Transparency, Efficiency Priorities for New Mt. Kisco Planning Chair
Following a year of turmoil and calls for change, Doug Hertz took the helm of the Mount Kisco Planning Board for its Dec. 13 meeting with the goal of introducing an improved project review system.
Hertz, a 17-year board member, was appointed to lead the board earlier this month by village trustees, replacing longtime chairman Joseph Cosentino against a backdrop of calls to ease the time it takes for commercial applicants to receive approvals. During the past year, the laborious planning board process was seen as a key impediment to reinvigorating commercial development and to reduce the number of downtown store vacancies.
While one proposal – to reduce the size of the planning board from five to seven members – was recently rejected by the village board, Hertz said other steps are being taken to move applications along but also protect the village, its residents and merchants.
The municipality’s professional planning and engineering staff will be given the time and resources to work with applicants and representatives ahead of time and remain in contact with them so issues can be addressed in a timely fashion, he said.
“I want things to be as simple as possible, but not simpler,” Hertz said. “This will allow planning board members to act effectively and appropriately, namely to be the representatives of the community, unbiased by politics or outside factors, and weigh all the information after it has been processed, worked on, deemed complete and vetted by our professional staff.”
A task force earlier this year issued a series of recommendations in hopes of streamlining commercial applications. Hertz said the task force along with village officials addressed issues that have held the planning board back over the years. “Many of their suggestions have already been implemented in the last year and we have seen the improvements in process and workflow that have resulted,” he said.
All applications will be available digitally to assist with record keeping and to make it easier to follow and track each application, which will help make for a more transparent process, Hertz said.
He also expected to have digital projection and improved amplification for meetings in the near future.
Another upcoming change is having Building Inspector Peter Miley provide a brief report at each meeting of matters that have been before the planning board but are now being handled administratively. That could include, for example, updates on changes of use that are as of right.
“This will help board members keep abreast of any changes in town that we may not be privy to otherwise, and this information may end up informing future decisions,” Hertz said.
He has also asked the Conservation Advisory Council (CAC) to meet with the planning board to create a procedure that will allow the CAC to provide its input on environmental issues. In addition, Hertz plans to speak with Zoning Board of Appeals and Architectural Review Board members about ways to share information and improve communication among the boards.
Developers are also meeting with village staff to discuss yet-to-be-submitted proposals. That would speed up the process as professional staff becomes more familiar with a project before an application comes before the board for the first time, he said.
Hertz said he wanted to make a statement coming on as the new chairman that there will be positive changes. He thanked the village board for its support and village staff for their assistance and is pleased with the changes that are now underway.
“I hope that this message will resonate with those who have businesses in town and those who may be considering a business in Mount Kisco,” Hertz said. “I hope that those who in the past have criticized actions of this board will now become its advocates and that this new transparency will better inform the public.”
