Government
‘Protest’ vs. ‘Public Referendum’: Clarifying P&Z Rules for Opponents of Merritt Village
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Several residents concerned about the proposed Merritt Village development have come to local officials with an idea of launching what they’re calling a public “referendum” on the divisive project should the Planning & Zoning Commission approve it, the town planner has confirmed. Presumably, the idea is to push back on a future decision from the appointed body—the same way, say, a resident may pursue a referendum following an appropriation made by the Town Council. Yet, as Town Planner Steve Kleppin said when asked about the prospect with respect to Merritt, the referendum process does not apply to P&Z decisions. P&Z is governed largely by state statute, “not necessarily from local jurisdiction,” he said. “I believe it is set up that way so an applicant can pursue applications in any municipality and follow the same sets of procedures in terms of the timeframes and authority of the [P&Z] Commission,” Kleppin said.