Planning Commission chair resigns from board
Peter Joslin is stepping down from the board effective Oct. 15.
Below is an excerpt from an email Peter Joslin sent to the Selectboard this morning informing them of his resignation.
“I believe the Town of Charlotte is at a crossroads. Competing ideologies about development, how much and where, have come to the fore since the Spring. The Selectboard is in the midst of deciding whether or not to move to a Development Review Board and the ZBA is full of new faces with new ideas. These changes and discussions are healthy and necessary for our Town and important for our future. "What's broken?" and "If it ain't broken, don't fix it" have been typical reactions from the fear of change and are the wrong questions we should be asking. Unfortunately most of the discussion of the pros and cons of a DRB versus a PC/ZBA have been lost in the weeds instead of looking at the big picture. Necessary for any community to grow, remain vibrant, healthy and diverse requires continued review of where we have been, where we are, and, most importantly, where we are going. It is my opinion that we, as a town, need to answer this question. To answer it requires community involvement and a dedicated (capital D) Planning Commission to focus solely on planning, with new faces and fresh ideas with the time and commitment necessary to move forward.
I have served on the Planning Commission since 2004, over 17 years. It has been a privilege and honor to participate in Town governance in this capacity and I am grateful for the Selectboard's continued support on my behalf. It has been an education in planning and development and the delicate balance between the rights of landowners and that of the Town.
If you were to ask my wife Paula my thoughts on term limits, she would tell you I firmly believe in them. Unfortunately, I have not walked the talk. Additionally, I am no longer able to commit the time necessary to be fully involved in Planning; it's taking too much time away from my studio. Therefore, I formally resign from the Charlotte Planning Commission, effective October 15, 2021.
I am grateful for having had the opportunity to serve the Town over the last 17 years and will continue to contribute my thoughts and ideas, albeit from a greater distance.”
Peter deserves our collective thanks and appreciation for his thoughtful and fair work on the PC. And he frames the DRB question in exactly the right way. It's less about development review and more about planning. Those who obsess about rampant growth as a result of going to a DRB are either missing the point or trying to preserve their power as a board with mixed legislative and judicial authority. I hope Peter's statements help the former group to better understand what is in play. I hope the latter have a conversation with themselves and realize that they are just wrong on this issue.