Charlotte zoning administrator resigns again

Keith Oborne served his last day as Charlotte’s zoning administrator Friday after resigning for the second time since starting the position in January 2022.

In a resignation letter to town administrator Dean Bloch March 6, he wrote, “I am grateful for the opportunity you and the selectboard have afforded me. I truly appreciate the privilege of serving the Town.”

Oborne previously threatened to resign in June last year, but town planner Larry Lewack said “the thing that came up early last summer was him expressing some dissatisfaction with how things were going, but I think there was someone jumping the gun to say he resigned then. It was more of a rumor at that point, and he ended up deciding to stay.”

Oborne told The Citizen in an email, “Money was of a tertiary consideration. The main issue was of a professional and philosophical nature, that being a disagreement on what the role of the zoning administrative officer entails. To be perfectly clear, I did not leave to chase money, I left to pursue a better professional environment.”

Oborne said he’s been hired as the town of Richmond’s director of planning and zoning starting March 27. He had previously worked in Richmond for nearly two years as zoning administrator before taking the position in Charlotte in 2022.

Aaron Brown will act as the interim zoning administrator on a three-month basis until a “permanent” replacement — which is currently being advertised — is appointed, Bloch said.

“The idea was that we needed somebody in that position right away just because we do want to be responsive to people in town who need permits for their building projects coming up in the spring and didn’t want there to be a gap in a person who could actually issue permits. So, we did get him into place quickly,” Lewack said.

Brown had been Charlotte’s zoning administrator from 2018 until 2019 until he left for another zoning administrator position in New Haven, where he stayed until 2021.

“He’s worked in two different towns already. I would say he’s very comfortable coming into a role here that he’s occupied before,” Lewack said. “Obviously, some things have changed since the pandemic but on the whole he has a sense of the terrain of the job and that’s really helpful for us.”

“He knows the rules, he’s played the position before,” selectboard member Frank Tenney said. “I think it’s a great idea to have him come back and keep us out of the muddy waters.”

The position has seen steady turnover in the last four years and is arguably one of the hardest in town.

“There are constant time pressures, complex town and state regulations that require interpretation, conflicting goals between parties, and occasionally difficult personalities,” Bloch said in a social media post regarding Oborne in June.

Prior to Oborne, Brown, who left to take a higher-paying job, was replaced by Daniel Morgan, who resigned in January 2021 after less than two years on the job. Wendy Pelletier, who was hired a few months later, stepped down in December 2021 because of family health issues.

The zoning administrator will play a key role in the months moving forward as the town wrestles with cannabis regulations and looks to update land use regulations.

“The permitting and enforcement processes can be stressful for all parties, and this can bring out the less pleasant side of people going through the process,” Bloch in June said. “The position of zoning administrator in a small town is not one that a lot of people aspire to.”