The problem with a lot of small to medium sized towns is that the people in charge of making zoning decisions are just local good ol' boys (or girls) who got voted in office because people knew who they were. They are in no way qualified to make these kinds of decisions.
Having politicians appoint people they know is not going to be demonstrably better than having those same politicians ask people they know to run for that office instead.
There are ways of shielding those decisions from politics. Relying on appointed people is one such way. No shielding is perfect – but it’s better than nothing.
And so you get what you get.