New Canaan charter panel debates appointed versus elected boards
Other Committee · Meeting of March 17, 2026
New Canaan's Charter Revision Commission fielded hours of public comment on whether to keep boards appointed or make them elected. Planning and Zoning Commission Chairman Dan Radman asked fellow charter member Jennifer Holm to recuse herself from that debate over her pending litigation against the Zoning Board of Appeals, which she disputed. Former Conservation Commission chair Chris Shipper urged expanding that panel from five to seven members, saying "there's no way that a group of conservation commissioners are going to have the weight or the pull or the resources" to do their charter-mandated work without funding.
Republican Town Committee Chair Melanie Hearn and Democratic Town Committee Chair Tim Climpple briefed the panel on candidate vetting and unaffiliated-voter engagement. The minutes passed 10-0-1, and the panel now turns to a dedicated March 24 session on elected Planning and Zoning seats, term limits and a "bare majority" selectmen proposal.
In the full story:
- The complete report — 847 words
Source: the Other Committee meeting of March 17, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.
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