HINESBURG DEVELOPMENT REVIEW BOARD

MINUTES OF JUNE 3, 2002

Approved 6/17/03

Members Present: Tom McGlenn, Howdy Russell, Robert Gauthier, Ted Bloomhardt, Greg Waples, Wayne Burgess, and Clint Emmons. Also Peter Erb, Zoning Administrator.

Members of the Audience: John Lyman, David Lyman, Barbara Forrest, Frank & Helen Kilkenny, Jody Ciano, Tim Brown, Jeff White, L.O.Mead, Raymond Cote, Al Barber (Fire Chief), and Melissa Levy (Conservation Commission).

1. MINUTES Howdy Russell made the motion to accept the minutes of May 20, 2003 as

corrected. This motion was seconded by Ted Bloomhardt and passed.

2. GRABOWSKI/LYMAN – SITE VISIT Prior to this meeting, the Board members had conducted a site visit to the David Lyman property to review a proposal by Brett Grabowski for a Planned Residential Development of 33 single-family units. The members and Brett then briefly discussed the following issues from that visit:

· The berm and plantings at the canal next to the cheese factory.

· Al Barber (Fire Chief) submitted a memo stating that they “will support reducing the side lot clearance required from ten feet to eight feet provided the exterior walls will be constructed to meet a two hour fire rating.”

· The orientation of the houses along the future West Road could change so that they do not face that right-of-way.

· The applicants are willing to work with the Select Board and contribute financially to construct Town sidewalks on Route 116.

· The Board will want to see elevations of the houses at the time of preliminary plat review.

· The noise level from the condensers at the factory does not seem to be a significant factor.

· There was more discussion on pedestrian access to this project and to the rest of the Village and Commercial areas.

Tom McGlenn made the motion to close the public discussion of this sketch plan request by Brett Grabowski and David Lyman and the Board take up this application in deliberative session in order to render a decision.

3. CARLSON – SKETCH PLAN Steve and Lisa Carlson were present with Larry Young, from Summit Engineering, for sketch plan review of a proposal to subdivide their property on the Upper Access Road. There currently is an existing house and a small camp on their 10+ acre parcel. The Carlsons propose to create two new lots with the camp located on lot #3. This subdivision is being presented as a Planned Residential Development (PRD) with a common area for the use of the three lots. The following issues were then presented and discussed:

· The road to these new lots is currently used by 8 camps and 2 year-round homes as their access. The roadway is within a 15’ wide right-of-way and due to the location of their existing house, the Carlson’s do not meet the required setback for that house.

· Proposed lot #2 has an existing easement for a “party parking lot” for the residents on this road and septic easements with installed systems for two of the year-round houses.

· The 3 lots will be from 1 – 1/12 acres in size and this property will need to be surveyed to determine if there is sufficient acreage to meet the density requirements. It was explained that the road rights-of-way couldn’t be calculated in that acreage.

· Larry Young explained that the camp does have a septic system but it would be upgraded when a system for lot #3 is constructed.

· The driveway to lot #3 will be a new one through lot #2 and be under an existing power line and therefore not necessitate extensive cutting. Larry explained that this road would not be located in such a manner that it would negatively affect the existing septic systems on lot #2.

· This common area is home to a lot of wild life and birds and is quite wet. The map also indicated there is an extensive deeryard on the northern portion of the Carlson property. This common land would be owned by the three landowners and not for general public use by townspeople.

· This private road has an existing Homeowners Agreement for maintenance and snowplowing, however, there is not an official Homeowners Association. Lisa has prepared language for this roadway that she submitted to the Board.

· In answer to a neighbors questions, it was explained that the Carlsons would be building and living in each of the new houses until they are sold.

The following issues of concern were then brought up by neighbors about this subdivision proposal:

• This is currently a very narrow and dangerous road. The existing turn-outs are not sufficient and drivers have to back out if traffic is met in many locations.
• There are areas on this road that are only 14’ wide and at the area of the new septic systems it is only about 10’wide.
• The method of sharing in the maintenance and snowplowing of this roadway has not worked in the past and at times the road is in very bad shape.
• The neighbors feel that it would be difficult for a fire truck or other emergency vehicles to use this road due to the narrowness and lack of good maintenance.
• The owners of the house next to the Carlson’s camp are very concerned about there being two roads quite close to each other in this small area.
• It was felt by adjacent landowners that the area designated as common land is very steep and wet and not usable. It was also stated that two new houses would adversely affect the wildlife in this area.
• There was also a concern about the affect these new lots would have on wells in this area.
• The Board had received a fax from an out-of-state landowner who was also concerned about many issues with the subdivision.

Tom McGlenn made the motion to continue this sketch plan discussion and that the Board make a site visit to the property of Steve and Lisa Carlson on June 17^th at 5:30 p.m. This motion was seconded by Howdy Russell and passed unanimously. The neighbors were invited to attend this site visit and the other adjacent landowners will also be notified.

4. LEWIS – CONDITIONAL USE Darcelene Lewis was next on the agenda to request a conditional use permit to replace a pre-existing non-conforming a house on her property on the north side of the Hollow Road. This appeal and house is governed by section 5.10 of the Bylaw as residential uses are not permitted in Industrial District I.

Darcelene explained the following aspects of her project:

· The existing house will be used as a garage and the water and sewer systems disconnected and no longer used as a residence. This structure will eventually be torn down.

· The new house will be located further back on the property.

· She is aware of the noise at the adjacent sawmill and industrial park and this is not a problem. Peter Erb suggested that if this request is granted, it be noted in any approval that this non-conforming use is next to an industrial park.

· They have received notification from the State Wastewater Department that they are not in violation with their existing septic system, but they do plan to install a new one.

· A new well had been drilled a couple of years ago.

Tom McGlenn made the motion to close the public hearing for this request for a conditional use permit by Darcelene Lewis to replace an pre-existing non-complying house with a new house at her property on the north side of the Hollow Road in order for the Board to take up this application in deliberative session in order to render a decision. This motion was seconded by Greg Waples and passed.

5. SAPUTO – SITE PLAN REVISIONS The next item on the agenda was a request by the Saputo Corporation for revisions to their site plan and they were represented by Mark Devarney, Bruce DeStafeno, Tom Herbick, and Jon Wilkinson. This request was for two additions to the plant consisting of installing 1) a second refrigeration condensing unit on the north side of their building and 2) a new ground mounted industrial air conditioning system.

The following issues were explained and discussed concerning these additions:

· The existing compressors are not adequate for the amount of milk they are processing.

· The new compressor on the north side of the facility will be the same as one installed in 2000. At that time, due to complaints from adjacent landowners, a noise abatement wall was installed which significantly helped with this noise issue. There will be a similar wall with this new compressor.

· David Lyman who owns land out on the Shelburne Falls Road stated that he can hear noises from the factory at his property. Bruce DeStafeno suggested that it may be noise from other equipment and not the compressor. He offered to have various equipment tested and noise measured.

· Jon Wilkinson explained that noise levels do not double as a new piece of equipment is added. At this time, the one compressor is working at almost full capacity to get the necessary cooling and that will not be necessary once the second one is added.

· There could be an electrical safety issue if walls were added on three sides of this compressor and therefore they have not planned on installing an abatement wall on the west side.

· Rocky Martin, the Town’s Public Works Director, had concerns about the installation of this new compressor and the location of the Town’s septic line. Tom Herbick stated that if any damage is done to the Town’s line, the factory would repair it.

· The compressors on the south side will be replacing older ones on the roof. Noise will not be an issue with these new units.

· It was also brought up that one of the silos needs to be re-painted and there is a bright spotlight at Route 116 that was not permitted by the Town.

Tom McGlenn made the motion that the Board close the public discussion of the request for revisions to an approved site plan by Saputo and the Board take up this application in deliberative session in order to render a decision. This motion was seconded by Greg Waples and passed.

6. BALDWIN – SKETCH PLAN Brian Gevrey was present with Fred and Andrea Baldwin Haulenbeek to request sketch plan approval to create one residential lot at the Baldwin Farm property on the Baldwin Road. Brian and Fred explained the following aspects of this proposal:

· This proposed 8.25 acre lot will only be about 1% of the 800+ acre Baldwin Farm property and will be on the east side of the road.

· This lot is basically non-productive land not used as part of the farm.

· The house location will be on an easterly sloping area and not visible from the Town road.

· By using Peter Erb’s inclinometer, they have found a better location for the driveway that will not be as steep and in the woods and therefore less visible. The driveway will use an existing farm road-cut and follow an existing farm road part of the way.

· Improving this road and installing this driveway will improve and control the run-off from this higher land to the farm field to the east.

· They have an engineer designing the septic system after finding suitable soils. He will also located a replacement septic area for the tenant house on this lot.

· Power will come from a pole near an existing barn at the Town road and be underground.

· Although they have not located specific lots for future houses, Fred explained that this road could be used to access other lots in this area. It is their plan to not subdivide this property but to provide building lots for family members.

· They will provide well logs for this area of town at the final plat hearing.

· The Board members felt that this would be a minor subdivision with only one more step and that they did not need to have a site visit.

Tom McGlenn made the motion that the Board close the public discussion of this request for sketch plan approval by the Baldwin Family and the Board take up this application in deliberative session in order to render a decision. This motion was seconded by Clint Emmons and passed.

7. ACTION ITEMS The Board members then acted on the following items of business:

• Picard Greg Waples made the motion to grant a conditional use permit with conditions to Eric and Sally Picard for an apartment in an outbuilding at their property on the east side of the North Road. This motion was seconded by Howdy Russell and passed unanimously.
• Mead Car Wash Ted Bloomhardt made the motion to revise the approval for the Mead Brothers Inc. car wash in the Village to have the approval be for a 2-bay structure, the roof will be shingles and not metal and the wording of Site Plan condition “c” be revised to read as follows: “The applicant shall reserve space for a path as shown on the plans and shall allow the Town to construct and maintain the path per agreement reached between the Town and Mead Brothers, Inc.” This motion was seconded by Howdy Russell and passed with Wayne Burgess abstaining from the vote.
• Ward The Board had received a letter from Theora Ward requesting that the Board review her subdivision proposal for one new lot at her property on the south side of the Sherman Hollow Road as a 2-step process. However, the staff will caution her that if all the necessary information has not been submitted for review, this pubic hearing could be continued to a second meeting.
• Barone The Board had also received a note from Russ Barone concerning the paving at his 6-lot subdivision on the Mechanicsville Road and Peter Erb explained that he would not issue a Certificate of Occupancy for the house on lot #2 until the initial coat of paving has been completed.
• Grabowski/Lyman The Board then took an informal, non-binding vote on granting sketch plan approval to the Grabowski/Lyman subdivision proposal and this was unanimously approved. The members made a list of the items that should be addressed by the staff in drafting conditions of approval for this sketch plan.
• Emmons Clint Emmons left the meeting at this point and Wayne Burgess made the motion to grant sketch plan approval with conditions for one new lot at his property on the south side of the C.V.U. Road. This motion was seconded by Tom McGlenn and passed unanimously.

The meeting was adjourned at 11:00 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Holly Russell

Recording Secretary