Speak and be heard: The Waitsfield Town Plan

A polite gentleman came into the town offices last Tuesday night. He sat quietly at the end of a short row of office chairs, and waited patiently for a group of volunteers to take their seats -- and their official roles -- as the town planning commission. And when the opportunity for public comments was provided, he pleaded his case.

Plainly, he was exasperated. Frustrated, even. The gentleman explained that he had been to a planning commission meeting two years ago to request a specific change in the zoning regulations that he felt would benefit a large group, and yet nothing had been done to address his request. He came back to the board "to see what progress was being made," although clearly he already knew the answer.

Politely, he made comments about how his situation proved the town was "hard to deal with" He also, politely, told the group that this situation also explained "why businesses are struggling."

The request was officially accepted and put on the list of items for the planning commission to address.

Speaking as just one member of the board, I will admit that I was impressed. I was impressed because I admired the gentleman's honest and candid request; and I appreciated the fact that a member of the community actually came to the group with an individual situation (a first, in my short experience). He knew the regulations, and he knew what he wanted changed.

At the same time, I was frustrated. Since a rule change that affects one person's property also affects every other property around it ... why was there no group letter of support for the change? Why was there no petition? Why, if it's impacting other businesses, have we not heard from them too? And why have two years gone by without additional comments from either the public or the gentleman on the matter?

It's tough for an individual to make a splash at the local government level .... he or she is going to be competing for attention, not just from other individuals, but from other groups, from other boards, from other towns, from the state, and from the federal government. And when you get your chance you have to make the most of it.

One of those chances is happening right now. It's the Waitsfield Town Survey, and it's an open invitation to suggest, to complain, and to be heard on any topic that people would like to speak out about. Town water, business growth, housing growth, the Mad River, bike paths, conservation ... it's all in there.

Once again, I found myself impressed by the individuals who've put significant personal time and energy into the creation of the Survey ... it's a great start of what will hopefully be an engaged public conversation.

But once again, I'm frustrated. With the deadline for survey responses just days away (next Monday, Oct. 12), the response rate is hovering around 2%. For a community that's eager to be heard, there just aren't many voices speaking up.

To fill out an online version of the Waitsfield Town Survey, please click HERE. The entire process takes about 20 minutes, including a short registration process (2-3 minutes).

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