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Planning Board agrees to post Verizon materials online, emphasizes public hearings for Q&A
Summary
The board decided to post submitted Verizon application materials and meeting recordings on a central webpage but will not conduct substantive Q&A online; public hearings remain the venue for questions. The board set a soft exchange on Aug. 12, a site visit on Aug. 18, and targeted completeness/vote steps for Sept. 9.
A board member proposed creating a time-stamped database or webpage to catalog questions submitted about the Verizon antenna application and the corresponding responses. The board discussed options for centralizing materials and whether the planning board or town should field and answer questions posted online.
Chair Jeff said the board's role is to post official submissions and meeting recordings to create a central public record but not to answer technical questions on behalf of applicants. "Our job is simply to facilitate the conversation through public hearings," Jeff said. The board agreed that applicant-submitted materials and meeting recordings should be placed on the town/planning-board page; if Verizon or other parties want to answer questions they may post their own responses but off-hearing back-and-forth will not be the board's responsibility. The board set procedural dates: August 12 (soft exchange), site visit August 18, and a completeness vote on September 9, with hearing dates to be determined.
Why it matters: Centralizing application materials increases transparency, but the board emphasized that substantive questioning and responses should be handled in public hearings to ensure fairness and the formal record.
