Motion to Deny

[Gary Novosielski]

On the other hand defeating a motion to approve doesn't mean the application was denied. The only way to do that is to adopt a motion to deny.

Actually it would mean the application is denied.

The only time a decision is required from such a municipal board is to appeal from some status quo situation with which the applicant is dissatisfied. His taxes are too high, he wants to vary from the zoning rules, he wants a permit to do something that he's prohibited from doing without one.

If this were not the case, he could do what he wanted without applying for the permit, variance, adjustment, or what have you, in the first place.

So if the regulatory board moves to Approve (as I believe they properly should in every case), and that motion fails, they have denied the change being sought by the applicant, and the status quo remains.