P&Z Chair Foley: Everyone in Easton Should Be Heard

First Selectman Dave Bindelglass and Planning and Zoning Chair and Candidate John Foley talked about the importance of an impartial Planning and Zoning Commission where everyone in town has the opportunity to be heard.

John Foley, the Democratic Candidate for the Easton Planning and Zoning Commission, is also the current chair of P&Z. He recently talked with First Selectman David Bindelglass talked about his experience as chair, the types of questions that come before the commission, whether party politics has a big role in decisionmaking, as well as how independent P&Z is from the Board of Selectman.

David: So why don't we start with what your experience has been like on planning and zoning.

John: I think it's been nice to work with so many people that are dedicated to the town. We're a board of volunteers and they're all from different backgrounds and I think everybody is kind of working to ensure that the rules are applied, are adhered to, that they are bringing their perspectives in there and there's a lot of different backgrounds in there as well. 

It's very interesting to kind of take each problem and try and resolve it in a public forum, listening to the various voices and then making a decision we think is best for the town. So I like that portion of it-- problem solving, you know.. (We discuss) how are we going to fix it in a way that's satisfactory to the town. And it's also taking perspectives from different people and the community and kind of understanding what their needs are, how they want the town to move forward and how they want town to stay the same. 

"I think it's very nuanced kind of a role especially for the chair. You kind of just want people to feel heard."

So I think that's very nuanced kind of a role especially for the chair. You kind of just want people to feel heard .We're listening--- we're listening to all their voices and all their perspectives, you know. I think it's always good to listen with curiosity just to kind of understand where they're coming from and then you try and adjudicate the fairest possible way.

David: So what are the types of issues P &Z handles?

John: With planning and zoning it's almost like there's three sections. 

—There's the day-to-day operations, the running, the making sure that the right documents are signed, making sure that people can go through the steps of getting their approvals in an orderly way. 

—Then there's the things you kind of want to get done in town like the ordinance for the zoning or the EMS building.

—Then there's all the stuff in the middle that just comes up that you're literally just trying to deal with and figure out disputes between neighbours, applications that maybe weren't done the exact right way, etc. These kind of things kind of get thrown at you and then trying to resolve those in a very calm diplomatic way is not always the easiest thing. We try and do our best for it.

David: You know and I find the deliberations of the commission interesting because you'll see that decisions are often, you know, when they're not unanimous they're also not along party lines.

John: Absolutely not. I think everybody on there, you know, they have political affiliations but I think that they kind of leave them on the side and really just make their decisions based on what they think the rules say and sometimes it's nuanced and I quite like that. I quite like that, you know, that we've got a diverse board, you know, I like the fact that they're coming from different areas and they're coming from different political backgrounds but they're also bringing their knowledge, they're bringing their expertise whether it's in architecture, real estate, construction, you know, they're bringing themselves to the table. 

I think it's a nice way to kind of, everybody kind of comes to a solution. It's not always unanimous but quite often it is but I appreciate that, you know, we can disagree. We can disagree and say okay move on and if what I voted for gets put down, 100% okay with that. It's the consensus. I'm bringing what I'm, who I am, my background to the table and the other members of the commission are doing the same and I want them to. I don't want to have somebody that's just going to say yes, yes, yes. I want disagreement. I want conversation because it's an opportunity to change, for me to change my mind even--and say, 'Okay you know what, they're right about this and I understand it. I understand what their perspective is.'

...The Board of Selectmen can't really direct Planning and Zoning and that's on purpose.

David: So a lot of your work is driven by state statutes or extensive statutes for planning and zoning. And in fact, a fair amount of independence, which is built into the statutes. For instance, the Board of Selected can't really direct planning and zoning and that's on purpose. And so, you know, you and I obviously have a relationship that's gone back, but we also know that you work independently, you have public hearings, Planning and Zoning can make decisions about regulations that don't have to be approved anywhere else. 

John: I think part of planning is that we have a set of rules, right? We have the rules, the regulations that we adhere to.  Sometimes there are grey areas in those regulations that we have to adjudicate on.That's what the special permit process is for. 

But as far as the Board of Selectmen, you know, we've never had any interaction other than recommending stuff to you. Obviously, you know, you're always a source of advice for me because you're a long term resident and you've got a lot of experience.But as far as the planning and zoning, we take everything, we take more on the public input, I think, than anything else. Public input on each application. 

I think each application that comes in has to be judged on its own merits.  I don't even like or I don't even talk about an application until it comes in because it's not fair. I don't want to be predisposed. I hear a lot of stuff that's coming out of what's going to happen.

But not until an application comes in front of the Commission should we even comment on these things. I mean, there's nothing to talk about until these applications are put in.