Bylaw Review Committee

Committee:

The Rowe Bylaw Review Committee (BRC) is made up of four voters appointed by the Board of Selectmen to study, update, and propose changes to the town's general bylaws. Zoning bylaw proposals are the responsibility of the Planning Board and are not under consideration by the BRC.

As the committee has wrapped up its initial review of the bylaws, meetings will be held less frequently. Please check the calendar for the meeting schedule.

Process:

The Committee has reviewed the existing document with two primary goals: propose changes to the bylaws that bring them up to date with town practices (or recommend changes to town practices so that they conform with the bylaws), and propose changes that improve the wellbeing of the town's residents and its government.

As of March 2019, the committee has agreed upon a final document to submit to the appropriate town officers. Once this document is updated and cleaned up, it will be made available on the website.

These proposals will be sent to either the Board of Selectmen or Town Clerk for review. Non-substantive changes will be submitted to the clerk, who is permitted by local bylaw to make amendments with approval of the Board of Selectmen. Changes that impact the substance of the bylaw will be submitted to the Board of Selectmen, who will then send those recommendations to Town Counsel. Once Town Counsel has given their legal opinion on each change, a public hearing will be held by the Bylaw Review Committee to obtain feedback from the voters prior to a town meeting. Proposals that appear to have public support will be added to a town meeting warrant to be voted on, while proposals that face strong opposition will likely not be considered.