Planning board to review moratorium-committee draft; select board asked to consider extension

The Town of Wayne Planning Board decided not to schedule a public hearing tonight on the moratorium-committee draft and instead agreed to review an updated draft at its November meeting after members receive materials at least 10 days in advance.

A committee representative said a memorandum sent to the select board asks that body to consider a 180-day extension of the town’s current moratorium because the committee does not expect to complete the process before the January cutoff. "He wants the select board to have another public hearing to extend the moratorium for another hundred and 80 days," the committee member said, describing the memorandum circulated to officials.

Board members discussed whether the committee’s work should be embedded into the existing zoning ordinance or advanced as the committee’s stand-alone revisions; staff said the memorandum contained suggestions and that no hiring or formal adoption had occurred yet. The board agreed to continue its advisory role, receive the committee’s updated draft in advance of the November meeting, and then consider scheduling a public hearing.

The board also noted administrative timelines: staff said the current moratorium appears to run to early January and that the select board is the forum to consider extensions. The planning board will not hold a public hearing on the draft at this meeting and will add the committee’s next draft to the November agenda for review and discussion.