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Committee presses staff on displacement plan delay and backs advisory recommendation making questionnaire mandatory
Summary
Committee members criticized delays in a displacement mitigation plan under legal review and voted to forward an advisory recommendation that the town pursue making the voluntary displacement questionnaire a mandatory step in pre-application process (note: staff said the form is not part of the code and cannot be made mandatory without code changes).
Committee members told staff on Nov. 19 they are frustrated by the length of time the town’s displacement mitigation support plan has been under development and urged staff to complete legal review and return a final draft at the committee’s Dec. 9 meeting.
Several members said the plan has been under preparation since May and stressed the need to finalize procedures now so the town can respond promptly if a displacement event occurs. “I honestly simply just need to say that's disappointing,” one member said, urging staff to prioritize finishing the plan.
During that discussion a member proposed a motion that the committee recommend the displacement questionnaire (currently voluntary in the pre-application process) be made mandatory to ensure early notice of potential displacement. Town staff clarified that because the questionnaire is not part of the town code it cannot be made mandatory without a code amendment but that staff would discuss including the questionnaire in a future Land Management Ordinance (LMO) rewrite.
The committee voted to adopt the advisory motion to recommend making the form mandatory as part of pre-application (understanding the town attorney and council would be required to enact any code change). The committee expects staff and legal partners to provide a final draft of the displacement plan at the Dec. 9 meeting so members can consider formal recommendations.
Members emphasized that approval of a displacement plan will require allocation of resources and partnerships to secure temporary housing options (including short-term rentals, hotels or partner agency beds) so people can be relocated locally when displacement occurs, and they urged staff to pursue funding and partner coordination in parallel with finalizing the plan.
