Why I'm in favor of returning public comment to Easton Planning & Zoning Meetings

In an age where it is easier than ever for the public to consume our town’s governance, it’s time to take it one step further and bring back public comment at Planning & Zoning meetings.

Planning & Zoning’s decisions, like those of all of our boards and commissions, impact all residents of Easton. Over four years as an alternate commissioner, I have always made myself accessible to townspeople, and if I can answer a question, quell a concern, clear up misinformation, or otherwise guide curious residents about a topic, I have always done my best to do so. Transparency and understanding go a long way towards preventing needlessly complicated situations.

However, the only ‘official’ way the public is allowed to be heard is in the context of a public hearing, which is most often subject just to a certain application or regulation change on the table at that time, and not anything else inside the sphere of P&Z.

That has long begged the question why, unlike the Board of Education, Board of Selectmen, Park & Recreation Commission, et al, Planning & Zoning eliminated public comment portions of meetings? Board of Selectmen meetings have TWO opportunities to speak, even.

This is an issue that has bi-partisan support, and is an important step as we continue to navigate the future of our gem of a town.

With P&Z now moving to an elected commission, making its members even more beholden to the voting populace, it’s time once again to allow that populace to be heard. Accountability and availability are two of the best abilities a public servant can have, and this allows us to adhere to both.

As Robert’s Rules of Order says, ‘the public does not participate in the decision-making; instead, it provides input to the governing body, which takes the input into consideration in making its decisions.’

I pledge to work to return public comment to P&Z meetings, so the public can always have that input.