The Exeter Town Council cut short a public hearing on proposed zoning ordinance amendments on Wednesday, July 8, after overcrowding and high indoor temperatures caused two attendees to need ambulance transport, according to the Exeter Town Council's published meeting recording.
The council had gathered to take testimony on a lengthy set of proposed changes to the town's zoning ordinance, but the meeting room grew too hot to manage as the crowd swelled well beyond typical turnout. Partway through public comment, a council member interrupted a resident's testimony to note that someone had just left the meeting by ambulance because of heat exhaustion, and asked speakers to keep their remarks brief.
A short time later, the council halted the hearing entirely. A council member said a second person had been taken to the hospital and a third was reporting a light head and feeling close to passing out. "We don't have the resources to take 10 or 12 of you to the hospital," the council member said, adding that the fans in the room could not be turned on. The council member urged the crowd to let the council reschedule the hearing at the high school, where there is air conditioning.
The interruption came after the council had already voted, by roll call, to defer action on the broader package of zoning amendments. Council members voted 5-0 to reject taking up the sweeping changes as presented, with one council member explaining that the proposal contained substantial policy decisions that deserved full review by the planning board, staff, and residents rather than being adopted as minor amendments in a single meeting. In a separate roll call vote, the council approved a 60-day extension of an existing moratorium related to the ordinance changes by a 4-1 margin; Diane B. Allen and Ray Morrissey were on opposite sides of that vote, with Allen voting no and Morrissey also voting no, while the remaining three members present voted yes.
Multiple speakers who did get to testify before the hearing was halted raised concerns about the substance of the proposed amendments, including questions about whether provisions affecting wood-cutting operations, land disturbance rules, and unlisted property uses could conflict with residents' rights or with the state's Right to Farm Act. One speaker argued that leaving certain activities unaddressed in the ordinance's spreadsheet of permitted uses could effectively prohibit them, raising what she described as constitutional concerns. Council member Calvin A. Ellis was referenced by another speaker as having raised similar concerns earlier in the meeting.
The council did not specify a new date for the rescheduled hearing during the recorded portion of the meeting, but a council member said the session would resume at the high school because it is air-conditioned. Residents seeking updates on when the zoning hearing will be rescheduled should watch for a new public notice from the town.