Simsbury open space committee finalizes charter alignment, asks to notify abutters earlier

The Simsbury Open Space Committee agreed April 2 to finalize a letter to the Charter Revision Commission proposing minor edits to align the town charter and the town code governing the committee, and discussed adding explicit notice to abutters during property disposition and referral steps.

Committee members said the proposed edits are intended to make the charter and the town code consistent about who serves on the committee, how the chair is selected and how public notice is handled. The committee recommended making three appointed electors serve four‑year terms and clarified that selectmen may send designees in lieu of attending themselves.

The changes the committee reviewed include language from the town charter (Section 6‑15) and corresponding sections of the town code (noted in the packet as Sections 21‑3 and 21‑8). Committee members debated whether to name the First Selectman as default chair in the charter or to leave chair selection to rules of procedure. Emmy (First Selectman) told the group she had no preference about gendered language and supported flexibility for the committee to set its own rules.

The group added a line — copied into both the charter and code drafts — that the committee shall “hold public audience at full committee meetings.” Members then discussed whether abutters should be notified earlier in the process: several members recommended notifying abutters when a public hearing is scheduled or in parallel with referrals so abutters have a chance to appear before the land use bodies review the matter.

The committee agreed to transmit the consolidated draft and a brief cover letter to the Charter Revision Commission. Tom (Town staff) will collate the letter and send it to the Charter Revision Committee staff and other recipients identified by the committee.

Members also asked that rules of procedure be drafted separately (to specify chair selection and related internal rules) rather than embedding detailed chair language in the charter text itself. The committee discussed that many commissions use internal rules to establish chairs and vice chairs, and several members said that approach preserves flexibility.

The group recorded the suggestion that abutters be notified at the time a public hearing is scheduled or in parallel with referrals to involved commissions, so residents nearest a parcel would be given earlier opportunity to comment during the referral process. Members noted that current practice includes posting signage and newspaper notices for zoning hearings but that certified or mailed notice to abutters is not consistently documented in the town code for all disposition procedures.

The committee asked staff to insert the agreed edits into a single document, add the recommended language on terms (four years for appointed electors), and send the package to the Charter Revision Commission with a short cover letter on behalf of the Open Space Committee.

The committee closed the item and moved on to disposition form and other agenda items.