Paul Bass photo
Newly approved City Plan Commissioner Joshua Van Hoesen.
A three-time Republican candidate for alder and current Westville community management team chair has been approved as the newest member of the City Plan Commission.
That approval came in the form of a vote at Monday night’s latest regular bimonthly meeting of the full Board of Alders. The meeting took place in person in the Aldermanic Chamber on the second floor of City Hall.
Local legislators voted unanimously in support of 15 appointments and reappointments to various city boards and commissions.
That included the appointment of Joshua Van Hoesen to serve on the land-use commission through February 2026.
Van Hoesen is a director of engineering at a firm that produces accounting software for nonprofits, and currently serves as the chair of the Westville/West Hills Community Management Team. He has also run for alder as a Republican three times — once in his former home neighborhood of Morris Cove, twice in his current home neighborhood of Upper Westville. (He’s lost all three races.)
The City Plan Commission has emerged as one of the most demanding boards in government during New Haven’s decade-long building boom. Over the course of its monthly meetings — which regularly last four hours apiece, and sometimes take place more than once a month — the volunteer commissioners and city staff review technical site plan applications submitted by developers, debate zoning changes, hear hours upon hours of impassioned testimony from the public, architects, engineers, lawyers, and other experts, and generally get a first look at the city’s ever-changing built environment.
“I’m exciting to help with the growth and development of the city going forward,” Van Hoesen told the Independent Tuesday morning in response to getting confirmed by the alders for the City Plan Commission spot.
Click here to watch a recent Aldermanic Affairs Committee meeting where Van Hoesen and many others were interviewed for their new city board and commission volunteer roles.
Thomas Breen photo
Monday's Board of Alders meeting.
In addition to approving Van Hoesen’s appointment to the City Plan Commission on Monday, the alders also approved:
• The appointment of Varick Memorial AME Zion Church Rev. Kelcy Steele to the Board of Fire Commissioners.
• The appointment of Joshua James to the Board of Assessment Appeals.
• The appointment of Robert Megna to the Board of Assessment Appeals.
• The appointment of Eugene Harris to the Port Authority Board.
• The appointment of Suzan Henriquez to the Peace Commission.
• The reappointment of Donald Walker to the Board of Police Commissioners.
• The reappointment of Seth Poole to the Livable City Initiative Board.
• The reappointment of Dixwell Alder Jeanette Morrison to the Library Board of Directors.
• The reappointment of Andrew Giering to the Library Board of Directors.
• The reappointment of Lauren Anderson to the Library Board of Directors.
• The reappointment of Claudia Merson to the Library Board of Directors.
• The reappointment of Shana Schneider to the Library Board of Directors.
• The reappointment of Frederick Brown to the Peace Commission.
• The reappointment of Millie Grenough to the Peace Commission.