This is the fourth in a series of stories that look at the various departments, boards and committees that make the town function, offering thumbnail sketches of their duties and responsibilities. This week: The Zoning Enforcement Officer.
Norfolk’s land use office, headquarters for zoning enforcement officer (ZEO) Stacey Sefcik, is a deceptively quiet haven for a town official with wide-ranging responsibilities for managing local property development, zoning compliance and environmental regulations.
Sefcik is responsible for receiving, reviewing and processing land use applications for both the Planning and Zoning Commission and the Inland Wetlands Agency. She helps applicants to understand what they must do to get permission for the development of their properties and she asserts that this is one of her favorite areas of responsibility.
“I help anyone who wants to build on their land to understand the requirements,” she said. “A lot of landowners don’t know about the regulations and that is the best part of job—helping people find a way to complete their projects.”
As ZEO, Sefcik can issue some permits herself, but other applications must go before the Inland Wetlands Agency and later the Planning and Zoning Commission. Before applications go before these bodies, she reviews the them, looks at the history of the property, checks local land records and conducts a site visit. She advises the property owner about sending registered letters when needed to neighboring landowners and towns about the proposed changes and provides a template for the letters.
The applications are then presented to the relevant agency, and their members indicate areas where more information is needed. Both bodies may decide the activity is significant enough to require a public hearing before taking action on it and the ZEO issues legal notices about the hearings and decisions.
While an application is under discussion, Sefcik will answer questions about technicalities for the IWA and the P&Z, describing the different actions they can take. If a project is approved, she conducts site visits to ensure that the work is done in accordance with the approval.
When there are violations, she addresses them. “I start out in a low-key way with a letter,” she said. “That often resolves the problem, but when it does not, I have other tools in my toolbox.” The most egregious violations can incur heavy fines and court action.
Sefcik works in Norfolk part-time, with office hours at town hall from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on Thursdays. Many small towns share land use officials, but she works solely for Norfolk, preferring a reduced schedule so she can spend time with a new granddaughter.
She has worked in land use administration for more than two decades, starting as a recording secretary in various towns before becoming certified as a ZEO. New ZEOs are certified by both the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection and the Connecticut Association of Zoning Enforcement Officials. Certification takes at least three years.