The Planning Board is an advisory board established for the purpose of advising the City Council on all matters pertaining to land subdivision, zoning ordinances, zoning adjustments, comprehensive planning, and any other planning duties that the City Council may specifically delegate to the Planning Board. The Planning Board studies the resources and needs of the City particularly conditions affecting public welfare and safety related to land use and development. The Board uses the Comprehensive Plan and related processes to plan and make recommendations for the development of the City.
The Planning Board is comprised of 7 members of the City of Caribou. Current members are:
- Amanda Jandreau, Chair
- Frank McElwain, Vice-Chair
- JR Belanger, Secretary
- David Corriveau
- Eric Hitchcock
- Stephen Wentworth
- Justin Staples
- Jody Smith, Council Liaison
Some of the responsibilities and duties of the Planning Board include:
- The responsibility for the directing and overseeing the activity of the comprehensive planning program;
- Reviewing subdivision proposals;
- Facilitating the interpretation of land use ordinances;
- Projecting a course, through community planning, for the City’s future;
- Undertaking duties to conduct community planning activity;
- Conducting a municipal planning program;
- Facilitating in obtaining public participation, public relations, and citizen involvement.
If you want to be on the Planning Board agenda, contact Penny Thompson, City Manager at (207) 493-5961 or email: citymanager@cariboumaine.org
Interested in serving on the Planning Board?
We always encourage citizens to be an active part of the community where you live, work, and play. As such we welcome interested citizens to apply for the Planning Board at any time. While appointments are typically made in January of any given year, other appointments to the board may be made when vacancies occur.
Qualifications
- Except for being a resident of the City of Caribou, there are no additional required qualifications to serve on the Planning Board. However, members of the City Council and their spouses are not able to serve on the Planning Board.
- You should be civic minded and genuinely interested in growth and development issues.
- You must be able to learn basic zoning concepts, visualize spatial relationships, and understand technical problems.
- You should be able to assemble information from both written and oral testimony and apply it to the making of meaningful recommendations that are based upon adopted plans, ordinances, required findings of fact and established polices, and not upon personal values.
- Deliberation takes place during the meeting and in front of the applicant. You should not be easily intimidated, and should be a willing participant in the discussion of each case.
- Objectivity is important. You should have an ability to listen to opposing views and still keep a clear focus on where the real public interest lies, what is not only within the law but also really fair, and the ability to distinguish between fact and opinion.
- You should be energetic and outgoing, not afraid to speak out, and be able to express yourself clearly and concisely in public.
Responsibilities
- Members are expected to attend all scheduled meetings. Meetings are scheduled monthly on the second Thursday of the month, and generally last about one and one half hours, but can occasionally be two hours long or longer due to the number or complexity of cases. On occasion a special meeting may be necessary.
- You will be expected to read the packet of material sent to you prior to each meeting, and familiarize yourself with the various agenda items. Members are encouraged to visit the location of cases in order to become familiar with the sites in question.
- It is your responsibility to disclose any financial interests, close business ties, close family ties, or any other relationship with an applicant that affects, or would appear to affect, your ability to be unbiased and objective.
- It is your responsibility to not discuss any item scheduled for public hearing with any parties thereto prior to the public hearing. You should discourage the presentation to you of any information relative to a public hearing item outside of the actual hearing. Any contact or information obtained outside the public hearing should be disclosed to the full Commission during the public hearing.
If you’re still interested in volunteering for the Planning Board please fill out a Citizen Board Application Form and return it to the City Clerk.