P&Z takes action on plans to untangle regulations

SALISBURY — The Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z) held a special meeting Saturday, Feb. 13, to get its bearings on how to proceed with the recommendations made by consultant Donald Poland in his December 2009 report on the town’s land use administrative procedures. A report on that meeting can be found online at tcextra.com.

Present were Planning and Zoning Chairman Cristin Rich, Michael Klemens, Dan Dwyer, Marty Whalen and Allen Cockerline, plus Lorna Brodtkorb from the Zoning Board of Appeals.

Trying to unknot procedures

Planning and Zoning Commission member Jon Higgins was unable to attend the meeting, but Rich said she spoke with him on the phone before the meeting.

The plan under discussion is whether the commission should hire a consultant to oversee applications but not regulations.

In his analysis of what has been a problematic and sometimes contentious relationship between the public, the zoning office and the town’s various zoning boards, Poland had recommended hiring a part-time person to help streamline and upgrade the application process. It’s possible that the position, or one like it, could become permanent.

Dwyer asked to whom the person would report, and Rich said if the ZBA and Conservation Commission are interested, the consultant could report to all three boards.

Otherwise, she added, the person would report only to Planning and Zoning.

“With the chair as point person,†clarified Dwyer.

(In an aside, Brodtkorb noted that the ZBA doesn’t have its own applications, while the Conservation Commission does.)

Planning and Zoning is complex in any situation but is particularly complex in a town such as Salisbury. Klemens  referred to a section of the Poland report where he “makes the point about the influx of money and resources creating an unusual situation for a small town.â€

Rich said she would “draft a scope of the work for the consultant†and bring it to the full board at the regularly scheduled meeting Tuesday, Feb 16., including these topics: project size, avoiding onerous requirements, establishing consistent procedures and upgrading mapping standards.

What will it cost?

“The harder part is what to ask for as a budget line,†Rich said.

She referred to Poland’s recommendation that  attorneys or other professionals be present at some (but not all) meetings or hearings.

Klemens said he believed a budget line of $5,000 would “more than cover it.â€

Moving the meeting along briskly, Rich then brought up the subjects of upgrading the town’s zoning regulations and hiring a planner — two things that had been recommended by Poland. At present, the town hires a planning consultant as needed but does not have a planner of its own.

“Is it possible the same person could do both?†asked Rich.

Klemens argued strongly for hiring a senior planner to oversee the upgrade of the regulations. He said he has seen unfortunate results in towns that used inexperienced planners for reasons of economy.

Rich said she and Higgins had discussed that point, and agreed with Klemens.

There was general agreement that planning consultant Tom McGowan, who frequently works with Salisbury’s land use boards, would be an excellent candidate, but Klemens advised interviewing a wide range of candidates.

Rich said she would call McGowan and “get an idea of what kinds of hours are needed for a complicated application.â€

By way of a practical example of the benefit of  hiring a planner, Rich said that if a recent application, for affordable housing at 19 East Main St. in Salisbury, “had had a preapplication review it would have been cleaner.â€

(The 19 East Main St. application was eventually withdrawn “without prejudice,†which means it can be resubmitted.)

As to cost, both Rich and Klemens estimated the cost of a part-time senior planner at between $70,000 and $90,000 per year.

Whalen warned that, “The Board of Finance is not going to like it. Do we have to do this all in one year?â€

Seeking clarity in the rules

Klemens said he believed that “problems have come from ambiguities in the regulations.

“I think the regulations are poorly written,†he said.

He suggested an attorney or paralegal would be the best professional to consider that aspect of regulatory reform.

As the meeting wound down and the discussion became more free-form, Whalen was asked if the Affordable Housing Advisory Committee plans to recommend establishing a new position of affordable housing coordinator, and could that job be included in a town planner’s duties.

Cockerline summed it up: “This person’s going to have to wear a lot of hats.â€