Sharon planning commission considers moving site visits earlier in subdivision review

John Roe opened the Planning Commission portion of the March 11 meeting and asked the clerk to circulate the subdivision application and instructions so the commission can consider revisions.

Commissioners debated whether site visits should occur earlier in the review process. Sue Sellew said scheduling site visits sooner — rather than a few hours before a final hearing — would give both commissioners and abutters more time to digest site conditions. Paul Kristensen said the original intent of site visits was to familiarize commissioners with a property, and the commission discussed clarifying that function in the regulations. Roe proposed adding language to the regulations to make clear that site visits may prompt requests for additional information, suggesting the regulations include a provision such as "the commission can request new information based on what they observed on the site visit."

Why it matters: moving the site-visit step earlier could change how the commission gathers evidence and notifies the public, potentially affecting review timelines and what materials applicants must provide before formal hearings.

The commission also raised related administrative questions: how to handle subdivision filings where owners do not intend to build on created lots and how duplicate archived applications could complicate verification of original records. The clerk will circulate the current application form and guidance to commissioners for review and suggested edits; the commission did not adopt a regulation change at this meeting.