Letter: Mayor-commissioners did not follow code for appointments

Patricia Reilly
St Augustine, FL

I have written to the City Commission in the past, and am writing again, asking that the PZB membership requirements be changed to be more inclusive. As they read today, they require that basically a person have a specially designated and current license or very specific profession.

You have chosen to leave those requirements unchanged. You have the authority to change the Code, but until you do, it would seem you should follow the requirements as written.

According to City Code Sec. 28-56, the members of the planning and zoning board shall be from the following:

(1)Architect (state registered).
(2)Planner (member APA or AICP).
(3)Real estate broker (having county occupational license).
(4)Educator (college level).
(5)Engineer (state registered).
(6)Landscape architect (state registered).
(7)Preservation organization officer.
(8)Environmental or land use organization officer.
(9)Attorney (admitted to the Florida Bar).
(10)Merchant/business person (having city occupational license).
(11)Contractor (having city contractor’s license).

It does not appear that you did follow these requirements in your appointment of the latest PZB Board Members or some in the past. I am not addressing whether or not the person or persons appointed can do the job well, only that you are not following our City Code as it is currently written.

Others who might desire to serve and who would be an asset, might not necessarily apply when seeing that they did not meet the requirements as written in the Code. There are many talented residents who do not have the designated certifications or professional designations required by our City Code; but, why should they think their application would be considered?

Additionally, there was no discussion about the appointments or the applicants to determine what the current composition of the Board is and how any of the potential candidates might complement that Board and its function. The experience and expertise of the board members leaving their seats was not discussed.

A voting process simply took place. The Public was not provided any insights as to the logic behind your appointments and what factors you considered.

I think following the requirements, as written in our City Code, should be your first priority — until you choose to change those requirements.