years from now. My planning background and commitment to a vibrant, resilient community can help the Planning Board implement our Master Plan.
Cherishing our historic and cultural resources, evolving to meet our climate and commercial needs, Marion needs all hands on deck to implement the Master Plan recommendations.
Count on me to do the homework, listen to all sides and look to the future.
Q & A with Alanna
If you could pass a bylaw, what would it be?
A bylaw to require any multiresidential housing proposals to include electric vehicle charging stations would make perfect sense. EV adoption will increase if people know where they can charge them. Home and work are the most common places to do this. Light duty vehicles make up 27% of the Massachusetts carbon footprint. This simple step is one way to tackle a larger problem.
If Marion receive a grant of $1 million, what would be your priority?
Protecting our water resources and improving our wastewater treatment infrastructure would help the Town immensely. The grant could speed up replacement of sewers to reduce infiltration. It could also establish a low interest revolving loan fund for homeowners updating their septic systems.
This may not be a glamorous choice, but protecting our water resources, especially during high intensity storms is something we can’t take for granted. This would also inform future housing development systems.
What do you feel about new subdivisions in Marion?
Are you talking about taking a four acre lot and dividing it into four parcels or rezoning to build homes at higher density? These are both subdivisions, but open a different issues. Each case needs to be reviewed with its circumstances.
The Marion Master Plan seeks to encourage afffordable, village-style developments. As Marion is almost built out, subdividing land could be one way to address this. Higher density housing could be considered along the Route 6/ 105 corridor. More than likely, the land plot would need to change its zoning classification. That could only happen if changed at Town Meeting, so it’s not a Planning Board decision to make.
If the zoning did change, the Planning Board members need to follow the bylaws, consider technical advice provided by Town consultants and community input as it evaluates development plans.
As a Planning Board member, I will follow our bylaws and permitting process and listen to technical and citizen input, considering each proposal individually.
About Alanna
A member of the Energy Management Committee, Alanna is a marketing consultant and a fiber artist. She and her husband are avid sailors.
Fair winds took her from working with water quality financial assistance programs for Washington state municipalities to 11 years in Italy before moving to Massachusetts.
Thanks to a Fulbright Scholarship, Alanna did her thesis research Tunisia while working on her master’s degree at Texas A&M University. With a B.S. in Geography from the University of Wisconsin also in her grab bag, she is a creative thinker who seeks a sustainable, just future.
Volunteer Experience:
- Marion Energy Management Committee (2020 to present)
- Secretary, Fugitive Pigments (2020 to present)
- Melrose (MA) Energy Commission (2017-2020)
- Melrose Cultural Council (2008 – 2014)
- Melrose High School Site Council (2008 – 2011)
- Founder and Board member, Common Cod Fiber Guild (2008 – 2013)
- President, Benvenuto International Club of Monza (2003 – 2004)
- Redmond (WA) Park Board (1993-1994)
Send a message to Alanna
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