Portsmouth Planning Board Member Could Face Removal

City Attorney Susan Morrell is asking the City Council to schedule a public hearing to determine if Planning Board member James Hewitt should be removed from office.

In a memo to the City Council, Morrell reports the Planning Board chairman, plus members of the city’s planning and legal departments, have repeatedly shared with her communications from Hewitt that ‘raise concerns’ about his ability to ‘perform his duties as a Planning Board member.’

Despite her efforts, she said, ‘Hewitt has not brought his communications into compliance with the legal standards by which Planning Board members must conduct themselves.’