TOWN OF HINESBURG
PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES
Approved February 4, 2004
Commission Members Present: Jean Isham (Chair), Joe Iadanza, John Buckingham, Carrie Fenn, Deb Howard, Fred Haulenbeek, John Mace, Nancy Norris, George Bedard.
Commission Members Absent: none.
Also Present: Alex Weinhagen (Town Planner), George & Karla Munson, Bill Marks.
The meeting began at approximately 7:35pm.
Town Plan Revision – Natural Resource Recommendations:
John Mace described the changes made based on feedback from the January 15, 2003 meeting. As a part of this discussion, Jean read through the agricultural recommendations with an emphasis on new ones not contained in the existing Plan. John Mace reviewed other natural resource areas where the existing Plan language was being modified (deleted, added, changed). Much of the existing Plan language is retained or simply reworded for greater clarity. Language changes are generally the same as those discussed at the November 5, 2003 meeting.
Jean suggested adding language in the “Surface Water” section to cover more water bodies than just Lake Iroquois and Lake Sunset. She also suggested deleting the Hinesburg Land Trust from the “Who Does It” portion of any recommendation. Jean felt that the Hinesburg Land Trust is a private entity; so the Town Plan shouldn’t depend on it to complete implementation strategies. Carrie and George Bedard suggested broadening the recommendation encouraging “cooperation with the Lewis Creek watershed association”, since a LaPlatte watershed association has now formed, and others may be formed in the future. Jean and George Bedard suggested revising the recommendation to preserve all Town wetlands because of their stormwater treatment capability. George said the language should parallel the State’s classification system rather than lump “all” wetlands together. Jean said the word preserve was too strong and should be changed.
Town Plan Revision – Housing:
The Commission discussed the original housing recommendations that George had presented on October 15, 2003. The Commission essentially reiterated suggestions made at that earlier meeting to improve these recommendations. Carrie said that the term “Affordable Housing” needs to be better defined. George said his intent was not to apply the narrow definition with regard to housing cost as a percentage of income for those people making some percentage of the county’s median income. George’s intent was to encourage rules and regulations that were not so onerous as to make any kind of housing more expensive than it could have been otherwise. Nancy recommended passing the initial housing recommendations on to David Spitz, along with the October 15, 2003 meeting minutes, so that David could incorporate the necessary changes.
Area Based Zoning:
Alex described the need to establish base density allowances that will further the overall goal of keeping more rural land open and usable for traditional uses (e.g., agriculture, forestry). Alex questioned the utility of implementing area based zoning in Zoning Districts with a base density of 1 unit per 2 or 3 acres. He said that the literature supports a lower base density for truly rural areas – i.e., 1 unit per 10 acres. Jean said that area based zoning will allow for smaller minimum lot sizes, which will help conserve rural lands, even with existing 2 or 3 acre base zoning densities. Joe and George said the concept will add flexibility on lot size to allow landowners to better match subdivisions to the unique attributes of their land parcel. Joe and Fred said we should delay the discussion of revising base densities for Hinesburg’s rural areas until we’ve done more research, public outreach, and are prepared to make Zoning revisions.
The meeting adjourned at approximately 9:30pm.
Respectfully Submitted,
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Alex Weinhagen, Town Planner Date