HINESBURG
PLANNING COMMISSION
Minutes
of December 12, 2001
APPROVED
Present: Ted Bloomhardt, Roger Kohn, John
Mace, Jean Isham, George Bedard, Carrie Fenn, Fred Haulenbeek, George Munson,
and Will Patten. Also Faith Ingulsrud,
Town Planner
Members Absent: none
Members
of the Audience: Lynn and Marie
Gardner, Al Barber, Michael Boutin, John Adsit
1.
Boutin Subdivision - Preliminary Plat
Review. Jean Isham opened the
meeting at 7:30 with the preliminary plat review of the proposed 8-lot subdivision of the Boutin Estate
parcel off of Shelburne Falls Road.
Michael Boutin described the status of the project. Some lot lines had to be modified to
accommodate the completed wetland delineations. He traced out each lot on the map for everyone’s benefit. The road and cul de sac had been extended to
reach the house site on Lot A.
Additional adjustments were made to the road and the house site to avoid
impacting the wetland and wetland buffers.
A fire pond was added to Lot C.
Building envelopes are now defined.
He would like to move the house site on Lot C from an open field, to an
area behind some woodland. He received
Selectboard approval for a new road cut for Lot H because the existing driveway
to the mobile home on Lot H would need to cross wetlands to reach the new house
site. He said that the mobile home will
be removed.
There
was a discussion on the proposed pedestrian trail shown skirting the perimeter
of the subdivision. The trail does not
connect to any other trails at this point, and would only be used by the
homeowners. Roger wanted the location
of the trail to either be staked out or described. Mr. Boutin preferred to have the homeowners determine the exact
location. Roger suggested Mr. Boutin
have the surveyor lay out an appropriate trail location while he is surveying
the parcel. It shouldn’t be left up to
the homeowners.
Roger
would like to have the homeowners association incorporated. The proposed roadway width of 24 ft with 2
ft shoulders was questioned by George Bedard who advised not building a road
that wide if you don’t need to. Mr.
Boutin said he used state standards in case the town took over the road in the
future. The Planning Commission
recommended going with a 18 ft width instead.
Fire Chief Al Barber, speaking from the audience, commented that the
project just needs the one large fire pond with a small turn out on Lot C. Mr. Boutin did not foresee recreational uses
for this pond. Faith suggested that an
easement be created around the fire pond that the uses for the fire pond and
its maintenance be defined in the covenants for the homeowners association.
Utilities
will be underground. The design needs
to be done by Green Mountain Power before the final plat review and it needs to
be shown on the plan. Mr. Boutin
thought all the utilities will be kept in the 60 ft ROW. Faith cautioned that in order to get
compliance on the shared portion of utilities, the power and road construction
should be done before the issuance of zoning permits for the individual
lots. George Bedard strongly disagreed
with Faith. Mr. Boutin said his
intention was to construct the road, power and fire pond before selling the
lots. Roger confirmed the surveyor will
show the boudaries of the building envelopes on the plan.
Carrie
Fenn asked about the septic systems.
Mr. Boutin said the systems will be identified with markers and will also
be surveyed and shown on the mylar.
Faith said she reviewed the test pits and that at least on paper they
appeared to comply with state standards.
George Bedard reviewed them as well and noted that they appeared to
reflect what the Planning Commission saw on the site visit. The Planning Commission voiced its concern
with compliance of the septic system locations, as well as the installation and
the entire credibility issue they have with the septic engineer working on this
project. Faith said there will be a
standard condition requiring the systems to be inspected by the engineer after
installation, and suggested that Mr. Boutin hire a different engineer to
conduct the inspections. Will Patten
suggested that prior to issuance of a zoning permit, the zoning administrator
verify that the areas staked on the ground are in the locations identified in
the plan.
With
no further discussion, Jean Isham made the following motion:
The
Hinesburg Planning Commission hereby grants preliminary plat approval to the
Estate of Albert L. Boutin for an 8-lot single family residential subdivision
on a 133 acre parcel located off of Shelburne Falls Road. The subdivision shall be as proposed and as
shown on a plans by J.H. Stuart Associates titled “Estate of Albert L. and
Georgette Boutin, Phase II” map #1 dated 10/01 and drawings #2-8 dated 8/01 and
shall be subject to the following conditions:
1.
The applicant
shall provide all the documentation required for Final Plat review as stated in
Section 5.2 of the Subdivision Regulations.
In addition, the applicant shall provide the following documents:
1.
A letter or
other evidence from a certified engineer certifying that the design of the
sewage disposal and water supply systems for all the lots in this subdivision
meet the standards of the State Environmental Protection Rules.
2.
The final plat
shall include a provision that prior to the installation of any septic system
the area shall be marked and inspected by the Hinesburg Zoning Administrator or
his designee. Prior to the issuance of
a Certificate of Occupancy a letter shall be provided by a registered
professional engineer stating that the septic system was installed in
accordance with the approved plans.
2.
The subdivision
plans shall be revised as follows:
1.
Combine the
parallel portions of the driveways on Lots D and E, and F and G, and show a 50' right-of-way for the shared
portions of those driveways.
2.
Details of the
proposed fire pond shall be provided ensuring that the size is sufficient for a
minimum volume of 50,000 gallons of water.
A dry hydrant, and fire department vehicle access to the pond shall be
included in the design.
3.
Locations of
utility lines and transformers shall be shown on the site plan after
consultation with the power company.
The utility lines will be required to be underground and placed in the locations shown on the plan
unless approval is granted by the Planning Commission for the locations to
change.
4.
Road width may
be reduced to 18' wide, however 2' wide shoulders on either side should be
maintained.
5.
Road names
shall be proposed and approved by the Selectboard.
6.
The building
envelopes shall be shown on the plat and shall be tied to established points on
the ground so they can be easily located.
3.
Draft deed
language prepared by an attorney shall be provided that addresses the following
issues:
1.
Sharing of
costs for road maintenance and snow-plowing, including for the shared
driveways, and maintenance of the fire
pond and dry hydrant.
2.
The trail easement
addressing how the location of the actual trail will be established and the
rights and responsibilities of the landowners.
3.
Maintenance of
the agricultural land.
4.
Building
envelope language.
4.
The Planning
Commission presently is considering that a condition will be imposed, and will
be revisited at the time of final plat review: “The applicant will be required
to construct and complete the road, fire pond and utilities before any building
permits may be issued for construction on the lots. The applicant may present a phasing plan at final plat review to
construct the improvements in phases.”
5.
The Planning
Commission understands that the applicant may propose a new location for the
building envelope on Lot C at the time of the final plat review, and the applicant
may propose changes to other building envelopes at that time if he so desires.
Will Patten seconded
the motion. It was noted that the
Phasing Policy of no more than 4 units per year per subdivision needs to be
re-evaluated and possibly changed by the Planning Commission before final plat
review. The motion was unanimously
approved by all those present.
2. Gardner/Adsit Site Plan Review.
(Roger recused himself from the discussion.) Faith noted that this is a continuation of the site plan review
from the December 5th meeting.
Lynn and Marie Gardner returned with a more detailed site plan showing
delineation of parking spaces and more details of landscaping. The required setback from an industrial
district boundary was not clear in regards to the Route 116 setback for this
property since the state has a much wider right-of-way along the property frontage. Faith discussed it with the zoning
administrator and decided the setback should be measured from the center of the
road since the district boundary runs along the centerline of the
highwayway. George Bedard thought it
should be interpreted as 33 feet from the center, the standard state
right-of-way plus a 50 ft setback, making it 83 ft. Marie Gardner said they have used the State definition of 70 ft
from the center of the road. John Mace
said the purpose of the 50' setback is to provide a buffer that would screen
one use from the other. Lynn Gardner
said the berm along Route 116 is 10 ft tall, and no one will see over it.
There was discussion
about the legal advice Faith recieved from the League of Cities and Towns about
whether this project constitutes a subdivision. It was agreed that the Planning Commission would accept the
position that no subdivision is required and review the project as a site plan
only. John confirmed that the Gardner’s
own all the land. With no further
discussion, Jean Isham made the following motion:
The Hinesburg
Planning Commission hereby grants site plan approval to Lynn and Marie Gardner
for use of a portion of the 8.7 acre Clifford Lumber Property for a business
selling horse and construction trailers.
The site plan shall be as described in a 11/15/01 letter by the Gardners
and on a site plan titled “Over-all Site Plan Showing Proposed Utility Trailer
Sales Area” and dated 12/09/01, except as set forth herein. 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.
No exterior
lighting has been proposed and no lighting is approved at this time. Planning Commission approval is required
before any exterior lighting fixtures may be installed. Fully shielded fixtures
will be required for all exterior lighting.
3.
The proposed
trees along Route 116 shall be shade trees, well-suited to the site, and shall
have trunks a minimum 2-21/2" caliper in size at “d.b.h.” so that they
will be visible when first planted.
Trees shall be planted by June 30, 2002.
4.
All
landscaping, including the landscaping in front of the office, shall be
properly maintained and any plants or trees that die shall be promptly
replaced.
5.
We understand
there are different interpretations of the setback requirement described in the
Zoning Bylaws. The Planning Commission
feels the berm with existing trees between the highway and the property
provides adequate screening to satisfy the intent of the buffer zone.
6.
The applicant
shall obtain a zoning permit from the zoning administrator prior to using the
site for the trailer business.
7.
No subdivision
under the Hinesburg Subdivision Regulations is required for rental of this
portion of the property for the trailer sales business, as long as the owners
of the land maintain full control and responsibility for the property.
Carrie Fenn seconded the motion. It was approved by all present, except for
Roger Kohn who recused himself the vote.
Ted Bloomhardt arrived after the vote. Roger said there isn’t a legal distinction
between “renting” and “leasing.”
3.
Work Session on Road Standards.
Faith gave a brief
overview of the draft road standards.
The Commission began at the beginning and worked through the first
several pages of the document. George
Bedard felt a definition section was needed in the policy. Roger thought private roads would be
impacted the most by the road policy, and if it didn’t have it’s own section it
would get lost in the wording. He
suggested Faith restructure the document.
It was noted that the DRB would have authority for private roads, while
the Selectboard would have authority for public roads. Will Patten thought the real concern was how
road standards would impact growth.
Fred asked what the criteria were for public vs. private roads. Public roads achieve a public benefit or
serve the public good. Roads in the
village district are to be public.
Interconnecting roads vs. cul de sac roads is also a possible
criteria. Al Barber, speaking from the
audience, noted that from a town cost perspective, dead-end roads are more
expensive to maintain than public roads.
He suggested that public roads be defined as through roads. Roger wondered if a dead-end road in the
village district should be public.
Roger added that paved roads vs. gravel roads could also be a
criteria. Would this mean the town does
not want gravel roads in the village district? Faith suggested considering adopting an official map of future
roads, such as South Burlington has done.
It was noted that it may be impossible to
accept some existing private roads as public because they have not been built
to town standards and will be difficult to upgrade them. Ted added that residents of gravel/dirt
private roads often do not want their roads to become public. George Bedard moved to table this discussion
until the next work session. It was
agreed that Faith would not rewrite the draft until the Planning Commission
goes through the entire document. Faith
asked everyone to think about how the new Planning Commission could restructure
it’s operating style to better work through tough issues like the road
policy. She suggested possibly working
in sub-groups on some projects.
4.
Minutes of November 28 and Scheduling. Will Patten moved to adopt
the minutes of November 28th.
George Munson seconded, at it was unanimously approved.
Faith noted that a site visit for the Clinton
Emmons parcel is scheduled for Saturday, December 15th at 8:00
a.m. There is also a work session
meeting scheduled for Wednesday, December 19th.
The meeting adjourned at 10:30 pm.
Respectfully submitted,
Sally Kimball, Recording Secretary