The East Hampton Village Board has posted new dates for public hearings on a plan to trim term limits for the zoning board of appeals and the planning board from five years to three. Those hearings will now be held on Wednesday.
Another hearing, which would have decreased the design review board’s term limit from two years to one, was held in error (and received no comment). That board’s two-year term limit will not change.
Originally, the board sought to change all its appointed boards to one-year term limits. However, after last month’s meeting, there was uncertainty as to whether state law allowed that.
“If there was a restriction on it by the state, we weren’t going to try,” said Marcos Baladron, the village administrator. “After Mayor Larsen had a discussion with some advisory board members, he put it to three.”
At present, the five planning board members are appointed to five-year terms. The design review board has seven members with two-year terms. The zoning board of appeals has five members and two alternates, who all serve five-year terms. Their chairs are appointed annually.
“Basically, it’s a job,” the mayor said. “You think they’re good when you hire them, but if they’re terrible, there’s no way to get rid of them. Shortening the limits would ensure that village residents have the best we can offer.”
“I don’t have issues with our boards,” Mr. Larsen was quick to add. “But why wait until there’s an issue?”
Mr. Baladron said there have been attendance issues, with the D.R.B., for example, “almost missing” a recent quorum. Before the village board decided to keep that group’s five-year term, he had remarked that “really good people can’t fulfill the time requirement. Everyone is busier. It’s like volunteerism in general. A one-year term keeps it fresh. We have a list a mile long of people who want to jump in and do it.”
The term limits haven’t been changed since the 1980s. For the Z.B.A. and the planning board, having five members with staggered five-year terms means one new member is appointed each year. One argument for longer terms is that it allows board members to be insulated, somewhat, from political pressure. The boards are supposed to be independent of the elected village board.
“There’s always going to be that criticism that shorter terms will expose them to political pressure,” Mayor Larsen said. “But our chairs have to be reappointed every year. I’ve been here for five years. I could have removed anyone, and I haven’t. That’s not my concern. I want to make sure they’re representing the village residents. That’s their job.”
