Planning Board Member Recusal on Deconstruction Ordinance
At a glance
Based on human-uploaded captions, which may still contain errors.
- What: Max Lord, a general contractor on the Planning Board, recused himself from the hearing on Ordinance 8768 Deconstruction and Diversion Requirements because it would directly affect his business.
- Result: the board dropped from three members to two, below a quorum, so the hearing, any motion to continue and public comment could not proceed on October 20, 2026.
- Next: the item is to be rescheduled and reposted. Absent members are asked to watch the video.
How it unfolded
- Lord raised the issue after hearing the presentation, not beforehand; Chair Laura Kaplan apologized for not asking about conflicts at the start.
- The city attorney cited the Code of Conduct (no action that benefits oneself or contractual relations, with an exception where a significant segment of the community is similarly affected) and advised recusal and logging off.
- Brad Mueller asked whether a burden rather than a benefit counts; the attorney said the possibility of an effect is what matters.
Sources
Discussion time
About 8 minutes across 1 meeting (from transcript timestamps; approximate).
| Meeting | Minutes |
|---|---|
| 2026-10-20 - Planning Board | 8 |
Log
- 2026-10-20 - Planning Board - Lord recused; the board lost its quorum and ended the item.