Mayor Arthur Vigeant asked the City Council this week to appoint a set of candidates to the Zoning Board of Appeals, which will be left without enough members for a quorum later this month following a string of resignations.
Five full-time or alternate members of the ZBA have tendered their resignations since December, which in just a few days will leave the board with only one full-time member and two alternate members.
The Zoning Board has made rulings on a few controversial issues over the last year, including a split vote to approve a 225-unit affordable housing complex last December that almost immediately led to the resignations of members Lynn Faust and Bob Page, the two members who voted against the proposal.
This summer, three more members of the ZBA tendered their resignations ? board veterans John Sahagian and Chairman Jim Natale both left the board, and alternate member Jay Whittaker submitted a letter of resignation effective Sept. 18.
Vigeant has asked the City Council to approve three new members to the ZBA. On Aug. 26, he asked the council to consider appointing former Mayor Nancy Stevens to finish out Page?s term and resident Robert Levine as an alternate member. On Monday, Vigeant asked the council to consider resident Thomas Golden to finish out Sahagian?s term.
Vigeant asked the council to move alternate member Mitchell Gorka to a full-time member, but the City Council tabled the appointment in a split vote after the Personnel Committee sent the appointment back to the full council without a recommendation. Councilor Matt Elder, who made the motion to send the appointment back with no recommendation, said he was unhappy with the ZBA?s process in considering and approving the affordable housing project last year.
"I cannot see myself supporting anyone who supported that 40B," Elder said.
Gorka remains on the ZBA as an alternate member.
In his letter to the council Monday, Vigeant asked councilors to take up the appointments as quickly as possible. With only three members, the ZBA is unable to hold hearings on any appeals or matters before them, and appeals can be statutorily approved 100 days after being filed, regardless of whether a hearing is held. Vigeant said there are no appeals currently in the pipeline, but said he wants to get a quorum sooner rather than later.
"I don?t want to be reactive when a project comes in," he said. "A hundred days goes by pretty quickly."
Vigeant made a point to thank the outgoing ZBA members for their time on the board, calling the position a difficult job.
The Personnel Committee has not yet scheduled a meeting to take up the appointments. Committee Chairman Rob Tunnera did not return a call for comment Wednesday afternoon.
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