Chris Collings thinks the most valuable thing he has brought to the Planning Board for the last 2.5 years is a broad perspective, informed by his travels for work.

Collings designs roof monitoring systems that detect excess water or snow on roofs, and often travels to present his ideas at conferences in 25 states (when not faced with a pandemic).

Collings graduated from Ohio State University and Landing School, which familiarized him with the Midwest. In travelling, he has seen how lots of different groups handle similar issues and likes “to help balance some of the [Planning Board] issues with those perspectives.”

He doesn’t believe Marion is immune to the problems that other communities face, but what separates Marion from others is that a large part of the land use is restricted. That means that what is developable is more precious and this board has to decide what is most fitting and appropriate for the land.

He said that solar developments are easier to plan for than housing developments, because with the latter committee members “have to balance the desire to open the town with ability to support housing developments.”

He wants as many people as possible to participate in town committees, and calls his role on the Planning Board, his “modest effort to participate.”

For Collings, housing density is Marion’s biggest unresolved issue. The rules now call for at most 12 units per acres, which Collings calls “too dense and not reflective of the style and history of the town.”

He said density was changed several years ago to allow for the elder housing project on Route 6, but the rule change opened the door for other development proposals and more discussion on reducing the density.

He said he would make town better for seniors by helping them take advantage of the natural resources that the town has. Collings put that idea into work last year by volunteering with Marion Recreation to create a community sailing program.

The Planning Board incumbent has lived in Marion for 20 years, and currently has two college and postgraduate kids at home. As a hobby, he enjoys night sky photography.