Charlotte will reconfigure its bodies of development and regulatory review in hope of streamlining development processes and reducing redundant meetings, the selectboard decided in a 4-1 vote Monday night.
The vote comes after a six-month discussion and years of complaints about roadblocks to development.
The date of transition from a planning commission and zoning board of adjustment to a planning commission and development review board is scheduled for Dec. 15.
Together, the new system will provide the same services as the current one — reviewing development applications and updating the town plan and land use regulations. However, the tasks will be divided up differently.
As it stands, the planning commission works on planning updates and reviews development requests. In the new system, all development applications will be handed to the development review board, theoretically giving the planning commission more time to focus on updating the town plan and land use regulations and making sure that storm and wastewater capacity align with development goals, among other things.
Although he has been supportive of the change, Town Planner Larry Lewack warned that it’s not a silver bullet to speedy development and smooth permitting processes. “We still need a rigorous review of land regulations to identify where things break down and to streamline regulations and permitting processes.”
