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Tiverton planning board demands 7‑day packets, weekly digests and portal access to curb late materials
Summary
After repeated complaints about late or incomplete packets, the Planning Board asked staff to provide a weekly Tuesday electronic digest of new submissions and 'hot' hard-copy packets seven full days before meetings; staff will set up portal logins and a GIS workshop.
Board members said they are routinely receiving large volumes of material with insufficient time for review and agreed on a new schedule to reduce last-minute surprises. The board settled on two changes: an electronic weekly digest of new submissions to be sent on Tuesdays and hard-copy "hot" packets delivered seven full days before each meeting for members who request paper copies.
"We want the weekly, and we want the 7 days so that we can avoid a missus dissimilar type of thing," the Chair said during the discussion. Staff committed to setting up individual permitting-portal logins for board members and to organize a hands-on workshop on the portal and GIS tools so members can locate documents and measure site distances more easily.
Members also asked the planning office to continue supplying hard copies for those who prefer paper and to ensure transmittal sheets summarize what is included in each packet. The board directed staff to bundle late submissions into the weekly digest where possible and to flag truly urgent items that arrive after the seven‑day cutoff. The practice is intended to balance thorough review by volunteer board members with procedural fairness for applicants.
