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Plaistow ZBA debates bylaw redraft and rules for sharing correspondence
Summary
Board members reviewed draft bylaw changes and discussed standardizing packet distribution and limits on premeeting communications to avoid violating RSA 91‑A; one member volunteered to produce a redline draft for the next meeting.
Members spent a substantial portion of the July 30 meeting reviewing proposed changes to the board’s bylaws and debating how the board should handle external correspondence ahead of meetings. Several members said they want clearer rules in the bylaws about when and how correspondence is distributed and suggested adopting a standard packet distribution timeline, with one suggestion that materials be disseminated seven days before meetings to give members time to review.
Legal counsel advised that sequential communications among members prior to a meeting can run afoul of RSA 91‑A and recommended crafting bylaws and an internal distribution policy that allow the clerk to compile materials while preventing back‑and‑forth exchanges that could create a de facto meeting. One member offered to compile a consolidated draft and redline the proposed changes for the next board meeting; members asked the clerk to provide an editable word version of the current bylaws to assist that work.
Members discussed examples from other towns for communications language and said they would cut and paste relevant provisions into a working draft. The board did not adopt bylaw changes at this meeting but set a path for drafting and review ahead of the next meeting.
