Newtown’s Land Use Agency has a new CAZEO, Connecticut Association of Zoning Enforcement Officials, certified zoning enforcement officer: Sebastian Velez.

In 2021, Connecticut General Assembly passed a law that requires all new zoning enforcement officers (ZEOs) to become CAZEO certified. This certification provides extra training to ZEOs and allows them to continue their education past the certification process.

Rob Sibley, director of Land Use Agency, said, “Part of our statutory requirements and our employment requirements is that all of our officers achieve a CAZEO certification level. For those who haven’t pursued it in the past, they find that it is as challenging as any … associate level degree program could be.”

Sibley said the certification process is about equal to an extra year of schooling, and that he is “thrilled” Velez has achieved this level of education.

Velez said that he had to complete two exams, which require four days of schooling, and a case study. There is only one opportunity to take the classes per year, so he has been pursuing this certification since his employment in July 2023.

“So I took my courses in,” Velez paused to think, “spring of ‘24 was my first class. I took the test. Thankfully, it went well and I was able to move onto the next round. After that, I took a class in the second session, I believe sometime around fall of ‘24, and thankfully, that went well.”

After his coursework and passing his exams, he was able to submit a case study, which is also part of the certification process. Case studies are performed independently by the training ZEOs, and Velez was able to submit a complete case study for his certification process.

Velez chose to work on a “very common zoning violation” of debris on the property. He explained that he had to ensure the property owner received their notice of violation, case and desist, and document everything correctly with dates and times.

“This was a violation I was able to see from the road,” Velez explained. “I was able to document it from the road, and now it’s thankfully resolved.” The violation was closed before Velez submitted his case study to the CAZEO board.

Velez’s Commitment To Public Service

This entire process took Velez two and a half years to complete, but he said the certification is “big.”

“We keep ourselves to a high standard of zoning knowledge. We do have to continue going to seminars to continue our zoning knowledge as zoning is a field that constantly changes quite a bit,” Velez said.

He said CAZEO is a great organization that prepares seminars for ZEOs to continue their education and to keep them informed on changes within the government regarding new regulations or changing regulations.

Velez hopes to continue giving Newtown “excellent public service” as a newly certified ZEO. He has enjoyed his time so far serving Newtown as a zoning official and wants to continuously improve his knowledge. He expressed his mentors, Sibley and Steve Maguire, deputy director of Land Use, are “very knowledgeable,” and he tries to emulate that and learn from them.

“They help me improve my professional self,” Velez said of his mentors.

Sibley added that Velez has “already employed his knowledge on a day-to-day basis,” which he considers to be a “great investment” for Land Use. Velez is now the third CAZEO certified officer in Land Use, and Sibley is sending one more when the classes open this year.

Land Use is a “checks and balances” office, according to Sibley, and he wants his zoning officers to be able to work independently. CAZEO certifications ensure a level of consistency among all ZEOs that allow each officer to make sound, educated decisions.

“Each agency in town should be able to provide some level of evidence that the people inhabiting those positions are qualified to carry out their tasks. I would hesitate to think that … if I send my child off to school that the teacher wasn’t somehow qualified … At the end of the day, a Land Use agent is supposed to be sworn to the integrity of the position, and that includes professional training,” Sibley said.

Velez told The Newtown Bee that he takes his job “very seriously,” and he hopes to continue to give “good quality service.” He added, “We’re here to work for the public, and we always want to strive to do the best we can.”

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Reporter Sam Cross can be reached at sam@thebee.com.