The land use planning consultants that Warren had hired to assist in the process of rewriting the town’s Land Use Development Regulations (LUDRs) resigned from the project. At a November 13 meeting of the Warren Planning Commission, members said that the Windsor, Vermont-based consultants PlaceSense wrote in an email that they would no longer be working for the town of Warren.
Select board member and planning commissioner Camilla Behn said that the select board had planned to wrap up its discussion of the current draft regulations and invite PlaceSense consultants to an upcoming meeting, where board members would ask consultants for advice on how to incorporate board feedback into the draft.
Behn said that the town initially decided to hire a consultant in order to get a town planner’s perspective on the draft regulations and more specifically to make sure that certain terminology was stated correctly throughout the document.
Warren zoning administrator Ruth Robbins said that “writing the language for this type of thing is something that is challenging, unless you know what you’re doing.”
Commissioner Macon Phillips said: “I think we should ask [the consultants], if it was related to an issue with the town of Warren, and I think that’s important to know. Because they deal with a lot of towns. And I’d like to know what they think about how this process is going.”
Phillips was referring to the process of rewriting the regulations, which Behn said has taken at least three years. “It was a bumpy, bumpy road,” she said.
“As a resident, I would want to know,” Phillips said, “why a consultant fired us, essentially – if that’s the case.”
In continuing to finalize the regulations, Behn said, “I think we really feel like we need professional guidance.” Robbins suggested reaching out to the town of Pittsfield, Vermont, to ask who the town worked with when amending its regulations. She also suggested a consultant based in Bolton, Vermont, who has worked with Warren in the past.
Planning commissioner Adam Zawistowki said that if the town decided to hire another consultant to help them finish up the draft regulations, it may not prolong the time it takes to finalize the regulations. “The amount of work that’s left to process by another consultant is approachable,” he said.
