The DRB held its first meeting on February 5, 2002. Prior to this, the Planning Commission conducted all subdivision and site plan review, while the Zoning Board of Adjustment (ZBA) reviewed conditional use and variance applications as well as appeals of Zoning Administrator decisions. Creation of the DRB consolidated all development review under one citizen board. The ZBA was dissolved, and the Planning Commission became focused entirely on planning (e.g., Town Plan revisions and implementation, regulatory revisions, planning studies, etc.).

In 2004, after 2 1/2 years of operation, the DRB undertook a serious evaluation of its procedures and staffing. A major work session was held at the September 21 meeting to garner as much public input as possible, and to give the Board a chance to frame the issues to be addressed. At the DRB's suggestion, the Selectboard agreed to retain an independent planning consultant (Mike Munson) to survey other communities with DRBs, and provide suggestions on ways to refine and improve Hinesburg's development review process. While this information was being compiled, the DRB held a brief work session at their October 19 meeting to discuss options for recording minutes, deliberative sessions, and other issues related to the conduct of DRB meetings.

A final work session was held on December 7 to review the consultant's recommendations and survey results. See the meeting minutes for an overview of the discussion. See the consultant's Final Report for detailed survey results and his recommendations. The entire project confirmed that Hinesburg's development review process was similar to other comparable towns. With that said, the DRB will pursue certain procedural and staffing changes. See the DRB Changes document for most of these changes.