Members of the Danvers Conservation Commission spent a substantial portion of their Oct. 9 meeting debating whether votes taken with only three members present require unanimity.

Peter Wilson read counsel-supplied guidance to the commission and staff reported counsel’s interpretation: “for voting on matters, basically, it needs to be if we have 3 members here, unanimous for the votes as opposed to a 2 to 1,” Emily told the commission. Commissioners disagreed about how that guidance interacts with the commission’s own regulations.

Commissioner Lorraine Dreypek cited the commission’s regulations and practice, saying that the regulations indicate actions “are to be taken by more than half the members present.” Other commissioners noted past practices in which a majority of a quorum (2 of 3) carried votes and that internal regulations and precedent had been interpreted differently in the past.

No formal decisions were made on the quorum question at the meeting. The commission asked staff to seek written clarification from town counsel about how counsel’s guidance should be applied to votes taken when only three members are present and to report back at the next meeting. The discussion also prompted commissioners to emphasize the importance of filling vacant seats so a larger membership can avoid repeated three-member sessions.

Commissioners acknowledged the timing of the clarification matters for upcoming agenda items. Peter Wilson said the commission is “deferring to what I was told” by counsel and Emily agreed to follow up. The commission did not take any votes that would be affected by the disagreement during this meeting.