Ben Bailey is running for his fourth term on the planning board and has lived in Rochester for almost 40 years.

“During my experience on the board we have seen everything from the first solar farms that came into Rochester, large subdivisions, small subdivisions and minor divisions of land,” said Bailey.

With a background in measurement electronics as well as entrepreneurship and business, Bailey said that he currently owns and manages commercial property in the South Shore.

Bailey said that his experience in business dealing with insurance and legal contingencies has made him “the kind of person who asks questions.”

Bailey said that one of the biggest issues Rochester is facing is the increased cost of living in town.

In order to help lower the cost of development, Bailey has created a citizen’s petition to have the town remove itself from the Green Communities Program.

“We need to get out of that because that was going to really drive the cost of any renovation somebody wanted to [build] new house into crazy expensive,” he said.

If elected, Bailey said that he hopes to work with veteran and homelessness advocates to apply special zoning laws to create a small 55 and up housing complex.

“2000 square feet or so is too big and too expensive for somebody who's older and maybe on a fixed income,” he said.

In addition to serving on the board for 15 years, Bailey is also a member of the Rochester Conservation Commission.

“I sit on [the Conservation Commission] primarily because there was a lack of communication between the Conservation Commission and the Planning Board that led to some misunderstandings or things not being done as smoothly as they could,” he said.

Bailey said that since being a member of the Conservation Commission he has noticed changes in communication between them and the Planning Board.

“Before I joined I regularly heard criticism of [the Conservation Commission],” he said. “Since I've joined, I haven't heard any. I don't know if that means things are working well or they just don't want to be mean to me.”

Bailey said that over the years he has noticed more families move to Rochester.

“The biggest change has been the influx of families who don't derive their income from the land,” he said.

Bailey is facing challengers John DeMaggio and Dennis McCarthy for one of two seats on the Rochester Planning Board in the town election on Wednesday, May 24.