P&Z to keep meeting on Zoom

SALISBURY — The Planning and Zoning Commission will continue to host its public meetings remotely via Zoom, as established at its June 16 regular meeting.

The Commission held a discussion surrounding its position statement on meeting formats, with Chair Michael Klemens citing reasons of fairness and accessibility as the rationale for continuing to hold meetings remotely. “It keeps us all on a level playing field,” he said.

He said that a remote model enables commissioners and attendees with busy schedules to attend an increasing number of meetings each month and allows members of the public to attend and watch recordings at their leisure.

“If we go to in-person meetings, we’re going to lose commissioners, or have a terrible attendance record,” he said.

The statement, which the Commission voted to approve with one no vote from Secretary Martin Whalen, asserts that remote meetings offer a number of benefits to commission members, town staff and residents alike.

“Remote meetings maximize public access and participation, efficiently utilize the limited staff resources of the Land Use Office and enable volunteer Commissioners to process a significant volume of complex applications through increasingly frequent meetings,” it affirms.

The Commission originally switched to an all-virtual meeting platform during the Covid-19 pandemic. It has hosted several hybrid meetings, employing both a live session and zoom streaming, but P&Z maintains that the hybrid model causes logistical difficulties and requires twice the staff of a remote meeting.

The Commission took action on the issue in response to numerous calls from members of the public to return to a live format. Salisbury resident Elyse Harney has advocated the change at several recent P&Z meetings. “I want to be able to sit and look at you guys; look you in the eye,” she said. “I feel very strongly about this.”

During the contentious Wake Robin public hearing process, Lakeville-based real estate appraiser Roger Rawlings concluded testimony with even stronger words. “I will finish with the fact that we’re on a Zoom and we’re not in the congregational church with the public watching this,” he said. “I am ashamed.”

“Why are you ashamed to be on Zoom?” Klemens questioned Rawlings later in the meeting. “250 people should be there and you should have to look at them all instead of just a few” Rawlings replied.

At the June 16 meeting, Klemens countered that argument by saying the Commission is legally bound to uphold the rights of the property owner and the public, and as such cannot be legally influenced by crowd behavior.

“The idea that we need to sit in a room with the public and be in some way influenced by their body language or their anger” is erroneous, he said. “It may work on our elected politicians,” he added, “but we have the laws to uphold.”

Wake Robin hearing

The Commission moved to schedule the public hearing for ARADEV LLC’s application to expand the Wake Robin Inn on the last date of its statutorily defined window to do so, Aug. 5.

The delay is meant to allow time for a decision to be issued on pending litigation against P&Z. If approved, the suit would affect P&Z’s ability to review applications regarding hotels in the RR1 zone, which the Inn is located within.