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Commission discusses protocol guidelines for meetings with applicants and the public
Summary
Commissioners debated draft protocol language that would require reporting formal meetings with applicants at the dais and clarified expectations about informal public interactions; some commissioners said they will avoid one‑on‑one meetings without staff present, others said they will attend community events to listen but not comment.
Fauquier County Planning Commission members on Jan. 16 discussed proposed protocol guidelines governing meetings between commissioners and applicants or members of the public.
Commissioner Diane Roteman (speaking as “Miss Herbert” in the transcript) said she is reluctant to meet privately with people who have business before the commission and prefers staff or other commissioners be present. “I will not meet with people who have business before the board, even if staff is there...people who have business before the board are in a very different category than somebody who doesn't have business before the board,” she said, adding that she wants meetings reported at the dais and entered into the minutes to avoid any perception of impropriety.
Staff clarified the intent of the protocol: it is meant to apply to larger, formalized meetings rather than casual encounters. “From staff's perspective, the intent of this were for the larger more formal meetings not the 1 offs...and to report out those meetings here, at this dais, so then it can become part of the minutes,” a planning staff member said, adding that staff will intentionally report such meetings moving forward this year.
Other commissioners said they would sometimes attend community meetings or neighborhood gatherings to listen to residents but would avoid commenting or taking positions at those events. One commissioner noted that elders and others who cannot attend evening meetings may raise concerns in community settings, and that commissioners should be able to hear those views and encourage formal public comment through hearings or written letters.
No formal amendment to the bylaws or protocol language was adopted at the work session; commissioners agreed staff would follow the stated intent of reporting formal meetings and that the topic could be revisited if members want clearer wording.
