TOWN OF HINESBURG
PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES
Approved October 15, 2003
Commission Members Present: Jean Isham (Chair, arrived at 8:00), Nancy Norris, Joe Iadanza, John Buckingham, Carrie Fenn, John Mace, George Bedard, Deb Howard.
Commission Members Absent: Fred Haulenbeek.
Also Present: Alex Weinhagen (Town Planner), Andrea Morgante, Jeanne Wilson, George & Karla Munson.
Minutes of the September 3, 2003 Meeting:
Deb MOVED to approve the minutes of the September 17, 2003 meeting. Nancy SECONDED the motion. The motion PASSED 7-0.
Announcements and Citizens
to be Heard:
Andrea announced a joint meeting of the Chittenden and Addison County Regional Planning Commissions on October 8 at the Monkton fire station.
Carrie reminded Commissioners about the open space workshop in Middlebury on October 2.
Town Plan Revision –
Transportation ~ Goals & Objectives:
Continued from September 17, 2003 meeting
Joe continued the presentation of the transportation outline that he and Deb developed. Joe and Deb divided transportation issues into functional categories. The outline then discussed problem areas, and finally goals and recommendations for each category. Joe continued down the outline from the “Rural Town Roads” recommendation #2.
On the paving issue, Rural Town Roads rec. #1, Deb said that the Town needs more research, community outreach, and transparency in the decision making process. Jean said input at the Town Plan community forums was clearly against paving existing gravel roads. Nancy said that input at the forums is not representative of the views of all townspeople. George Bedard suggested a recommendation that the Selectboard hold public meetings prior to budgeting money for significant changes to class 3 roads (e.g., paving). George Munson said the Town Plan doesn’t have to have specific solutions to various problems, but it should describe a path to get to a solution. Jean suggested a goal to formalize the decision making process for road improvements. Andrea suggested adding more background and history to introduce this section, in order to frame the importance of roads and the road network.
Rural Town Roads rec. #4 – balancing road standards with rural character. Alex suggested a process by which certain roads receive special status to help prevent other roads from getting waivers. George Bedard said that standards should be uniform for all roads. Andrea & Deb said we should have a finer classification of roads to further differentiate class 3 roads. Jeanne said the Town is not bound to the state classification system (class 1,2,3,4).
Rural Town Roads rec. #2 – integrate road improvement plans with build-out analysis. George Bedard said the Town should take over roads that serve a through function and are built to Town standards. Alex suggested that we say this in plain words, and maybe specify a certain focus area (e.g., growth center). Andrea and George Munson questioned whether the Town would gain anything from this. Carrie & George Bedard said we need a town road plan, and a process to make one.
Arterial Highways & Village. Carrie suggested dropping the speed limit to 30mph along Rt. 116, through the Village, to make traffic flow more smoothly. George Munson said the speed limit on this section of Rt. 116 hasn’t changed as the Village has grown, and that he would like to see it dropped to 25mph. George Bedard said that regardless of the speed limit, enforcement is the key. Alex suggested that intersection improvements at Silver Street and Charlotte Road are also important to improve traffic flow and increase safety.
Arterial Highways rec. #3 – rerouting Charlotte Rd via West Side Rd. There was unanimous support for an active discussion of rerouting Charlotte Rd traffic to Rt. 116 via the proposed West Side Road. This would result in the either the closure of the Charlotte Rd/116 intersection or another option to severely limit access at this intersection.
Arterial Highways rec. #5 – eliminate left turns from Mechanicsville Rd on to 116. Nancy said the Commerce Street & Rt. 116 intersection is currently in bad shape, and cannot handle the increased traffic that would result from eliminating the Mechanicsville Rd left turn option. Joe said his intention was that rec. #5 would not be implemented until there was a comprehensive redesign of the Commerce/116 intersection – i.e., per scoping study (roundabout, lights, etc.). There was discussion about the need to relocate curb cuts for the Mobil station and Firehouse plaza so that these were not so close to the Commerce/116 intersection. There was general consensus that rec. #5 was not needed at this time.
Arterial Highways rec. #2 – turn lanes at Shelburne Falls/116 intersection. Joe felt turn lanes were needed for traffic turning off of Rt. 116 (both North and South) onto Shelburne Falls Rd. He felt people are currently passing turning cars on the right anyway, and that turning lanes would make this safer. Andrea said we need to consider if turn lanes favor auto traffic at the expense of pedestrian safety. Joe felt turn lanes were justified, but should only be implemented along with pedestrian crosswalk signals, signage, road striping, etc.
Other Business:
George volunteered to attend the Selectboard’s October 20 meeting for their public hearing on the proposed Zoning and Subdivision Regulation changes and their discussion of possible sewer service areas. Other Commissioners will attend if they can. Nancy said she will not be able to make the November 19, 2003 Commission meeting.
Respectfully Submitted,
______________________________ ___________
Alex Weinhagen, Town Planner Date