TOWN OF HINESBURG

PLANNING COMMISION

August 22, 2007
Approved September 12, 2007

Commission Members Present: Jean Isham, Kay Ballard, Carrie Fenn, Fred Haulenbeek, Joe Iadanza, Johanna White.

Commission Members Absent: George Bedard, Joe Donegan, Nancy Norris.

Also Present: Alex Weinhagen (Director of Planning and Zoning), Karen Cornish (Recording Secretary).

The meeting began at approximately 7:40 p.m.

Request for the recommendation for the reappointment of the Zoning Administrator
Alex said Planning Commission (PC) members had been asked to provide a recommendation for the reappointment of the current Zoning Administrator (ZA), Peter Erb. He explained the request as part of Vermont State statute, which requires input by a town’s zoning board to be given to the town’s Select Board (SB), who makes the appointment (a 3-year term). Alex recognized that the Development Review Board (DRB) worked more closely with Peter. Fred expressed concern about the process. He thought because the PC had little contact with the ZA, the recommendation should come from the DRB. He felt strongly about this and noted he had started a letter to the Select Board with his comments on the evaluation process.

Alex said the Select Board is ultimately responsible for town regulations and the Town Plan. He thought the PC was chosen to make the recommendation because they are the group most intimately aware of the regulations. The group talked about the role of the ZA, both day-to-day responsibilities, attendance at public meetings and interaction with the public.

Jean felt that because Alex was the supervisor of the Planning office, his feedback was most valuable. Fred expressed PC members could not effectively provide an evaluation because they have little interaction with the position. The group talked about attending future DRB meetings but all agreed that was not practical. Alex explained there was much more to the job than his interaction with the PC. Fred questioned how they could arrive at an evaluation without good information. Carrie noted most other towns have just one zoning board, making the evaluation perhaps easier.

Johanna related a positive experience she had interacting with Peter regarding the Farmer’s Market. Joe also said he’s had positive experiences working with Peter on a number of matters. He felt the idea of having a recommendation come from a zoning board (the DRB or PC) was a good idea rather than leaving it entirely to staff and/or the SB. He felt the more comments from people who are in contact with the position, the better. He noted the SB is both a hiring body and a political entity.

Jean related a positive experience she had with Peter regarding the sale of her farm. Alex stated as a supervisor, he writes work evaluations and noted he just completed them for the year. He said a recommendation is to ensure the PC feels the ZA is properly enforcing the regulations they helped to create. Carrie felt the group should nominate Peter for the position. Kay said she had heard comments that Peter sometimes vocalizes personal opinion regarding his vision for the town in public meetings, and that some people find this unsettling. Jean felt there is a clear difference when someone is providing personal comment or simply giving an interpretation of regulations. Joe felt anyone had the right to speak his or her opinion.

Fred related something he heard from a neighbor regarding a subdivision request that the neighbor felt Peter’s personal opinion might affect their chance at getting the subdivision they felt was allowed under regulations. He noted this was precisely the problem, that it is this type of hearsay that PC members have to work with, not real interaction with the position. He said the role is like that of a judge, that a ZA cannot show that he or she has any predisposition in any area. Jean said the ZA should not be in a position of interpreting regulations, that the PC needed to write clearer regulations if that was happening.. Johanna agreed and noted that Peter feels strongly about clarity in the regulations and has made PC members aware of those that need work. Fred said he felt Peter just needed to be more judicious when making comments. He said it was human nature for the public to give only negative feedback to PC members, and this type of hearsay was not enough for PC members to go on to make a decision.

The group talked about the role of the ZA, how the position is hired/appointed, and how that differed from other hired and /or appointed positions. Fred felt there were judicial, delicate elements to the job and felt it did require scrutiny by another board other than the SB.

Johanna MOVED to make a recommendation for the reappointment of Peter Erb to the position of Zoning Administrator. Carrie SECONDED the motion. The motion FAILED due to lack of quorum, with Jean, Carrie, Joe and Johanna voting YES, and Kay and Fred voting NO.

Fred questioned whether vote results should be taken as a comment about the process rather than the individual. Alex said he thought the result was a non-vote. He said he would bring the minutes to the Town Administrator for review by the Select Board.

The next Planning Comm. meeting is scheduled for September 12th, 2007.

The meeting adjourned at approximately 8:25 p.m.

Respectfully Submitted:

Karen Cornish

Recording Secretary