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can submit an application with no information, no member of the public has any idea whats <br />going on, the Planning Director grants his approval or her approval, we have no basis to appeal, <br />we have no basis to challenge it, we know nothing and the developer gets vested rights. This is <br />extremely troubling. Chris will not be the Planning Director forever. Whether his terms ends in <br />December with a new mayor or two Decembers from now, there will be a new planning director. <br />And to put such unfettered discretion to allow a developer to not say at all how drainage is going <br />tobe dealt with, how sewage is going to be dealt with at an early stage, so that the public can <br />meaningfully participate is not in the public interest. <br />The reason why so much of this information is important, although it has been ignored for years <br />is so that the public can protect those resources that are important to them. For example, if <br />youre concerned about burials on the site but you dont know if an underground injection well is <br />going to be built near it, if you dont know how the sewage is going to be disposed of and <br />therefore you dont know what impact it will have, it impairs your ability to successfully not just <br />challengeaprojectbutimproveaprojecttomakesurethataprojectdoesnthavetheseimpacts. <br />Thats why this information needs to be submitted. Now I dont have a problem with the change <br />on my draft page 8, subsection 7 that says that improve -, the existing language in the law says, <br />requires the developer to submit information on improvements to be made by the developer and <br />the approximate times such improvements are to be completed. It seems to me that it makes <br />sense, in attempting to deal with the ramifications of the Leslie decision that this amendment <br />makes sense. I dont agree with the change to subsection 3 which now requires the developer to <br />provide information regarding the approximate location within the subdivision of existing sewers <br />and waterlines, culverts and drain pipes, etc. etc. That kind of information needs to be there so <br />the public can meaningfully participate before tentative approval. <br />So with the exception of, with the recognition that the change to the informational requirements <br />in paragraph 7 makes sense, the wholesale granting of unfettered discretion on the Director to not <br />allow any information to be submitted is not in the public interest. <br />Id like to point out that, two other things. One is it is really unfair for the suggestions to be <br />made that unless you do this all these subdivision approvals that have been granted previously <br />are jeopardized. I dont think thats fair or reasonable to characterize it as has been suggested in <br />the, well, by the Planning Director in the Section l in the bill. Its not fair to suggest that because <br />theres a 30-day window within which to appeal a tentative approval. And so all those tentative <br />approvals that were granted without having the informational requirements, it is too late to <br />challenge them. But once the Leslie decision came out, and Im hoping the Planning Department <br />conforms to it, they could not have granted any approvals for applications that didnt have the <br />requirements. So, anyway, its not fair to expect that previously granted approvals are <br />jeopardized. Finally, I just want to leave you with this thought that this bill gives a whole lot of <br />flexibility to applicants. Were essentially removing the word ‚shallƒ from the Subdivision <br />Code. When members of the public attempt to request a contested case hearing and the <br />contested case hearing has a set deadline, if members of the public miss that deadline ‚shallƒ <br />means ‚shallƒ and they cant get their contested case. So why, it just seems to me a little unfair <br />that were holding members of the public who are not represented by attorneys often, who are <br />not represented by professional engineers, who are not represented by professional consultants, <br />were holding them to a strict standard, but were not going to do so for developers. I just dont <br />think thats fair. Thank you. <br />6EXHIBIT D <br /> <br />