Richmond and Huntington agree to share a zoning administrator

At first, Huntington’s search for a part-time zoning administrator didn’t go well. “We had advertised this as a part-time position of 15 to 20 hours for about three or four months and had very little interest,” said Adam Miller, chair of Huntington’s Planning Commission. Then, Ravi Venkataraman, Richmond’s town planner, got in touch. Richmond needed a part-time zoning administrator, too.

Richmond and Huntington decided to offer the job opportunity together: The employee would work 30 hours for Richmond and 10–16 hours in Huntington. That meant a more attractive, full-time position with health benefits provided by Richmond. It worked.

“When we put this together with Richmond, we had lots of applicants… probably half a dozen of them had very relevant experience,” Miller said. “Not only did the quantity of applicants go up, but also the quality.”

Zoning administrators manage zoning regulations for both residential and commercial properties, including environmental hazard prevention, public safety, and building permits. Previous zoning administrators in each town had also divided their duties. Huntington once shared a zoning administrator with St. George, Addison, and Sudbury, while Richmond had a fifty-fifty split with the Hinesburg zoning administrator. This collaboration between Richmond and Huntington, however, allowed the towns to advertise the position as one. Previously, it was often up to applicants to figure out hours on their own.

In mid-February, Richmond and Huntington made Keith Oborne of Portsmouth, NY, their shared zoning administrator. Previously the director of planning and zoning for the town of Lake George, NY, Oborne had also worked as a town planner in Queensbury, NY.

Oborne explained that working in Huntington was likely to be the greater challenge at first, as the town is in the process of developing new zoning rules and project plans. All the work that will be done must “start from scratch,” he said.

Richmond promises to be easier. “I don’t really think there is going to be much difficulty [adjusting] in Richmond. The functions are built out and my predecessors were kind enough to leave me fantastic files for tracking planning and zoning projects. I can always lean on Ravi [Venkataraman] too, because he knows the particular processes of the town,” Oborne said.

Venkataraman, who filled in as Richmond’s acting zoning administrator said the future of the arrangement seems rosy for each town. “It's working out really well for the both of us.”