In the United States, what truly turns the wheels of democracy is local government. In all it’s boring, stuffy, and sometimes archaic glory, local government is truly the best example of our fore-father’s vision at work: local elected representatives utilizing checks and balances to institute change within their towns.
Even a small zoning board meeting in Poughkeepsie, New York– like the one they held at 6 PM on Monday, March 9th– is a great example of democracy in motion. The meeting, while focusing on problems specific to the Dutchess County town, is filled with scenes that resemble those from town meetings all across the nation.
The room in which the town of Poughkeepsie’s hosts it’s Town Hall meetings looks a lot like how one would expect it to. The room has pale blue walls equipped with a yellow town crest– which features a Native American man– placed above the board’s bench, next to a slightly off-kilter watercolor painting of a scene from nature found in the town. The room is littered with six standing American flags, no one in the room is likely younger than forty-five, a majority of the chairs are empty, and the lighting is entirely too bright. This is local government, folks. Breathe it in.
The meeting focused strictly on zoning appeals taking place around town in homes and businesses. The meeting– which started with the pledge of allegiance– was run by the chairman, Paul Lahey. Eight other members sat at the bench with him, and together they fielded nine different cases over the course of a meeting that lasted just under an hour and half.
According to the State of New York, The Zoning Board’s job is to “interpret the zoning ordinance or local law and to grant variances,” which in layman’s terms means that they are in charge of divvying up properties and dealing with all other matters relating to property regulations.
“Let’s say something is set back 10 feet, but the structure proposed sits 2 feet from the side property line, the applicant has to appear before the Zoning Board of Appeals to seek a variance of 8 feet if 10 feet is required,” said Poughkeepsie’s Zoning Board Secretary, Sonia James. “The application first goes to the Zoning Administrator and if they deny it, then the applicant has to go to the ZBA to convince the board that this variance is actually required due to various reasons.”
This particular meeting started by going over “old business,” which is anything from previous meetings they had yet to come to a verdict on. The first case involved Vassar College, which the board immediately tabled to the next ZBA meeting on April 13th.
Ah, democracy.
One case that was particularly noteworthy was Kathleen and Kathleen Sense plea (no, that’s not a typo, they are both named really named Kathleen Sense) where they asked to build a eight to ten foot fence in a yard where they weren’t allowed to build a fence higher than three and a half feet. The Zoning Board seemed to think this request was ridiculous, and the Senses seemed to know that the board would never go for it. Perhaps that’s why when the Zoning Board suggested that instead of the fence, that the Sense’s install some landscaping, the Senses almost immediately decided that was a good idea, and they withdrew their variance request, smiling as they left the stand.
Just like the Vassar College case that kicked the meeting off, a good amount of other cases got tabled to the next meeting. Considering these cases that were tabled were discussed during the “old business” part of the meeting, it shows that often these appeals can take months.
“The most common issues that the Zoning Board of Appeals deals with is things getting set back,” said Sonia James. If this meeting is any indicator, that’s putting it lightly.
The meeting continued, moving from “old business” to “new business,” where four different cases were heard. One man asked for approval to legalize two existing sheds, another man asked to legalize an existing deck and two different men asked for approval to build and expand their garages. None of these cases were given a verdict as the appeals were just heard and the verdict will be given at the next meeting, unless of course it’s tabled.
For each “new business” case, those requesting their appeal had to plead their case for why they deserved to be granted variance. The board would ask questions where they saw fit, and when the board decides they have enough information to make a decision, they dismiss the person. The whole thing is a little mundane and may seem excessive, but it is truly quite important when it comes to fairness, civility, property rights and town sustainability.
Despite the importance of local government, few people understand how all the aspects of their residential politics work or what it looks like. Fortunately, for those who want to know more about it, there are plenty of easy ways to get informed. Generally, all meetings held are broadcasted on either local cable access channels or on the internet, and even though every meeting looks like it was taken off of a VHS tape from 2002, it’s a good way to keep up to date with what’s happening in your town. In addition, local government officials typically are very willing to teach people about what it is they do, and Poughkeepsie New York’s local officials are no different.
“Common citizens are not usually aware of zoning rules,” said Sonia James. “That’s why we have a zoning department; all applications, plans have to get approval from [Lissett Tucker] the Zoning Administrator.”
At the end of the day, it’s a relatively thankless job that those on the Zoning Board do. Even though they hold public office, it’s not likely most citizens know who they are unless they have gone in front of the board, and if they have, there’s a chance they aren’t fond of those officials if their appeals or requests were denied. So while the Zoning Board board isn’t glamorous, and might not come with much praise, it is nevertheless a key cog in the democratic system, and helps to ensure town prosperity, and it should be celebrated.
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