Town needs right fit for planning director

There’s no such thing as a “plug and play” planning director who can be put behind a desk in any town or county and begin to get things done.

Aside from being required to understand, interpret and explain the local compendium of land use rules and regulations, planners also have to know their audiences and how well they will accept their advice and recommendations.

Because land use regulations can be such a tangle of definitions, references and the law, explaining their applicability in certain circumstances even to experienced lay people can be tough.

That is just the world of planning and zoning, and is why the Berlin mayor and Town Council are being so particular in finding someone to replace the late Dave Englehart, the town’s long-time planning director who died in April.

Town officials know they can’t just bring in some technocrat who may be able to recite the regulations but can’t get the message across clearly. But neither they nor the community would benefit from an eager-to-please softy who just wants to keep everyone happy.

Town officials want someone who not only has the knowledge to defend a well-thought-out position, but also can blend in with co-workers, officials and community members.

That’s a tall order to fill but add to that the difficulty many small towns have competing with larger jurisdictions with higher wages, not to mention the soaring cost of housing locally, and qualified candidates probably aren’t scrambling over each other to apply.

In the meantime, extending the moratorium on site plan approval, as the mayor and council have done for the second time, isn’t the worst thing that could happen. Although some applicants with projects pending are undoubtedly frustrated with this continued delay, the town isn’t going to collapse as a result.

It is more important in the long term to get the right fit in a position that plays such a critical role in mapping out the town’s future.