Re: Black Thursday for Rachel


Message posted by Tom on September 12, 2008 at 6:53:11 PST:

The project still has to go to the County Commission for approval does it not? They have the final say on major developments and development agreements.

The thing about Planning Commissions is that they usually aren't elected. They're typically appointed by commissioners or councilmembers to provide what is, in essense, a recommendation to the actual decision-making body. In some municipalities the Planning Commission my be given final approval authority on minor projects, but bigger projects almost always require final approval of the municipality's main decision makers.

Here's why that's important....because typically the planning commissioners are appointed and not elected, they provide the higher, elected board with a "recommendation" for a project, theoretically a review by "experts" (i.e., them) but also free of political considerations. Yeah, I know, it's funny, but that's the theory anyway. When the project is then considered by the commission/council, that body takes into account the planning commission's recommendation, BUT they also consider political consequences. They have to. They are elected. This is where things change.

I have many times seen planning commission recommendations go to the county commissions or councils and have the outcome totally reversed. Approvals get turned to denials and denials made into approvals. Why? Because the final decision-making body takes the desires of the voters and adds them into the mix. These people want to be relected.

BTW, it's unusual for councils/commissions to go against the recommendations of their law enforcement entity. So if you have the sheriff opposed to this, that's really bad news for the project.

The fat lady sings at the County Commission, not the Planning Commission.


In Reply to: Black Thursday for Rachel posted by Joerg (Webmaster) on September 12, 2008 at 1:12:43 PST:

Replies:



[ Discussion Forum Index ] [ FAQ ]