Charter panel sends divided P&Z election proposal to full commission
Other Committee · Meeting of February 25, 2026
New Canaan charter subcommittee splits over electing the planning board. Group One Chairman Joe Paulo argued that New Canaan's 36 appointed land-use officials oversee decisions affecting a $10 billion grand list with no voter recourse, citing data showing the town's P&Z reaches only 50 percent of its own stated professional-diversity goal versus 70 to 83 percent in Darien, Ridgefield, Westport and Wilton. Commissioner Angela Jameson objected sharply, saying she disagreed "with most of the conclusions" and with how the data was used, particularly an extrapolation of a 38 percent survey response to more than 6,000 townwide voters, which Paulo agreed to remove.
The group also discussed requiring Town Council confirmation of P&Z appointees, mirroring the Board of Finance process. Minutes were approved unanimously and the presentation heads to the full Charter Revision Commission as Paulo's individual work, not Group One's position, ahead of the panel's May 4 report to the Town Council.
In the full story:
- The complete report — 838 words
Source: the Other Committee meeting of February 25, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.
Keep reading with a 30-day free trial
Subscribe to Fairfield County CT News to keep reading this post and get 30 days of free access to the full post archives.
Starting a trial requires a payment method. After 30 free days your subscription begins at the price shown at checkout and renews automatically until you cancel. You can cancel anytime from your account. Subscription terms
A subscription gets you:
- Subscriber-only posts and full archive
- Post comments and join the community
- 24x7 access to local news