Under the current bylaws of the Ann Arbor Planning Commission, there is no limit on how long the public comment period can last during its meetings. Commissioners are considering some changes to that.
Recently, with so much controversy surrounding the draft Comprehensive Land Use Plan, public comment during commission meetings can last for hours. It happens before any real work can get done and moves decision making late into the night.
Commissioner Daniel Adams agrees changes need to be made. He says the current structure is detrimental to both the people in the room and those watching from home.
“When we have a first public comment that pushes the substance of our discussion out two to three hours after the start of a meeting, we hurt both groups of people.”
Some of the changes under consideration include limiting the first public comment period to 60 minutes and/or reducing the time given to each speaker to two minutes instead of the current three.
A vote is expected next week.
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