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Vernon Citizens For Responsible Development |
| Gutting the PZC Regulations |
Losing Your VoiceAlthough McCoy is out of office his influence lingers on. His initiative to revise some sections of the Planning & Zoning regulations, supposedly to "streamline the application process", will be decided this week. However, in reality the changes take away citizens' rights to speak at public hearing. Your support is needed to oppose the regulation changes. The proposed changes will allow some uses to be built "as of right". That is, they will not require a public hearing, and they will not require the Planning & Zoning Commission (PZC) to consider important "Special Permit" evaluation criteria. If your property is near (or abuts) a commercial or industrial zone, or is in a historic district, you are especially vulnerable to the impacts of these regulation changes. You may not have opportunity to express any opposition to development proposals since the use may be permitted "as of right" and will not require a public hearing. What Are McCoy's Changes?Boiled down, McCoy wants to remove Special Permit requirements for certain types of developments and allow them to be developed "as of right". That is, unless there is a technical problem with the application, the PZC must approve the development. The discretion of our PZC commission is also significantly undermined.
Special permit requirements are a good thing. Their purpose is to ensure that a potential new development project preserves both residential and business property values. The PZC considers these four criteria when evaluating Special Permits: If McCoy's proposed regulations are approved, Special Permit considerations would no longer be applied for certain uses. Some examples of these uses that could be constructed "as of right" are:
- full service restaurants or clubs with or without alcoholic beverage permits McCoy's intent was to streamline the process, thereby encouraging new business. Instead, the changes remove protections for both homeowners and existing businesses. Had these changes been in place when TicketNetwork tried to create a concert venue, the PZC could NOT have denied the application on the basis of incompatibility with neighboring uses, or creation of a nuisance. The PZC would have had to approve the application - unless technical issues were found in the application or the site plan. How Did McCoy's Changes Come About?Only the PZC has the authority to change P&Z regulations, so any proposed changes to the regulations must be submitted to the PZC. McCoy unilaterally contracted the firm of Blackwell, Davis and Spadaccini in Manchester to formally detail the changes he wanted, at a cost of $6,000. In October, McCoy submitted the application to the PZC with the proposed changes. He filled out the PZC application, indicating himself as the applicant, as Mayor for the Town of Vernon. He did not seek or obtain any advice, input or direction from the PZC or from the Town Planner, contrary to Town Charter citation in the event of regulation changes. The contract agreement with the law firm had originally called for delivery of the completed work to the Town Planner, but he later crossed out the Town Planner's name in the agreement and inserted the Town Administrator's name. Essentially, the Town Planner, the relevant staff professional for zoning matters, was eliminated entirely from the process. Yet, the funds to pay the invoice from the legal firm were later taken from the Town Planner's budget, without signature and approval from the Town Planner. » See the 'Engagement Letter For Legal Services' with McCoy's handwritten changes. What Has VCRD Done?VCRD had been closely following Plan of Conservation and Development (POCD) update process by the PZC, which was completed in the fall 2011. We knew it was the PZC intent to do a comprehensive overhaul of the regulations in 2012 to reflect the new thinking in the POCD, and to address regulation inconsistencies.
We became very concerned by the Mayor's sudden announcement of proposed changes in September, and his circumvention of normal process. It was obvious that the changes did not originate from the Town Planner or the PZC, or flow out of the POCD process. In October, we requested a copy of the contract agreement with Blackwell, Davis and Spadaccini. After initial resistance by the Director of Administration, we were finally able to obtain a copy. Freedom of Information laws say we are entitled to this information. We also obtained a copy of the application, and studied the proposed changes. Since the application was filed by the Mayor of Vernon, representing the Town of Vernon, the application was still legally in process when the administration changed in November. Thus the new Mayor, George Apel, was now the applicant, representing the Town. We were encouraged by Mayor Apel's interest in transparency and some of the positive changes he has made to the administration during his first month in office. We attempted to meet with Mayor Apel to ask him to withdraw the application, especially because of the irregularities that had occurred during the application process. We also believe that Mayor Apel has not been made aware of the implications of the proposed changes, especially the potential for conflict, and loss of public voice for both residents and businessmen. However, Mayor Apel stated that he did not want to meet with us, and that he preferred to let the application process follow its due course. BUT - from our position, the application had NOT followed "due course" from the git-go! What Can You Do?
On Tuesday, January 17 at 7:30 p.m. in Town Hall, the Town Council will hold its normally scheduled meeting. At the beginning of each meeting (you'll miss it if you come late) is the Citizen's Forum, an opportunity to directly address the mayor and the town council and ask the Mayor to pull Application PZ-2011-17 because the zoning changes were done in a vacuum by the former mayor, that they were not subject to due process, do not reflect the Town Planner’s recommendations and did not include all the Commissions’ input. A good turnout will show the mayor and council how much concern there is about the changes. The mayor has the power to withdraw the application at any time and allow the PZC to follow normal procedures. The PZC can still consider the suggested changes as part of their deliberations, but there will be more time to discuss the pros and cons of each change. If you can't attend the Town Council meeting you are encouraged to contact the mayor at (860) 870-3600 or gapel@vernon-ct.gov and council members that you might know. On Thursday, January 19 at 7 p.m. in Town Hall the PZC meets to address the application and will hold a Pubic Hearing on it. At this point we can voice our concerns to the PZC and request that they reject the application so that they can consider the suggestions in a more orderly fashion. If they accept the application as written they will be giving away much of their own power to regulate, as well as yours to speak out. If you value your right to express your opinion on land use and business placement please plan to attend both meetings. Speak out if you can, but numbers will count. If you prefer not to speak encourage family and friends to attend the meetings. As the proverb goes, "Speak now or forever hold your tongue." For More InformationSmart Growth For Vernon has posted a great deal of information on their website on this issue including Journal Inquirer articles covering McCoy's hiring of the Manchester attorneys to revise the Regulations, the Application including McCoy's marked-up Regulations, and our Town Planner's commentary on the submitted changes. It is recommended you read them over, if only to get a feel for how extensive the changes are. » Go to Smart Growth For Vernon website.
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