New Haven Independent

“The Board of Zoning Appeals does a lot of work and they have long agendas, but I think there are some practices that can be better done,” said the mayor in an interview Thursday.

DeStefano declined to comment on one practice that has caused concern “” the scheduling of voting sessions and public debate among members at unpredictable times, out of the public eye. But he said discussions have arisen in City Hall over a general need for improvement in how meetings are run.

“Those policies are set by the zoning board chair, and the city administration has had some discussion that as a new chair is elected, that that’s a board that may need some support in terms of board training.”

Training, conducted by the office of the corporation counsel, would cover: “how public meetings should be done, what a standard is that other boards use, what are their responsibilities as appointed officials, and how they can improve their way of doing business.”

Asked to comment specifically on the board’s voting practices, DeStefano declined: “I’m less interested in commenting on a specific practice that I may not have a full judgment on about how systemic and pathological it is, but where there’s opportunity for improvement, we want to help them.”

Chairman Perez steps down in February after serving two five-year terms on the BZA, the maximum allowed by the city charter. The mayor is charged with appointing a replacement to his vacant seat, as well another vacancy. Then the board members will elect a chair.

DeStefano said he expects to appoint new board members in the next two weeks.

The board has final say over some major downtown development projects, neighborhood-remaking proposals, and isolated but controversial placement of new stores in residential areas. Neighbors often jam hearings to put in impassioned pleas on these projects, only to be told the board would then debate and vote on the matters at unspecified later dates.