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Officials warned: BZA ex parte contacts prohibited; recusal and alternates advised
Summary
Training emphasized that Board of Zoning Appeals members must avoid ex parte contacts and that conflicts of interest (including perceived bias) require recusal; the presenter recommended using alternates and documented recusals to preserve decisions.
Presenter K.K. Gerhard Fritz told Porter County planning officials that ethics rules and ex parte contact restrictions are central to preserving the fairness and legal defensibility of quasi‑judicial land‑use decisions.
Fritz said the law bars BZA members from private contact about a case: “BCA members cannot meet with an applicant or a neighbor. You can't talk on the phone. You can't go to the site. You can't share emails.” She described that restriction as explicit for…
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