TOWN OF HINESBURG
PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES
Approved August 20, 2003
Commission Members Present: Fred Haulenbeek (Chair), George Bedard, Nancy Norris, Joe Iadanza, John Buckingham, Carrie Fenn, Deb Howard.
Commission Members Absent: Jean Isham, John Mace.
Also Present: Alex Weinhagen (Town Planner), Melissa Levy (Conservation Commission).
Minutes of the July 16, 2003 Meetings:
John Buckingham MOVED to approve the minutes of the July 16 meeting. Carrie SECONDED the motion. The motion PASSED 7-0.
Announcements and Citizens
to be Heard:
Alex announced the upcoming 2003 Town Fair & Field Day to be held in Barre on October 1 & 2 by the Vermont League of Cities and Towns.
Joe handed out the 2nd draft of his work on the rural area landuse goals and objectives for the Town Plan. This topic will be revisited at the next meeting.
Town Plan Revision – General Natural Resources, Goals & Objectives:
Carrie and Deb began the discussion by passing out an outline of goals and recommendations for a variety of natural resource issues. The outline indicated which recommendations were taken from the existing Town Plan. The Commission discussed the outline and asked Carrie and Deb for clarification in certain areas. What follows is a partial list of discussion items and other recommendations.
Groundwater:
· Recommendation 1 (groundwater conservation overlay district) – Carrie and Deb explained the aquifer concept and how this groundwater is recharged by surface water infiltration in upslope areas. Carrie explained the need to protect the aquifer and well-protection areas as well as the recharge areas. Alex said this item was timely, in that the State Agency of Natural Resources is currently developing model groundwater protection ordinances. Low-yield areas were also discussed. Deb felt the Town should investigate possible water service to low-yield areas. John Buckingham said this has been attempted in the past, but residents are hesitant due cost issues.
· Recommendation 2&3 (stormwater runoff) – George felt new developments will have to address stormwater runoff because of State permitting requirements. George felt the emphasis should be on making Town roads conform to the same standards to which private development is held. Carrie explained her concern is about the sediment and pollutants carried by the stormwater runoff. She is concerned that stream water quality suffers and that the Town loses money when gravel placed on the dirt roads is allowed to runoff along lengthy ditches with very little if any treatment or slowing prior to entering streams and rivers. She said we need to slow the water down and provide more treatment prior to discharge into a waterway. This would improve water quality and save the Town money on gravel.
· Recommendation 4 (septic monitoring) – Deb explained her thoughts on this based on monitoring that was beginning to happen in other states. George, John Buckingham, and Joe all felt that a monitoring program was not practical. Deb agreed that it would be difficult to implement.
Surface Water:
· Recommendation 8 (water quality monitoring) – Nancy said the Town currently takes daily samples of water quality at the Lake Iroquois swimming area. Joe suggested that testing in Sunset Lake could be a good indicator of septic system pollution since many septic tanks in this area are buried at about the same depth as the lake’s surface. Fred and Joe suggested that coordinated testing in different lake locations would help pinpoint sources of pollution. Nancy questioned how this monitoring would be accomplished, and what would be done with the data. Carrie and Fred suggested a volunteer effort (similar to sampling by other watershed groups) coordinated with interested groups (Lewis Creek Assoc., LaPlatte group, etc.), and to insure adequate reporting to the Town so appropriate action can be taken.
· Recommendation 10 (wetlands overlay district) – George and Fred said that an overlay district is not needed given the existing Town regulation language, and the State wetland permitting process.
· Alex suggested adding language that recognized the value of wetlands in treating water pollution and sediments. He said the Plan should encourage the use of wetlands to treat runoff and improve water quality.
· Recommendation 14 (overlay district) – George suggested changing the language to “suggest” or “investigate” the creation of this overlay district. Alex agreed that mandatory language in the Plan shouldn’t be used for items that may not be implemented as described.
· Recommendation 15 (town forest) – The Commission discussed the pros and cons of restricting certain kinds of forest management. George recommended that the Town Forest should have a management plan, and that should be sufficient. The Commission agreed to do more research into any existing forest management plans for the Town Forest. Alex will talk to Steve Russell about this.
· Recommendation 17 (recreational uses in town forest) – Nancy felt the proposed language could be used to force too many uses off of the Town Forest. Deb agreed that the language needed improvement, and asked for suggestions. She said her main concern was adverse impact to the trails during certain times of the year (e.g., spring thaw). Alex and Joe suggested language that encouraged the Selectboard to investigate recreational use impacts and address adverse impacts.
· Deb described and explained what a vernal pool is and why it is especially important to forest amphibians. Fred said this issue is a tough one due to the ephemeral nature of the ponds (spring only), the difficulty in identifying them, and the large preservation areas required. Joe said this issue is probably best addressed via education rather than specific regulations. Joe suggested that a pamphlet could be developed to educate people on this issue as well as wetlands, water quality, etc. Melissa said that Conservation Commission members had written articles that appeared in the Record on vernal ponds in the spring of this year.
· Deb and Carrie explained what an open space inventory and plan could be and that it is flexible depending on how the Town wants to define open space. They shared examples from other towns.
· George expressed concerns about future regulatory implications once an open space plan is adopted.
· Fred expressed concerns about the need for such a plan when we currently have much of this information already in various forms.
· Alex said that the open space inventory would be valuable beyond development review in that it could be used by the Commission for broader scale planning efforts and decisions.
· Deb suggested further discussion on this at a future meeting when David Spitz is present.
Town Plan Revision – Soil Natural Resources, Goals & Objectives:
George felt most of the important soil issues are covered elsewhere in the Plan, and that no separate section is needed. Furthermore, he said that soil protection is adequately handled in the current regulatory process, and needs no further discussion in the Plan. Other Commissioners also wondered why this was broken out as a separate section for discussion.
Other Business:
Alex asked Commissioners what they thought about extending work on the Town Plan into 2004 versus working harder this fall to keep to the original goal of completion by the end of 2003. Nancy said she preferred to take the extra time to make sure it is done right. There was similar consensus among the rest of the Commission.
The Commission also briefly discussed the Zoning and Subdivision housekeeping changes schedule. Alex said comments on draft 2 are due today. Joe and Deb expressed concern that additional issues raised by Peter Erb (Zoning Administrator) would require additional discussion by the Commission. Alex advised everyone to send him an e-mail on all the draft 2 comments (Carrie and Peter to date), so he can develop the final draft and warn the public hearing for September 3rd. Alex told the Commissioners that they could recommend holding off on some suggestions if they felt they were too large or controversial for these housekeeping changes.
The meeting adjourned at approximately 10:00pm.
Respectfully Submitted,
______________________________ ___________
Alex Weinhagen, Town Planner Date