Letter: ​'Easton P&Z Is Adopting Oppressive Rules of Procedure'

Letter: "Easton Planning & Zoning Is Adopting Oppressive "Rules of Procedure"

Following the Easton Planning & Zoning Commission's recent Public Hearing on their new regulations and amendments to their Plan of Conservation and Development (POCD) in which they refused to answer questions from the public, P&Z is now in the final stage of further tightening the screws on our citizens' ability to ask them questions or even engage in public comment about important, often very complicated P&Z matters that can have enormous impacts on our property values and quality of life in Easton.

P&Z is doing this by adopting a new policy they call "Rules of Procedure," a policy which includes the following statement: "Only Commission Members, Staff, Consultants and the Selectman shall be recognized to speak at meetings of the Planning & Zoning Commission." These citizen-stifling, information-blocking, transparency-crushing regulations will likely be passed in the next P&Z meeting on August 23.

All Easton citizens should read these rules, particularly Section XIII (RESTRICTIONS ON SPEAKING) and Section XIV (PUBLIC FORUMS). The draft copy of these Rules of Procedure can be obtained from P&Z clerk Margaret Anania by calling Town Hall at (203) 268-6291 (extension 120) and asking her to email them to you. But don't try to comment on them at the next P&Z meeting! The new chair of P&Z, Ray Martin, has instructed Margaret to add the following statement to all of their agendas: "No public comment may be made at a regular/special meeting unless as noted."

When citizens strongly objected to these Rules of Procedure at the last Board of Selectman meeting on August 19, first Selectman Bindelglass said that he would talk to P&Z about them. We sure hope so. We have enough zoning complications in Easton already with state attempts to take control of our planning and zoning activities and the Sport Hill Rd. sidewalk controversy. We don't need these oppressive "Rules of Procedure" on top of them.

Grant Monsarrat

Easton, CT