Charter panel adds Planning and Zoning to council oversight list
Other Committee · Meeting of April 14, 2026
New Canaan's Charter Revision Commission voted 9-2 to require Town Council confirmation of Planning and Zoning Commission appointments, reversing an earlier 5-6 defeat of the same language without that addition. The commission, working toward a May 4 draft report deadline, also voted unanimously to require the Board of Selectmen to fill appointed vacancies within 180 days and dropped a proposed recall/removal provision for elected officials after legal counsel said state law offers no clear mechanism for it. A decade-old requirement that Board of Finance members own real property in town remains unresolved after members split over whether renters have enough "skin in the game," with one member citing the town's roughly $8.7 billion grand list.
At a public hearing, Town Council member Kim Norton warned that weakening the Parking Commission's review role would be "easier for future decisions to bypass proper review," citing a merchant letter over new downtown parking meters signed by roughly 25 businesses.
In the full story:
- The complete report — 982 words
Source: the Other Committee meeting of April 14, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.
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