Development Review Board Interview - Norwich Happenings

Last November, the Selectboard created a town committee to examine Development Review Boards and to recommend whether the town should adopt one or keep the existing Planning Commission/Zoning Board of Adjustment arrangement. Watt Alexander chaired the committee, which recommended creating a DRB. Copies of the committee's report are available at the Norwich Public Library.

Three Questions for Watt Alexander:

1) What is a Development Review Board?

First, I should explain that there are really two aspects to land use regulation at the town level: planning and permitting. Planning, which means identifying parameters for future development and drafting regulations to enforce those parameters, has been the job of the Planning Commission. Permitting, or the review of individual land development permit applications under the town's land-use regulations, has been shared among the Zoning Administrator, Planning Commission and Zoning Board of Adjustment.

In 1996, the Vermont Legislature created an alternative to the traditional arrangement, in an effort to improve both municipal planning and permitting. The Legislature authorized towns to create "development review boards" (DRB's). Where adopted, a DRB replaces the existing Zoning Board of Adjustment, and assumes the permitting duties of the Planning Commission. As a result, there is a clear separation of authority: The Planning Commission does planning, the DRB does permitting. This division of duties is intended to free up time for planning commissions to do more planning. Moreover, by consolidating permitting under a DRB, it should foster greater permitting expertise and more uniform permit hearing procedures.

2) What was wrong with the old system?

Many Vermont towns, including Norwich, have struggled with the traditional allocation of permitting duties. In many instances, planning commissions find their permitting responsibilities interfere with their ability to focus on planning. Under these circumstances, both planning and permitting suffer as volunteer planning commission members are stretched beyond reason.

Our committee concluded that, while Norwich land use regulation has not reached the crisis level found in a number of other Vermont towns, adopting a DRB at this time makes sense for a number of reasons. In Norwich, the Planning Commission has borne the brunt of permitting activity, leaving the Zoning Board of Adjustment with little to do and the Planning Commission pressed for time. This situation has grown more lopsided with recent changes to the town's zoning and subdivision regulations. The committee felt that, consistent with the experience of many other Vermont towns, adopting a DRB in Norwich would free our Planning Commission to focus on its considerable planning responsibilities. It would also create an opportunity to comprehensively review our permitting procedures and make improvements where we think they will lead to a more consistent, accessible permitting process.

3) Where do we go from here?

The committee's report and unanimous recommendations were submitted to the Selectboard in February along with a recommended time line for shifting to a DRB. The Selectboard adopted our recommendations, and has convened two subcommittees to study implementation issues. The goal is to launch the DRB in early September. Interviews for prospective DRB members will occur this summer, and new member training will commence in late summer.

While the change to a DRB sounds highly bureaucratic, the core purpose of the change is democratic. Here in Vermont, we are blessed with a landscape which has not yet been wholly subdued by human activity. Vermont’s land use laws have played an important role in preserving this rural character. They’ve succeeded because they also preserve the democratic traditions of small town Vermont. Here, municipal planning is designed to be a participatory process driven by volunteers who will reflect the values and interests of the community. Through a combination of carrots and sticks, Vermont law prods municipalities to develop and regularly update their town plans and land use regulations. In this way, Vermont law both authorizes and actively encourages municipalities to take control of their destinies and use the planning process to shape development to reflect the values and ambitions of their residents. The laws are designed both to protect the rights of individual land owners and to reconcile those rights with the interests of the broader community. It’s only natural that these interests will sometimes conflict. Active, civil participation in the town's various planning efforts is the best means for working out many of these conflicts. And where individual development projects are concerned, fair and consistent permitting is the best alternative.

I think the shift to a DRB is a step in the right direction. I think it creates a tremendous opportunity to revitalize broad participation in planning future development for our town. If adopting a DRB increases citizen participation in planning Norwich’s future, I think we will have achieved something important. But, being a democratic process, it all really comes down to the tone and quality of that participation. There is only so much that can be done to open the doors. It’s up to all of us, as Norwich residents, to take an active role and refuse to be deterred by the sometimes strident and antagonistic manner political conflicts are sometimes pursued.