City warns LDC amendments for Feb. 26 public hearing; DRB discusses twice‑yearly joint meetings with Planning Commission

City planning staff told the Essex Junction Development Review Board on Feb. 20 that land‑development code amendments previewed in November have been warned for a City Council public hearing on Feb. 26, and staff encouraged public engagement and review of the full text on the planning commission web page.

Michael Giguere told the board the amendments are on the council’s agenda and that staff and Planning Commission members are available to answer questions. “Full text and summary can be found on the planning commission's page on the city's website,” he said, asking board members to tell neighbors and stakeholders about the hearing.

Separately, the DRB discussed scheduling regular joint meetings with the Planning Commission and City Council liaisons to improve coordination. Board members suggested meeting twice a year initially to align code administration and major items under review; staff agreed to start scheduling those discussions and report back to the board.

Administrative actions taken

At the start of the meeting the board approved two sets of minutes as amended (November 21 and December 19) and later took routine motions to close the meeting and adjourn at the session’s end. All procedural motions were recorded as carried by voice vote.

Next steps

The Planning Commission and City Council will hold the public hearing on the warned LDC amendments Feb. 26; staff encouraged public participation and said they are available to answer questions in the interim. The DRB chair asked staff to propose dates and formats for joint meetings with the Planning Commission; staff will circulate options.