KNOX — The Knox Town Board will hold a public hearing next month on a law that would reduce the number of members on the town’s zoning board of appeals from seven to five. 

Supervisor Vasilios Lefkaditis introduced the bill at the town board’s Feb. 9 meeting, explaining that absences at zoning board meetings sometimes prevent the board from having the required quorum of four to conduct business. This is unfair to residents, delaying projects, Lefkaditis said.

According to state law, members of seven-member zoning boards have seven-year terms and members of five-member zoning boards have five-year terms.

The Knox Town Board appoints the members of the zoning board; the posts in Knox are unpaid.

At the same meeting, the town board unanimously accepted the resignations — effective immediately — of the zoning board’s chairman, Doug Roether, and member John Wright.

So, in the event the law is adopted, the town board would only need to appoint one member to fill a vacancy that wasn’t filled at the town’s reorganizational meeting in order to meet the new, lower membership number.

Lefkaditis told The Enterprise that neither Roether nor Wright gave a reason for their resignations. “For the most part,” Lefkaditis said, “both of the individuals took the opportunity to thank the board for the opportunity to serve the community and stated that [they] enjoyed serving on the ZBA.” 

They could not be reached for comment.