[Massplanners] Operating Rules for Planning Boards

[Carolyn Britt]

All,

Having worked as a planner for a number of years, I now find myself as 
Chair of the Ipswich Planning Board. I think that position is more 
challenging than the professional planner role. We now find ourselves 
having too many special permit applications, with three projects being 
proposed that either have aggressive applicants or are very 
controversial in town. Our meetings, which start at 7pm, have been going 
to 12 or 12:30am. Some of the reactions by applicants have been quite 
aggressive and inappropriate. The context of a Zoom meeting makes it 
especially challenging to control the meeting, and there is no longer 
the presence of others to tone down people's actions. Has anyone ever 
muted an applicant??

As a result, we are beginning to put together  operating procedures for 
the Planning Board, so we at least have an agreement amongst ourselves 
what are appropriate ways to control and steer the conversation, and 
respond to inappropriate comments, or endless rants. We are also looking 
at standard procedures for working through application review, including 
setting time limits on certain presentations.

Have any of your departments or Planning Boards developed operating 
procedures for project review and guiding meetings that you could share 
with us?  I will also check some of my favorite municipal websites and 
also CPTC resources. If you have developed such a document I would 
appreciate it by tomorrow - we will be having our first conversation 
about this tomorrow evening.

As always, thank you.

Carolyn

Carolyn Britt, AICP

Community Investment Associates

PO Box 235

Ipswich, MA 01938

978-356-2164
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