Letter to Planning Commission re: Open Meetings

I've followed, with interest, the recent "open meetings" dispute regarding your site visit to Maple Leaf Partners' properties on their subdivision application. I have no agenda regarding that application or the lawsuit which preceded it. I do want to express my hope that, in the future, the PC will, as a matter of policy, refuse to conduct a site visit where an applicant seeks to deprive access to certain members of the public in attendance.

The subdivision application and evidentiary support for that application are matters of public record and we have a strong tradition, supported by statute, of permitting the public access to these aspects of the application process. I hope the Planning Commission will dispense with any further consideration of the specific statute in question and simply adopt this policy, as it reflects the values of public access and accountability without, in any substantive way, infringing upon an applicant's rights or expectation of privacy. It's a shame you've been put in this position and I see little purpose in dwelling upon it. The solution seems to me to be a statement of policy upholding the importance of public access and a new site visit.