The Clinton Planning & Zoning Commission’s Regulations Review Committee met on May 23 to review ways of streamlining the zoning permit process and make existing regulations easier to navigate.

According to the town’s Planning and Zoning Department, Clinton’s current regulations—available both in hard copy and online—have become a tangled mess. From the rules governing bond procedures to site plans and special exceptions, much of the information is fragmented—found in various parts of the document—and redundant, often as a result of regulations being added or amended over the years.

Residents and developers in search of specific guidance are often forced to jump from section to section, each containing bits of information that may or may not be relevant to their needs. The department’s zoning enforcement officer, Eric Knapp, and land use technician, Jullie Pudem, say they would like to see the regulations organized in a way that’s more logical, intuitive, and user-friendly. Pudem shared a draft proposal for a reorganized sequence of information that cleans up duplicative language without adding or eliminating information.

Comparing the task to defragging a computer’s hard drive, the Regulations Review Committee agreed to present the department’s recommendations to the full Planning & Zoning Commission at its next regular monthly meeting on Monday, June 13.

Similarly, Pudem suggested a simplified zoning permit process that would allow residents to apply for permits online. Ideally, applicants would be able to enter their address into the system, which would pull in data from the Assessor’s Office to autofill everything from the applicant’s name to the correct lot number. This recommendation will also come before the full Planning & Zoning Commission on June 13.