TOWN OF HINESBURG
PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES
Approved December 3, 2003
Commission Members Present: Jean Isham (Chair), Joe Iadanza, John Buckingham, Carrie Fenn, George Bedard, Deb Howard, Fred Haulenbeek (arrived 7:40pm), John Mace, Nancy Norris.
Commission Members Absent: None.
Also Present: Alex Weinhagen (Town Planner), George & Karla Munson, Wayne Bissonette, Brendan Cosgrove (GBIC, for presentation only), Penrose Jackson (CCRPC Rep., for GBIC presentation only).
Minutes of the November 5, 2003 Meeting:
Deb MOVED to approve the minutes of the November 5, 2003 meeting. John Buckingham SECONDED the motion. The motion PASSED 8-0.
Announcements and Citizens to be Heard:
Alex shared a letter from the Lewis Creek Association asking the Selectboard for an annual donation/appropriation of $550. Alex also passed along information on the VLCT’s upcoming interactive television workshop on agriculture and zoning. John Mace agreed to sign up for that workshop. Alex also mentioned some of the controversy surrounding the Chittenden County Metropolitan Planning Organization’s (CCMPO) 25-year Metropolitan Transportation Plan (MTP). Alex said some rural communities in the county feel that the MTP places too much priority on larger metro-area projects for the first 10 years of the plan. Alex said he has discussed this concern with Jeanne Wilson, and is confident that our representatives to the CCMPO (Andrea Morgante and Jeanne Wilson) are on top of the situation. The MTP is being rewritten as a result of these and other concerns, so there will be additional opportunities to work on the plan.
Town Plan Revision –
Forest Land ~ Draft 1 Recommendations:
John Mace reviewed those sections of the current Plan that deal with forest issues (see attached “Excerpts from Hinesburg’s Current Town Plan Covering Forests” dated Nov. 5, 2003).
He discussed the forest land taxonomy included in the current plan. He feels this taxonomy is informative but is not of much practical use. He then reviewed his recommendations, see attached “Thoughts on the Forest Component of the New Town Plan”, dated Nov. 5, 2003. Generally, he thinks the existing recommendations are good, but that the goals need clearer language. His major recommendations included:
He feels that we need a more context sensitive approach to evaluating forested areas. We need to consider what is around each parcel rather than focusing solely on what is in the parcel.
Jean and Carrie liked the suggestion to integrate the forest, agriculture, and natural resource sections of the Plan. Alex said the forest evaluation concept (e.g., FLESA) would be a good project for a University of Vermont graduate student thesis project (perhaps someone in the School of Natural Resources).
Fred said that we must achieve a balance between stewardship of natural resources and preserving landowner rights and future land uses. Fred said overlay districts may not be needed since the existing regulation language has an “overlay” of words to protect these resources. He said that we should instead focus on the area based zoning concept to provide flexibility for both landowners and natural resource stewardship. John Mace said that he didn’t think there was a conflict between the forest evaluation and area based zoning concepts. Fred agreed, but said he feels the difference is a matter of degree, and that eventual overlay districts are taking things to a degree that may not be necessary.
Jean, Alex, and Fred said that the forest land recommendations should say something about preserving access to allow forest lands to be more effectively managed.
Deb agreed with John Mace that it’s hard to make good decisions without an understanding of the broader context of a parcel. Deb said we must achieve a balance between the landowner and our larger Town goals. George Bedard said this may upset landowners who feel like they should be holding all the “cards” for their property.
GBIC Presentation on the Regional Economic Development
Plan:
Brendan Cosgrove from the Greater Burlington Industrial Corporation (GBIC) and Penrose Jackson from the Chittenden County Regional Planning Commission (Hinesburg’s CCRPC representative) gave a slide presentation outlining the Regional Economic Development Plan that GBIC is developing. The multi-faceted plan is still in the preliminary stages of development, and GBIC is presenting it to municipalities around Chittenden County to get feedback. The draft plan addresses a wide range of existing commercial and industrial uses in the county as well as strategies for attracting new businesses. Full details are available on the GBIC website at www.vermont.org/GBIC/.
Town Plan Revision –
Commercial/Industrial Landuse ~ Draft 1 Recommendations:
Jean said that she and John Buckingham had held off on developing recommendations for this section based on some discussions with Wayne Bissonette about the future of his property along the West side of Route 116, North of the village. Wayne said that he is interested in seeing re-zoning to open up commercial opportunities on his land at Ballards Corner. Wayne said that Brian Busier has expressed interest in relocating Lantman’s IGA to Wayne’s land at Ballards Corner. Various Commissioners concurred that Brian is pressed for space and parking in Lantman’s current location, and that Brian has expressed interest in growing the business.
Wayne and George Bedard said that the Ballards Corner area (South of Shelburne Falls Rd) was zoned as commercial when zoning was first adopted in the early 70’s. George Bedard said the soils in this area are more stable and have shorter distances to bedrock; therefore, they are capable of supporting larger commercial/industrial structures.
Wayne said it is also in the Town’s interest to secure some land on the West side of Route 116 for future municipal needs (e.g., future school). George Bedard said this land could be used by the Town as green space or recreational fields until such time that another school was needed. John Buckingham and Jean said that they need more information from the Selectboard, the local business community, and others before they can formalize commercial and industrial landuse recommendations. With that said, they both felt that some land in this area should be set aside to allow for another school sometime in the future.
George Bedard and Fred said that having denser development at Ballards Corner would provide a northern “anchor” for the conceptual West Side Road being discussed. Fred said that the types of commercial development could be tapered from North to South along a future West Side Road, with good soils to the North supporting heavier structures/uses, and poorer soils to the South supporting lighter structures/uses. The Commission agreed that the goal of any substantial re-zoning along this corridor would be to create mixed-use development with a balance of commercial and residential uses. The Commission discussed various aspects of the concept. Most Commissioners were enthusiastic about exploring the concept further.
Fred proposed that the West Side Road Committee meet with Wayne and David Lyman (the 2 primary landowners) to flesh out these ideas. George Bedard said we should get information from Brian Busier to better understand what Lantman’s IGA needs for land, parking, etc. He also recommended that we contact the Chittenden South Supervisory District to get copies of the old plans for a middle school in this area. Proposals for a school in this area were brought to the voters twice in the past, but were defeated both times.
Other Business:
The Commission briefly discussed the proposal brought up at the last meeting, by Ann Frost, to expand the maximum size of accessory apartments in accessory structures. Nancy indicated that her opinion has changed from the last meeting, and that she now feels increasing the maximum size to 1000 square feet is problematic. Alex indicated that one DRB member felt the increase was OK, if the cap was also tied to the square footage of the primary structure. Alex indicated that another DRB member felt that a 1000 square foot accessory apartment in an accessory structure would create a second primary use on a lot. The Commission agreed to table this proposal and take it up next year during the next major revision to the Zoning Regulations.
The meeting adjourned at approximately 10:35pm.
Respectfully Submitted,
______________________________ ___________
Alex Weinhagen, Town Planner Date