Charter Review: Town Officials Weigh Elected vs. Appointed P&Z

Town officials charged with recommending possible changes to New Canaan’s founding document are hearing from residents on both sides of a divisive question, namely, whether the Planning & Zoning Commission should change from an appointed body to an elected one.

Noting that towns such as Darien, Westport and Wilton already have elected P&Zs, those in favor of the change say it would bring greater accountability to commissioners, would make them more likely to listen to neighbors and those directly affected by decisions and would bring another layer of checks and balances to local government. Advocates for an elected P&Z say the question of a change should go to the town’s electorate.

Those opposed to the change say it would draw single-issue candidates, would disrupt P&Z applications mid-review, would place financial and time burdens on prospective members that would limit the pool of commissioners, would undo the strong mix of backgrounds and technical expertise now in place and would amount to overhauling a system that works well as-is. Opponents say the electorate isn’t informed enough to make a decision on such an important change.

During a Dec. 2 public hearing before the recently appointed Charter Revision Commission, Lynn Vaughn, a North Wilton Road resident and neighbor of St. Luke’s School, said an elected P&Z (and Inland Wetlands Commission) would make members “accountable to the voters for their decisions.”

“I live directly across from St. Luke’s School driveway,” Vaughn told the Commission at the hearing, held at Town Hall and via videoconference.

She continued: “I’m part of the neighbors’ group appealing the school’s plan to construct a 200-car garage on the edge of wetlands. I vote and I pay New Canaan taxes. The school does not. And they have a special permit to be in a  residential neighborhood, not a commercial neighborhood. We have a major traffic and security problem going on in our neighborhood.”

In 13 years, Vaughn said she’s seen “countless transgressions by the school” — such as traffic backup and dangerous turn-arounds by motorists — ”that have detrimental impacts on our neighborhood” such that she has gone to New Canaan Police.

“After the latest occurrence, Officer [Robert] Rizzitelli said he’s gotten many complaints and there are ongoing efforts to resolve it,” she told the Charter Review Commission. “So please consider how much time is invested by New Canaan Police—who our tax dollars are going to—by an issue created by St. Luke’s School, whose majority of students aren’t even from New Canaan and is an institution that doesn’t pay taxes. The school has been allowed to expand without solving the traffic problem it created and taxpaying residents are left to deal with its cost and mess. Why do Planning & Zoning and Wetlands not push back? The residents of New Canaan need to be able to vote for Planning & Zoning and [Inland] Wetlands officials so that there is elected accountability.”

Formed in November, the Charter Review Commission is holding meetings as both a full body and in smaller groups, interviewing town officials and taking public comments with an eye on making its recommendations to the Town Council by May 4. That legislative body is expected to review the recommendations for possible inclusion on the November ballot, putting any Charter changes before voters. The full Charter Revision Commission’s next meeting is scheduled for Feb. 3, according to the town website. (The Charter can be found here.)

During its first handful of meetings, the 11-member Charter Revision Commission—chaired by Kathleen Corbet—has heard from stakeholders on a number of possible changes to the Charter, including whether the Inlands Wetlands Commission and Board of Finance should be elected instead of appointed, term limits for boards and commissions, whether the Board of Selectmen should oversee the Police and Fire Commissions, expansion of the Board of Selectmen from three to five members, extending the time allotted for the Board of Education to fill its own vacancies, consolidating the budget meeting schedule for presenters, strategies for identifying unaffiliated electors for appointment to municipal bodies, proposed Preservation Commission, whether the Town Council should have the ability to add to the budget and whether finance board members should be required to be not just residents but also property owners (a recent Charter addition). 

With very few exceptions, those already serving on municipal boards and commissions have argued in favor of preserving P&Z as an appointed body. 

First Selectman Dionna Carlson said during a Charter Revision Commission sub-group meeting last week that P&Z, like the finance board, is best served by those with the special skills the roles require.

“There are so many land use laws—and yes, we are advised by attorneys—but you really do need people that either have the expertise in real estate, architecture, law, just the areas that are touched by land use,” she said at the Jan. 21 meeting, held at Town Hall and via videoconference.

Carlson pointed to the current makeup of P&Z and said that its members have a wide range of experience.

“I think it naturally happens that you get some longer-serving commissioners that really help guide the board, and newer members that are led by them and also get up to speed and become future leaders,” she said. “It just happens naturally.”

Carlson noted that P&Z is widely considered the “hardest-working board” in New Canaan with its long meetings. 

“You have to give up a ton of time,” she said. “It’s an uncompensated board and they take a lot of heat. I think we have a great system here.”

Carlson said she doesn’t think it’s wise to put the question to voters because “what voter isn’t going to say ‘Yes, I want an elected board’?” 

“We’re Americans, we like elected,” she said. “It’s just in our DNA. I would vote that way if I didn’t understand what is going on. But I think once you get into government and you really see the workings of what we are doing, there are certain things that really should not be elected in this town. I think they’re more effective. And I’ve heard the argument ‘Well, Westport and Wilton’ — and I’m thinking, ‘Have you been to Westport and Wilton lately?’ And I have friends in those communities, I’ve been to those communities. The development that is going on there is concerning. It’s been really heavily developed and I think we are very fortunate here to have people who have been amazing stewards of our land resources and really control development as best we can. There are laws that you have to deal with, but I think we’ve just had excellent stewards of our P&Z Commission.”

Dan Radman, an architect who serves as chair of P&Z and is the appointed body’s longest-serving member (since 2011), told the Charter Revision Commission during its Jan. 20 meeting that New Canaan’s P&Z “is one of the most well-informed, fair and balanced commissions” for a number of reasons related to its being appointed rather than elected.

“In my time on P&Z there have been many commissioners that have come and gone for various reasons, but we’ve always been able to maintain a deep bench of commissioners with varied backgrounds and that bring a wealth of experience to P&Z,” he said during the meeting, held at Town Hall and via videoconference.

Radman continued: “In my opinion, having appointed P&Z commissioners is more advantageous than elected positions because their selection is based on relevant experience, background and commitment to the Commission. And it helps insulate long-term planning decisions from short-term political pressures in election cycles.”

Advantages include the thoughtful way that new commissioners come onto P&Z, Radman said.

“The current process to bring a new commissioner into P&Z involves multiple interviews and steps in the vetting process,” he said. “Your [Charter Review] Commission here is appointed, as well, and went through a similar vetting process I’m sure. A candidate is first engaged by the RTC or DTC to determine interest and qualifications. Those candidates are then referred to the first selectman’s office. In the case of an independent, that person would engage with the first selectman’s office directly. After review by the first selectman, the candidates are then interviewed by myself, or the current chairman, in this case Krista Neilson, the secretary, so that us two representatives of P&Z will have that discussion with the candidate to gauge experience and qualifications, and then that recommendation is sent back to the first selectman’s office for final decision.”

Specialized expertise, which is far more assured in the appointment process, also is key, Radman said.

“Appointing P&Z officials allows the governing body to select individuals with specific knowledge, skills and experience and fields critical to planning, such as urban design, engineering, environmental science or law. This ensures more competent, informed decision-making on complex technical matters. We also like to reduce political bias and conflicts of interest. Appointed commissions are generally less influenced by election cycle politics or the need to campaign for public favor. This can help them maintain impartiality and avoid the appearance of bias when making qualsi-judicail decisions on specific development applications or variances.”

Radman added that consistency among P&Z members is important because the body is charged with creating and implementing a long-range master plan for the community’s future growth.

“Appointed boards typically have more stable tenure, which provides crucial continuity and consistency in implementing the long-term vision, rather than having policies shift drastically with every election cycle,” he said.

An appointed body also has better coordination with professional staff than an elected group, and switching to an election-based P&Z would “disqualify many professionals out there such as attorneys or potentially other professionals, such as engineers and architects from running for office, because it is common for those types of firms, depending on their structure and their requirements, to prohibit employees from running for office.”

“That would exclude the very type of professional experience that we are trying to include on the [P&Z] Commission,” he said.

[Here’s a public input form designed to allow community members to suggest revisions and improvements to the Charter.]