On Wednesday , Aug . 20 , the Planning & Zoning Commission did what they felt they needed to do in order to avoid an instant loss in court against Masters Club , come mid-September , due to the poorly-written , unconstitutional special permit provision which existed in our zoning regulations .

The question that really needs to be answered now is why , at the end of an 8-month moratorium , was the best plan that could be put before the P&Z a knee jerk reaction to the fact that nothing had been done and we were still unconstitutional ?

As youmay have seen at the hearing or read on my blog , I presented a plan that would not only pass constitutional muster , but has almost no residential property within its secondary effects buffer zone and would likely limit the density to one adult business in the zone . Why , when I was able to do the required legal research in 3 hours Wednesday morning and create this plan prior to the meeting Wednesday night , did the administration and their counsel not present a plan to the P&Z in the many months preceding this last ditch effort ?

We have all heard the saying “ if youwant something done right , youhave to do it yourself. ” Sadly , it appears that even though our town hall officials may have been good enough for a round of raises , they weren’t good enough to come up with a plan to protect the residents of East Hartford by properly mitigating secondary effects through zoning . I don’t blame Mr . Gerard for not coming up with a plan . That’s not his job . His job is to beat Dan Silver and Kim Coleman in court . Sadly , it appears that town hall thinks that’s their job , as well . They seem to have forgotten , or never bothered to realize , that once these lawsuits are gone we still have to live with the results of the zone changes and the clubs they bring for decades to come . They seem to have forgotten that their job is protecting the future of East Hartford .

To the P&Z , that saying above ought to stir something in you. It’s not too late for youto recognize that those giving youdirection aren’t doing it right , and it’s time to do it yourselves. Fix this gaping wound , which has been created in our neighborhoods , by permitting adult businesses in I-3 zones while youstill can . It’s only a matter of time before we develop a nasty infection of adult businesses , and once that infection sets in , there is no cure .