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Planning board adopts narrower renoticing rule for repeated continuances
Summary
The Pembroke Planning Board voted to add language to its rules clarifying that renoticing may be required after three consecutive requested continuances; members said they will monitor how the change works and revisit it if problems arise.
The Pembroke Planning Board voted to adopt a narrower renoticing provision intended to clarify when hearing notices must be reissued after repeated applicant continuances. The adopted language specifies that renoticing would be triggered "after 3 consecutive requested continuances," a phrase discussed at length by members before the vote.
Board members debated whether the trigger should depend strictly on a count of consecutive meeting continuances or also account for elapsed time (for example, requests spaced over several months). Chair said the attorney "added some simple verbiage" and that the group could either adopt the language now or wait and reassess in a year. One member warned the drafted phrase might not cover scenarios in which an applicant seeks a single long continuance, or intermittent continuances that are not consecutive.
A motion to add the attorney-crafted language into the rules of procedure was made, seconded and approved by voice vote. The chair called for the vote and recorded affirmative responses from multiple members. The board agreed to monitor the new provision's operation and revisit the rule if it proves insufficient to handle unusual continuance patterns.
The change will be incorporated into the planning board's rules of procedure; staff noted that, because the amendment modifies board procedure, it could be adopted at the meeting as long as members had reviewed it in advance.
