The Planning Board voted to continue two public hearings at the 7/10/2024 meeting. Chairman Jake butler asked for the motion stating the Planning Board needed more time to review the plans. The motion was seconded and passed by a unanimously by the board. Kelli Caron, Director of Economic Development, stated she was ‘In complete disagreement with this continuance’ Chairman Butler responded ‘that’s fine’.
The Chair apologized to the applicants, but said they would hear from them on 8/7/2024.
Near the end of the meeting Kellie Caron addressed the board again voicing here concern. Caron stated she found the reasoning for continuance unjustified and concerned it could cause potential legal issues for the town. Caron also laid out a brief time line stating the agenda was sent to the board three weeks prior and full plans were sent to the board two weeks prior. Caron stated the board had all materials need to make an informed decision. Caron noted that staff recommendations were sent to the board one day before the meeting, but clarified that in the past recommendations were not available until 7PM the night of the meeting. Caron noted that staff recommendations are not required for the board to make a decision and using the time of receipt of staff recommendations is not a valid reason to continue. Caron continued that the applicants have spent time and money to attend the meeting that they and staff were not aware that the decision to continued was going to be made. Caron had not heard any concerns from board members prior to the meeting. The Chairman thanked Caron for her comments, but stated that the board made a decision that they felt was in the best interest of the resident of Londonderry.
Note: the video below has been edited to remove several hour of discussion between the vote to continue and the comments from the Director of Economic Development. The full video can be found HERE.