TROY, N.Y. — The broken elevators were the first sign Thursday’s Troy City Council meetings would be irregular.
The proposed — and later passed — ordinance to replace the city’s Planning Commission with a Planning Board packed the room and took up most of the public’s nearly three hours of public comment throughout the night. With the rest of the discussion rounding the meeting to five hours, over 20 people spoke against it. “Don’t just spring a wholesale change,” said Planning Commissioner Bill Comisky at the meeting.
“I think that the real reason is the desire to start afresh with people that are part of the administration. That’s the purpose of this, that’s the objective. Not anything we’ve done wrong.
” The Planning Commission is composed of seven people with backgrounds ranging from architecture to engineering to law who work to provide direction and guidance according to the city codes and Comprehensive Plan. The board also offers suggestions to the people proposing work, whether individual homeowners or developers. The legislation up on Thursday was two-fold: an introduction of a law to repeal Chapter 71 “Planning Commission” in the city code; and a separate ordinance to establish a Chapter 72 “Planning Board.
” Both were placed on the agenda by Republican Majority Leader Tom Casey at the request of the administration. The law could only be introduced on Thursday and will be voted on after a public hearing at the next meeting on July 2.