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Planning board to rewrite rules of procedure; to review application forms, home-occupation rules and sign limits
Summary
Members moved to revise an aging rules of procedure to remove fixed meeting dates and newspaper-notice language, strengthen gravel pit reporting, review conditional-use/site-plan forms and clarify who handles home-occupation permits and sign-size limits.
Brookfield — Planning board members on April 14 agreed to circulate a proposed rewrite of the board's rules of procedure and to review several application forms and related zoning language.
Board members said the existing rules were written many years ago and still reference practices no longer used, including stone-and-quarter notices and mandatory newspaper advertisements except for public hearings. The board decided to remove fixed dates and meeting times from the ROP to avoid repeated amendments when schedules change and to circulate a mock-up of proposed changes ahead of the May meeting. The board noted state notice requirements appear in statute and that the ROP will be revised to align with current practice.
Members also agreed to strengthen the gravel-pit (quarry) reporting section of the ROP. A draft with updated language and flowcharts prepared by board members will be circulated for review. The board asked volunteers to examine language used in the conditional-use and site-plan review application forms and suggested bringing recommendations to the next meeting for discussion.
On home-occupation permits, members confirmed that Brookfield's zoning continues to reference the selectmen as the body responsible for the permit form; the board agreed to leave the form under selectmen authority rather than incorporate it into the planning-board rules. Members also discovered that a prior size limit for frontage signs (previously discussed as 2-by-3 or 3-by-3 feet) was removed in a recent redraft and said restoring a size limit should be considered via warrant article rather than inserted without clear public process.
The board reiterated a firm policy on site visits: public officials should not enter private property without permission. Members said the planning board's inspection authority is established by law but that the board's letter of permission to enter remains the preferred way to document consent from property owners. Members said some inspection cycles had lapsed in the last year and asked staff to circulate the existing and revised inspection reports to all members before the next meeting.
