Zoning & Subdivision Regulation Changes

Frequently Asked Questions

by Alex Weinhagen, Director of Planning & Zoning

prepared April 29, 2005

On May 18, 2005 (7:30pm, Town Office), the Planning Commission will hold a public hearing to get community feedback on a series of proposed revisions to the Zoning and Subdivision regulations. Here are some mock questions and answers to explain…

What changes are proposed?

The proposed changes are generally minor technical changes to provide clarification and ensure our regulations are compatible with the Vermont laws that govern local planning and zoning. Revisions are proposed in a number of areas, including (but not limited to): accessory apartments, existing small lots (lots under the minimum lot size for a given zoning district), expanding possible locations for multi-family dwellings, subdivision submission requirements and filing deadlines, new boathouse definition, etc. We refer to some of the changes as “Chapter 117” changes and to the rest as “Housekeeping” changes. See below for an explanation and see the Planning/Zoning page of the Town web site (www.hinesburg.org) for additional details.

Are these the “substantive” changes to implement the new Town Plan?

No! This round of revisions is merely technical in nature. As many of you know, the new Town Plan has not yet been adopted by the Selectboard. Once it is adopted, the Planning Commission will get to work on more substantive changes to implement the Plan – e.g., area-based zoning, village growth center in-fill and expansion, natural resource overlay information, etc. The process for these more substantive changes will require quite a lot of community feedback and discussion later this year.

If these aren’t the “big” changes, why now? What’s the hurry?

The hurry has to do with a new Vermont law (Act 115) that passed the legislature and was signed by the Governor last year. Some of you may remember the hubbub over “permit reform” last year. Well, a permit reform package of legislation did become law last year, and it included a comprehensive re-write of the State statutes (Title 24, Chapter 117) that enable/govern local planning and zoning. For the most part the new State statute is better because it provides more flexibility to towns in the crafting of our regulations.

With that said, certain “critical” provisions of the new statute will go into effect on September 1, 2005. Because these are “critical” provisions, they will SUPERCEDE our local regulations as of September 1, if our regulations are incompatible or inconsistent with the new statute. The Planning Commission and I have been working hard over the last 4 months to craft revisions that will ensure our regulations meet the new State requirements. Our hope is that the Selectboard will adopt these revisions prior to September 1, so that the public will not be forced to refer to the State statutes for some zoning provisions and our local regulations for the rest. Once our regulations are revised, they will remain the main source for answers about planning/zoning in Hinesburg.

Planning and zoning is always an iterative progression of ideas, in which we continually fine tune our tool set to ensure a smooth and sensible process. That’s a fancy way of saying that we’re constantly tinkering to improve things. With that in mind, we always throw in some “Housekeeping” changes each time we make regulation revisions. So in addition to the Chapter 117 changes, there are also a host of technical clarifications and minor changes to help improve the process.

Still curious or puzzled?

Contact Alex Weinhagen in the Planning/Zoning office by phone at 482-3619 or via e-mail at hinesburgplanning@gmavt.net. And more importantly, PLEASE come to the public hearing to ask questions and express any concerns or ideas!