Planning, zoning boards need more diversity

One or both of these committees exist in almost all Vermont towns, and members are usually appointed, not elected. Appointments are made by selectboards. The exact responsibilities of each may vary town to town, but they hold a lot of power and responsibility.

For example, a landowner may want to build a four-unit, affordable apartment building in the center of a downtown. The plans for that will need to be approved by the development review board (or the planning commission, depending upon the town). That building will shape the way the land is used by the community for a long time to come.

A review of development review boards and planning commissions in the county shows them to lack diversity. This means that important decisions about our community direction are being made by a small segment of our community.

Why? Well, in large part because that’s who asks to be on these committees. Since the work of development review boards and planning commissions is volunteer, often those who can afford to donate their time seek to serve. Furthermore, selectboards generally advertise on their websites and in the newspaper if there is an opening, but they lack mechanisms to share that information with people who are not watching for openings.

Town managers and committee chairs had some suggestions:

• People who might want to serve on one of these committees should attend some meetings. Dates are clearly posted on town websites.

• Some development review boards and planning commissions have open spots. Check with your town manager, selectboard chair or committee chair.

• The committee may have alternates, so if there isn’t an open spot, consider becoming an alternate.

• If you want to be considered when there is an open slot, again check with your town manager or selectboard chair and ask them how you can be notified when an opportunity opens up.

Diversity does not just happen. People who are underrepresented often need outreach to join up. So, here’s the other thing we can do: community members can actively recruit women, neighbors who have limited financial means and other historically marginalized populations.

If you know someone who could offer a new perspective to your development review board or planning commission, ask them to attend some meetings with you. Talk to them about why you’d like them to help make important decisions about your community.

Gathering restrictions are still in place. We may be over the pandemic, but it’s not over. As Dr. Mark Levine, commissioner of the Vermont Department of Health, likes to remind us, masks on faces, 6-foot spaces, uncrowded places. To see the latest guidance, visit healthvermont.gov/covid-19.

Vaccinations continue across the area, with those 40 and older eligible to sign up at this point. Anyone who identifies as Black or Indigenous or other people of color may also sign up, regardless of age or medical conditions. As of this writing more than 40 percent of Lamoille County has had at least one dose of the vaccine.

If you are hesitant about the vaccine, search Lamoille Health Partners on YouTube. There, Dr. Melissa Volansky has an 8-minute video that explains all the science and information about the three vaccines now available. It’s one of the clearest explanations of the vaccines around, so share it in the meetings and events you host.

The sooner our population is vaccinated, the sooner kids 15 and under can get back to the important business of being kids. They were asked to give up so much over the last year to help protect older populations, so now it is incumbent on the rest of us to get vaccinated to help them.

Finally, please remember that any individual or business in the area can get free naloxone (Narcan) just by calling the North Central Vermont Recovery Center 802-851-8120. Many lives have been saved in our area lately just because someone had Narcan with them when someone was experiencing an overdose.

Consider keeping Narcan at your business and with you, because you never know when you will need it.

Emily Rosenbaum is the public information officer for the Lamoille Area Health and Human Services Response Command Center, a group of over 30 organizations collaborating to better serve our area. You can reach her at emily.rosenbaum@lah2s-rcc.org.