A Lady Lake commissioner has lashed out at the town’s Planning and Zoning Board, labeling it “dysfunctional.”
Commissioner Paul Hannan made the accusations at Monday night’s Lady Lake Commission meeting. None of the Planning & Zoning members were at the meeting.
“To be blunt the chairman is allowing the public to run the meetings,” Hannan said.
He attended the Nov. 14 meeting of the Planning and Zoning Board and apparently, it was the last straw.
“I was disgusted and left the meeting,” Hannan said.
You can read about that meeting HERE
“I call it dysfunctional. I really think something has to be done,” Hannan said.
He cited the fact that a meeting was conducted by board counsel Sasha Garcia prior to the regular Planning and Zoning Board meting on Nov. 14. Garcia reviewed the Florida Sunshine Laws, the town’s land development processes and meeting protocol. That session immediately preceded the meeting that Hannan claims was run so poorly that he had to get up and leave.
However, Commissioner Ruth Kussard was also at the Nov. 14 meeting and did not come to the same conclusion.
She said the Planning and Zoning Board plays an important role in town government.
“It’s another chance for the public to voice their concerns,” Kussard said.
Hannan suggested that the town should recruit a better crop of members for the Planning and Zoning Board. He suggested the Lady Lake Chamber of Commerce might be a fertile ground for recruitment.
Planning and Zoning Board chairman John Gauder, a resident of the Village of La Zamora, said he had no comment on Hannan’s accusations.
Other members of the Planning and Zoning Board are Robert Conlin Sr. and Peter Chiasson of The Villages and William Sigurdson who lives in Water Oak. One seat is currently vacant.
All Planning and Zoning Board members are volunteers and are not compensated.
