Planning Board to clarify rules on alternates, returning members and AI use

Town Planner Charles Wise introduced a revised 2026 Rules of Procedure draft and the Board agreed on several structural edits, including restoring numbered sections, correcting an omitted member name, and adding an annual review clause. Mr. Wise and members requested municipal counsel to advise whether an alternate seated for an initial hearing should remain seated for later hearings and how a returning member should demonstrate familiarity with a prior hearing before voting.

Board members debated alternate participation and seating. Mr. Randy Hilman proposed positive wording to allow unseated alternates to observe and participate during public hearings but restrict deliberations and votes to the designated members once the public hearing is closed; the Board supported that approach and asked Mr. Hilman to provide exact wording by email. The Board also agreed to add a provision advising applicants of the number of votes required when fewer than a full board is seated, modeled on the Zoning Board’s practice.

Members voiced a procedural safeguard on using artificial intelligence in drafting materials. As Mr. Quinlan put it, he "advised caution on using artificial intelligence, citing an example where a citation on a consent agenda traced back to another town’s rules and applied to board members’ packets rather than public material." The Board directed staff to check statutory citations against the General Court site and to run any final language by municipal counsel before adoption.