While the City Council has the final word on the proposed zoning changes to control the scale of retail development along King Street, earlier votes on the bundle of amended ordinances revealed a splintered planning board.

Altogether there were 10 ordinance changes before the eight-member planning board; four of them were decided in relatively close votes. A consistent pattern emerged from the votes on these particular changes which pitted three members of the board, who are seen as favoring a more laissez faire approach to development, against a slight majority that favors restricting development in certain ways.

First, the members of the planning board are Daniel. J. Yacuzzo, longtime chairman; Anne Romano, Kenneth Jodrie, Andrew J. Crystal, George Kohout, Paul Diemand, Keith Wilson and Julie Hooks Davis, an associate member

For four of the 10 zoning changes, Yacuzzo was not present and thus did not vote on those issues.

One of the changes was passed on a 4-3 vote with Crystal, Diemand, and Romano in opposition. Two of the changes passed by a 7-0 vote. The fourth passed by a 5 to 2 margin with Romano and Crystal opposed.

The two measures with close votes involved first, the definition of "substantial improvement" for purposes of renovating existing structures and second, incentives in the site plan review process for two-story new retail structures which are built close to the street.

In the vote on the remaining six ordinance changes, with Yacuzzo present and voting, two were approved 8-0, two were approved 7-1, with Crystal in opposition and one with Kohout in opposition.

The final two amendments, which were the most controversial because they went to the issue of scale, were approved by narrower 5-3 votes with Yacuzzo, Crystal and Romano joined in opposition. One of the amendments would allow for only a 55-foot setback for new structures over 10,000 square feet, the other would put a ceiling of 90,000 square feet on any new retail structure.

Thus chairman Yacuzzo, vice chairman Romano, and former board chairman Crystal wound up voting as a bloc in this particular round of planning board action on restrictive zoning for certain kinds of business activity.

With a host of other development proposals that could change the character of other sections of the city coming before the board in the next months, the planning board’s role and its divided membership requires careful monitoring by citizens of the community.