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What is a Planning Commission?

Along with the other appointed and elected municipal officials in the community, members of a planning commission accept responsibility to protect the personality and vitality of the community. To carry out their duties, these volunteers must digest a mountain of information and negotiate a maze of delicate situations. These include leadership and direction with the City's Master Plan, Zoning Recommendations, Future Land Use, etc. 

Planning Commission Community Role
Planning commissioners wear many hats from mediator, interpreter, visionary, researcher or teacher, to community builder. Early in the history of zoning, it was recognized that when reviewing zoning and land use matters, elected officials needed input from a group of individuals who were not affected by political concerns. Having a group of interested volunteers judge land use decisions for the community was intended to allow a wide range of views to be fairly represented. Elected officials are representatives for the people in the community. As such, they are accountable to the voters. As a planning commissioner, on the other hand, you are a representative of the people. This means that the members of the commission represent the various interests found in the community, such as professionals, business owners and homemakers. In theory, this allows a planning commissioner to act without the political considerations that influence elected officials.
Conceptual Review Meetings

Conceptual Review Meetings are available by contacting the Planning Commission at develop@watervliet.org. 

Meeting with the Planning Commission and city staff offers the private development team the opportunity to discuss concepts for future projects while learning about the city’s review process. This opportunity is designed to serve as a question-and-answer session to create a common understanding and uncover any potential issues. The meeting can save the private development team time and money in redesign work by helping to identify site and technical code issues and is highly recommended for complex commercial/industrial projects as well as projects that involve older, existing buildings.

Meetings are free to schedule. Please contact the city at develop@watervliet.org.


Planning Commissioners

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