HINESBURG PLANNING COMMISSION

Minutes of August 16, 2000

APPROVED

Present: Roger Kohn, John Mace, Jean Isham, George Bedard, Missy Ross and Fred Haulenbeek. Also Faith Ingulsrud, Town Planner.

Members Absent: Ted Bloomhardt, Carrie Fenn.

Members of the Audience: Bob and Pat Peek, Wayne and Barbara Bissonette, Ken Martin

1. Bissonette Subdivision - Final Plat Review. George Bedard recused himself from discussions. Jean Isham, who chaired tonight’s meeting, re-opened the public hearing which was continued from the August 2, 2000 Planning Commission Meeting. Mr. Bissonette presented a map of the development which indicated the building envelope sites and septic locations. He explained that a neighbor is planning on purchasing Lot 1 as an approved lot. Roger Kohn thought the deed language was fine, George added that the deed language will be revised to refer to the septic areas on the map. John Mace asked about the brick house across the street in relation to Lot 3. The brick house will have an easement for a septic area on Lot #3.

Faith clarified that the driveways shown on the plan to each individual house envelope may be changed in relation to the final house and garage location. The location of the access road will not change. The Planning Commission decided that there was no need to show the exact driveway locations. Approval is not conditioned upon the location of driveways. Members suggested that the Peeks may want to access Lot #2 from the cul-de-sac. Faith said if they do they need to ensure that the portion of the driveway in the cul-de-sac is wide enough for an emergency vehicle turn-around, as shown on the site plan. Roger asked Mr. Bissonette if he had decided about the arrangement for driveway/road maintenance. The Peeks said they would prefer proportional sharing rather than sharing equally. The proposed language indicated that the cost of sharing would be proportional to the length of the driveway used.

Mr. Bissonette explained that drainage on the access road will slope off either side, so that water won’t drain into Gilman Road. John Mace noted that Lot 5 has a culvert on the driveway along Gilman Road.

Jean Isham then made the following motion which is attached to these minutes. John Mace seconded. Mr. Bissonette asked why he couldn’t sell a lot prior to approval from the State Division of Wastewater Management. Roger explained that a lot cannot be legally sold without a permit. With no further questions or concerns, the motion was unanimously approved, with George Bedard recusing himself from the vote.

2. Ken Martin - Site Plan Review for Restaurant at Firehouse Plaza. Ken Martin is proposing to open a 50 seat restaurant in the space previously used by Chow Mein on Main. Faith distributed copies of the approval by the Zoning Board which Mr. Martin received the prior evening. Mr. Martin explained his restaurant would be serving lunch and dinner, and possibly brunches on weekends as things progress. The Zoning Board approved hours of 6:00 am to 10 pm, although Mr. Martin will not be open all those hours immediately. There will be no bar, but drinks will be available. The restaurant will serve Tex-Mex food, possibly take out as well. The kitchen used by Chow Mein on Main will be made smaller, which will allow for more seating capacity in the dining area. There will be a 6 seat bar area for patrons to use as they wait for tables.

Fred Haulenbeek asked about disposal of food waste. Mr. Martin explained that the Estey’s take care of trash, but that he might need another dumpster. Missy Ross asked if he planned to add a window to get more natural lighting in the dining area. Mr. Martin said no, but he had plans of painting the walls with desert scenes to make it look like you are looking out on to a southwestern locale.

Faith asked about parking availability during the hours when the restaurant would be open. Mr. Martin does not think the parking lot would be totally filled. There may be an occasion when he would have 20 cars. Major use will be in the evening and there might be delivery as well, which would decrease the parking lot usage. John said he had counted 54 parking lot spaces, just in the front area where the parking spaces are striped. Roger commented that it is a nice use of the space and he didn’t see any parking issues.

Jean Isham then made the following motion:

The Hinesburg Planning Commission hereby grants site plan approval to Kenneth E. Martin and E.W. Enterprises for approval to increase the number of seats at the restaurant in Firehouse Plaza from 20 seats previously approved to 50 seats. No changes in the site plan are proposed. This approval is subject to the following conditions:

1. If experience indicates inadequate parking or unsafe traffic flow, the applicant shall immediately present proposed modifications of the site plan to the Hinesburg Planning Commission, and obtain approval of it.

2. All conditions of the August 15, 2000 Zoning Board approval are hereby incorporated.

Missy Ross seconded, and the motion was unanimously approved.

3. Miscellaneous Issues:

Hinesburg Elementary School. Faith described an issue regarding landscaping around the parking lot. Two planters at the entrance on Silver Street were approved for holding four oak trees. She read a letter from the project inspector for the Hinesburg Elementary School construction project, requesting to change the plantings to shrubs rather than oak trees. The school administration feels the oaks will outgrow the planters and leaves would fall on the parking lot increasing the cost of maintenance. They also feel that evergreen shrubs would soften the appearance of the planters and would be colorful year round. Faith reported that she discussed this request with Andrea Morgante and Rolf Kielman who had designed the landscaping. They both recommend that the trees be planted as approved, but Andrea noted that the wooden planters would be bad for the tree roots. Faith said the Planning Commission often requires shade trees in parking lots to provide shade and to visually soften the expanse of pavement.

Members discussed the request to change trees to shrubs and generally agreed that the site plan should not be changed. Roger suggested that if a change in the site plan is necessary, representatives of the Hinesburg Elementary School come to a Planning Commission meeting to present their proposal and Andrea and Rolf be given an opportunity to respond. Faith will communicate this to them.

Daggett Subdivision. First, Faith relayed the concerns of Al Barber of the Fire Department about the steepness of the slope of the road. Mr. Barber felt that a portion of the new section of road was steeper than 15% and that fire truck would not be able to serve it. George Bedard said he would take a walk up the road with his measuring device to determine the angle of the slope. Secondly, one of the homeowners wants to add an accessory apartment to his house for his mother. He is expanding the design of the leach field so the septic system will accommodate a future increases in usage. The Planning Commission agreed to consider this a subdivision “revision” and will approve the change in the septic plans when a permit is issued from the State Wastewater Management Division.

Enman Snowmaking. Faith informed the Commission that the Sleepy Hollow Ski and Bike Center is proposing a snow making system which will be located on ski trails in Hinesburg. The Zoning Board will have conditional use review on the snow making proposal. Faith asked if this proposal warranted a site plan review. George felt the real issue is the noise form snow making and the water source. Additional night lighting for the snow-making equipment was also mentioned. It was decided the Enmans should come to the Planning Commission, and not have a joint meeting with the Zoning Board.

4. Plan Schedule. Faith asked the Planning Commission what they wanted to work on in 2001/2002. Planning grant applications for next year are due in September. She suggested working on the Town Plan next year. It will take a year to go through the process if the Town wants a thorough public participation process. There was a discussion on the “Mud Season Forums” and Roger expressed his thoughts that the public input from the Mud Season Forums really had no impact on the Town. He would rather work on zoning changes and bylaw changes. Faith thought that zoning and bylaw changes could be accomplished in six months if the work sessions were devoted to it. The problem is that applicants always get scheduled into work session meetings. Faith also felt that the Town Plan needs periodic updating, for the sake of review and to get public input. The pros and cons of public input were discussed. George asked Faith to compile a list of Town Plan recommendations that have not been implemented.

Jean was in favor of starting work on the Town Plan. Roger and George were opposed. Missy suggested spending five or six months working on zoning changes and then scheduling Town Plan work. Missy asked Faith what she thought were significant changes needed in the Town Plan. Faith asked everyone to look at the recommendations at the end of the Town Plan. John liked the idea of an up-to-date Town Plan, the town is a different place than it was 10 years ago. Fred felt that people are most interested in “change”. He suggested reaching agreement on ridgeline and area based density. That would get public interest and would be a good focus for public forums. The difficulties of having a dedicated work session meeting with all members present and no applicants was also discussed.

Faith said that the Planning Commission could commit to spending the next year working on changes to zoning and subdivision regulations, and could seek a Planning Grant to assist with that process. Jean suggested looking at access grades to help with ridgeline issues. It was decided that Faith will apply for a grant to spend on zoning issues, perhaps hire someone to help with PR and public input.

5. Minutes of June 14, July 11 and August 2.

The minutes of June 14, 2000 were reviewed and revised. Jean Isham moved to accept the minutes of June 14 as revised. John Mace seconded and it was unanimously approved. The minutes of July 11, 2000 were reviewed and revised. George Bedard moved to accept the minutes of July 11 as revised. Fred Haulenbeek seconded and it was unanimously approved. The minutes of August 2, 2000 were reviewed and revised. George Bedard moved to accept the minutes of August 2 as revised. Fred Haulenbeek seconded and it was unanimously approved.

6. Study of Route 116 in Village. Faith distributed recommendations made by a consultant for various intersections in the village for the Hinesburg Village Route 116 Corridor Study. She asked for general opinions that she could pass on to the consultant to incorporate into the study report. George liked the option of a mix of parallel and perpendicular parking on the south end of the village but other members were not so convinced perpendicular parking was preferable. Roger felt a round about was not needed at Commerce Street. Roger, John and Fred agreed that a light at Charlotte Road would be helpful.

The meeting adjourned at 10:30

Respectfully submitted,

Sally Kimball, Recording Secretary

HINESBURG PLANNING COMMISSION

Subdivision Approval

Wayne and Barbara Bissonette

The Hinesburg Planning Commission hereby grants final plat approval to Wayne and Barbara Bissonette for a 5 lot single family residential subdivision from a 15.22 acre parcel on the west side of Gilman Road. The subdivision shall be as shown on a plat titled “Property Survey for Wayne R. and Barbara B. Bissonette” and dated June 28, 2000 and as shown on a site plan with the same title and date, last revised 8-4-00, and shall be subject to the following conditions:

1. Utility lines shall be placed underground as required in Section 7.9.1 of the Subdivision Regulations.

2. No lots shall be sold or a zoning permit issued for building construction until a Subdivision Permit from the State Division of Wastewater Management is obtained for the five lots.

3. All exterior lighting with bulbs over 100 watts shall be installed or shielded in such a manner as to conceal light sources and reflector/refractor areas from view from points beyond the lot.

4. Any principal structure and any garage on each lot shall be located in the building envelope shown on the plat.

5. A roadway serving more than one house is proposed. The road shall be built in accordance with the Hinesburg Town road standards for a "lane", except that blacktop is not required. The road shall be built, maintained, and plowed with a traveled surface at least 18 ft. wide, and the road shall have at least 12 inches of gravel. All stumps shall be removed rather than buried.

6. Before obtaining a Certificate of Occupancy for the first dwelling, the owner of the land shall require that the contractor constructing the road submit a letter to the Zoning Administrator stating that the road has been built in accordance with this approval and the standards specified in this condition.

7. The proposed deed language for the shared septic systems, septic line easements, and shared roadway approved by the Planning Commission shall be incorporated to all deeds. A copy of the actual deed for each shall be submitted to the Zoning Administrator before a Zoning Permit is issued for construction on that lot to ensure compliance with the approved language.

8. "Substantial Construction" for this subdivision shall consist of construction of the shared road. If substantial construction has not begun within 3 years from the date of this approval, final plat approval shall expire.

9. The mylar of the subdivision plat and a copy of the conditions of approval shall be recorded in the Hinesburg Land Records within 90 days of this approval. Before the mylar is submitted it shall be revised to include changes to plat and site plan correcting label on northerly shared septic field indicating its use for Lot #1.

10. No further subdivision of this property shall occur without review and approval of the Hinesburg Planning Commission.

The above motion was passed by the Hinesburg Planning Commission on August 16, 2000.

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