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Charter Revision commissioners weigh putting New Canaan Planning & Zoning election to voters
Summary
At a March 2 special meeting, Group 1 of New Canaan’s Charter Revision Commission reviewed interviews, public comments and data about whether the Planning & Zoning Commission should remain appointed, become elected, or adopt a hybrid model; Commissioner Joseph Paolo said he will recommend asking voters to decide.
Joseph Paolo, Chair of Group 1 of the Charter Revision Commission, opened a March 2 special meeting and reviewed materials on whether New Canaan’s Planning and Zoning Commission (PNZ) should remain appointed, become elected or move to a mixed model. Paolo said he would recommend in the Commission’s draft May 4 report that the town council put the question to voters.
Paolo summarized outreach conducted since November — “30 to 40 interviews,” written public comments and an online survey — and described the central question: “should PNZ remain appointed or be elected? And who should make that decision?” He said he used PNZ’s January 16 letter as a working model for the appointed-case arguments and laid out countervailing data and examples for the elected option.
Citing PNZ’s letter, Paolo said the appointed model allows the town to “intentionally curate” a commission with professional expertise and argued PNZ…
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