Salisbury considers consultants for zoning regulation review

SALISBURY — Land Use Director Abby Conroy made the case for additional staff and for outside consultants to the Planning and Zoning Commission at the commission’s Jan. 7 meeting.

Conroy said the job of rewriting and cleaning up the town’s zoning regulations is best understood in two phases.

Phase One is cleaning up administrative issues in the regulations (what Conroy referred to as “the basics”).

The second phase would be larger subjects such as overlay zones, impervious surfaces and agritourism.

Conroy said she and former P&Z chair Michael Klemens had done a lot of work on the first phase. She suggested hiring Klemens as a consultant, reasoning that he is already familiar with the town and the regulations.

Commissioner Danella Schiffer objected to this. She said that given the controversy around Klemens and the Wake Robin Inn application, she thought hiring Klemens would undermine the commission’s credibility with the public.

Vice chair Allen Cockerline said his understanding was that the town’s code of ethics prohibits anyone who resigns from a commission or board from working as a consultant for that commission or board for one year after resigning.

Conroy also said that a new staffer to handle secretarial tasks for the land use and building offices would allow her and her colleague Miles Todaro to concentrate on regulation rewrites.

Conroy said that retaining a consultant for environmental reviews and planning, with the cost borne by applicants, would also be a big help. The town already does this for engineering consulting, she noted.

The commissioners made no decisions on how to proceed, but P&Z chair Cathy Shyer said she will speak with First Selectman Curtis Rand about how to move forward.