By PATRICK ADRIAN
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WINDSOR, Vt. — The problem many towns find with older written ordinances is not so much the explanation of code, but the difficulty trying to enforce them, Town Manager Tom Marsh told the Windsor Selectboard last week.
In an update to a previous ordinance discussion, Marsh said he has spoken with several neighboring towns regarding their experiences updating their ordinances, along with local zoning departments and legal counsel, as continuing research before the town begins future ordinance review.
Existing town ordinances lack the language and direction to effectively address many recent town problems, which range from resident’s dogs and blight to property violations, Marsh said.
“More than likely they were written in the same era and have a lot of shared terminology that has been problematic when it comes down to having to enforce these things,” Marsh said
Rather than leave penalties for violations to the discretion of the officers, which researched towns advised against, Marsh said the revised ordinances will include standards of penalties for violations by type and nature. Revised ordinances must also include effective penalties in order to encourage broad compliance, be written to avoid loophole exploitation, and include how to follow up with offenders who ignore penalties.
However, Marsh told the board that these often complex questions.
“In some communities you go to court if there’s a failure to comply, and it’s much like a traffic violation where you lose your driver’s license,” Marsh said as an example. “For some people that matters, and for others, it doesn’t. And that can become problematic because it’s not an equal punishment for all if someone doesn’t have a driver’s license [to begin with].”
Research is also necessary to understand the boundaries between the town’s authority and the state’s with respect to creating local laws, which Marsh said is why this phase includes working closely with the town attorney and state agencies.
“Those are the conversations that are happening,” Marsh told the board. “Because we certainly don’t want to write something that’s out of compliance with state statute.”
Marsh told the selectboard that the pre-work for review remains in its early phases and more study is needed before looking at ordinances directly, but building knowledge and understanding will provide the essential groundwork.
“We understand more than we have in the past,” Marsh said. “But it’s not like tomorrow or next meeting that you’re going to see this new list [to review]. But progress is being made.”
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