Community Planning Committee
Minutes, 19 October, 2011
Present: Committee members Ron Meick. Danny Schweers, and Ray Seigfried (chair). Absent: Cynthia Dewick and Harold Kalmus. Also present: Sally Sharpe and Bill Theis.
Ray called this meeting to order at 7:12 p.m. on the stage of the Buzz Ware Village Center. The minutes from August, 2011 were approved. There was no meeting in September, 2011.
Vacant Dwelling Ordinance
This ordinance will have its third and final reading at the January, 2012 town meeting, after which it will be adopted or rejected by majority vote. Click here to see the final approved version of the Vacant Dwelling Ordinance. Before then, Ray will write a narrative explanation of the ordinance for the Arden Page and for the website.
Ordinance Adoption Procedures
Questions have arisen -- from the Advisory Committee and the Town Assembly -- about the proper procedure for adopting ordinances, so the Planning Committee hopes to get a good understanding of the process. Steven Threefoot, Chair of the Town Assembly, provided us with the procedure as he understands it. We discussed who can propose an ordinance, and favored an open process, where anyone can propose an ordinance, individuals or committees. We discussed how the language of an ordinance should evolve. Our discussion favored a process where, after the Town Assembly votes favorably to consider an ordinance, the ordinance would be submitted to the appropriate committee, which would get the language of the ordinance ready for vote and shepherd the ordinance through three readings. If there is no appropriate committee to shepherd the ordinance, an ad-hoc committee could be created. We favored an open process where, at each reading, the Town Assembly could amend proposed ordinances, and even choose to stop considering an ordinance. After the third reading, the Town Assembly would vote on whether or not to adopt the ordinance. After adoption, ordinances could be amended or rescinded using the same process. We did not favor having ordinances voted on by mailed referendum. Ray will return next meeting with a draft of the ordinance procedure, which we will continue to discuss.
Nominees for the March Election
The terms of two members of our committee -- Cynthia Dewick and Danny Schweers -- end in March, 2012. Four nominees need to be found to stand election at the March town meeting. Danny, who will be a nominee for Town Assembly Chair, will not be a nominee for this committee.
Next Meeting, Adjournment
The next meeting will be on Wednesday, November 16, at 7:00 p.m. at the Buzz Ware Village Center. We adjourned at 8:22 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Danny Schweers, Committee Secretary
