By MARK SARDELLA
WAKEFIELD — If you want to serve on the Zoning Board of Appeals, better brush up on your interviewing skills.
Of all of the boards and committees appointed by the Town Council, the Zoning Board of Appeals alone will now be subject to a three-member “selection committee” that will interview candidates for appointment to the ZBA. All future candidates for appointment to the ZBA, including incumbents, will be subject to the new interview process
The selection committee will consist of the chair of the Town Council (or designee), the chairman of the ZBA, and the town’s Economic Development Director (currently Erin Kokinda). The selection committee will then recommend candidates to the Town Council, which will make the final appointments.
The Town Council voted last week to establish the new process for interviewing ZBA candidates. Up to now, the appointment process has been the same for all committees appointed by the Town Council. That is, the Town Council advertises for candidates when committee appointments come up. Candidates interested in serving then submit letters of interest and resumes. Committee chairs may also recommend candidates for appointment.
The ZBA has come under criticism by some in the community who believe that the board bears some responsibility for allowing “overdevelopment” of the town. But as ZBA chairman David Hatfield explained to the Town Council last week, the Zoning Board must strictly adhere to and apply the town’s Zoning Bylaws and state regulations as they currently exist.
“At the end of the day, we have to apply the Zoning Bylaws to every project,” Hatfield said, noting that all Zoning Bylaws have been approved by Town Meeting.
Hatfield admitted that he and other ZBA members were “taken aback” and felt “targeted” when they first learned that only the ZBA would be subjected to this increased level of scrutiny. He said that Zoning Board members were surprised when they saw a document in the Town Council’s Feb. 28 meeting packet outlining the special appointment process for ZBA members.
“The way it was stated, it was just the ZBA,” he noted, adding that Board of Appeals members were also troubled by language in the document stating that appointees to the ZBA should be “aligned with the priorities and values of our community,” rather than focusing on the relevant experience and qualifications of the candidates.
“But,” Hatfield conceded, “you are the appointing authority and it’s within your purview to interview candidates.”
Hatfield said that he felt somewhat better after talking to Town Councilor Edward Dombroski, who initially proposed the interview process for ZBA members, adding that he would be OK with a small interviewing committee consisting of the Town Council chair, ZBA chair and the Economic Development Director.
Town Councilors denied that they were singling out the ZBA, insisting that the new procedure was driven by the “importance of the ZBA” and the “high level of skill required,” and was not a reflection on the current membership.
At the Town Council’s request, Town Counsel Thomas Mullen provided a list of seven suggested interview questions that the new selection committee could ask ZBA candidates while remaining on solid legal ground. Mullen’s questions focused on the experience of potential candidates, their familiarity with zoning law, their background in areas like architecture and construction as well as a candidate’s ability to render independent decisions based solely on the relevant regulations.
Ultimately, the Town Council voted unanimously to create the new, three member selection committee to vet candidates for appointment to the ZBA. It was agreed that the interviews would stick closely to the questions provided by Mullen. The chair of the Town Council will also chair the ZBA selection committee.
