Quote:
Originally Posted by Heaven
I have no idea how it works down in Mass where you live, but up here town zoning ordinances in towns that have Selectboards are brought to the ballot by the volunteer boards (like the planning board) which are populated with local elected citizens and after several public hearings on the content of the ordinance, it is voted on by the town's people.
So yes, the local zoning regulations are written and approved by the voters.
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I live in a town meeting town and it happens the same way here. If you think that more than a dozen or so people at the town meeting who vote for these regulations have read and understand the regulations before hand, you are sadly mistaken. Most react to hype and pictures such as the one APS just posted, which should have been prevented by the previous laws on the books. (Or did that one happen under the current "tree law"??) And I don't want to throw the volunteers under the bus, because most are truly concerned and want to do the right thing, but there are also those who get on these boards that have a vested interest in these rules and profit handsomely when the rules get so complicated you need a consultant to sort things out.
Don't get me wrong, I love town meeting government, it is a great way to govern, but people need to understand what they are voting for and my generation and newer want sound bite descriptions of things, sometimes that doesn't work well.