Planning board discusses using AI to audit and simplify UDO language

At the March 23 meeting, planning board member Bill described running portions of the Unified Development Ordinance through a large language model to simplify sentence structure, reduce duplication and surface inconsistencies. He said the AI-produced rewrite of a sample section reduced word count and increased paragraph and line clarity in his tests.

"With AI ... it will focus primarily, if not exclusively, on grammar, syntax ... and it'll catch misspelled words or the wrong meetings," Bill said, urging a phased approach: use the model to identify conflicts and inconsistencies, then have lawyers and staff review any proposed changes. Board members said they would welcome versions that show both the original text and a final AI-proposed rewrite side-by-side to make comparison easier.

Several members cautioned against letting a model "hallucinate" substantive changes. Greg, the town planner, recommended that council set policy and guardrails for any large-scale use of AI in drafting regulatory text and that the town attorney review final drafts before they reach council.

The board agreed it would be useful to have staff explore the tool for low-hanging issues (typos, outdated references and obvious duplications) and asked that any AI-assisted rewrite be accompanied by the original text and a clean proposed version for review. No formal policy was adopted; members said they would seek council direction before rolling out a broader program.

Next steps: staff will prepare side-by-side materials of example sections that have been run through the model for board review and will flag any legal questions for the town attorney and council.