TOWN OF HINESBURG
PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES
February 2, 2005
Approved March 2, 2005
Commission Members
Present: Jean Isham (Chair), Fred
Haulenbeek, George Bedard, Nancy Norris, Carrie Fenn.
Commission Members Absent: Daniel Greller, Johanna White, Joe Iadanza, John Buckingham.
Also Present: Alex Weinhagen (Town Planner), George & Karla Munson.
The meeting began at approximately 7:40pm.
Zoning Revisions –
Related to Title 24, Chapter 117 statutory changes
Existing small lots – Chapter 117 now allows municipalities to decide if development should be prohibited on lots smaller than 1/8 acre or with a dimension less than 40’. Currently, Hinesburg’s Zoning Regulations prohibit development on such lots (per old Chapter 117 language). Carrie expressed concern about allowing development on such small lots. George Bedard felt it should be allowed if applicable setbacks could be met. The Commission asked Alex to find out the number and distribution of these lots.
Mobile home parks – Chapter 117 requires municipalities provide a place for mobile home parks. George Bedard said Hinesburg’s Zoning currently excludes parks from the industrial and commercial districts. Jean said the question is whether to also exclude them from the village and shoreline districts. Carrie said she would like to exclude them from the shoreline district, but that it seems highly unlikely that any new parks would be created here. The Commission decided the current zoning is adequate.
Multi-family or multi-unit dwellings – Chapter 117 requires municipalities to provide a place for multi-family or multi-unit dwellings. Alex said these are only allowed in the village district presently. Jean said the Commission previously discussed allowing multi-family dwellings in that portion of the rural residential 1 district served by Town sewer. Alex recommended allowing these units in all of the RR1 district or in all residential districts. George Bedard and George Munson said that density allowances will also need to be adjusted if the Town really wants to make multi-family dwelling developments happen. Alex recommended staying with the current density allowances until the Commission has had a chance to discuss the larger issue of density in the rural areas. George Bedard recommended allowing this use in all residential districts as a 1st step. Jean & Carrie said they were not opposed to this step.
Childcare facilities – Alex recommended that the Commission consider making childcare facilities a permitted use in the village and commercial districts. Currently this is a conditional use in these and most other districts. He noted that this doesn’t include smaller home-based childcare operations, which are already permitted. He said that the larger facilities would require site plan review in any case. The Commission agreed to this change.
Special uses – state or community owned facilities, schools, churches, hospitals, solid waste facilities, hazardous waste facilities – Chapter 117 has special language which limits the degree to which municipalities can regulate these uses. Alex suggested adding a new section to the zoning regulations to address these uses. He also explained that it’s not clear whether municipalities have the authority to regulate the location of these uses in the Town or simply within a given lot. He said the legislative intent was likely to mean only regulation of location on any given lot; however, this wrests a lot of control away from the municipality. The Commission felt the Town should use the broader interpretation of “location” to allow the Town to designate appropriate areas for these uses. George Bedard recommended the following locations:
· State office buildings – village or commercial zoning districts
· State garages and similar high traffic/impact uses – industrial 1 district
· Schools – greater village area (i.e., village, commercial, portion of RR1 districts)
· Churches – town wide (except industrial districts)
· Hospitals - greater village area (i.e., village, commercial, portion of RR1 districts)
· Solid waste & Hazardous waste facilities – where they are already accommodated or on other suitable municipally owned property
Subdivision plat/survey filing deadline – Chapter 117 requires that the time period for plat filing be increased from 90 to 180 days. The Commission agreed to make this change, and to further authorize the Zoning Administrator to extend the deadline another 90 days under certain circumstances (as laid out in Chapter 117).
Subdivision expiration & substantial construction– Chapter 117 dictates that subdivisions cannot expire once approved. Alex said we’ll need to change our 3-year expiration provision, and will no longer need the related “substantial construction” references. The Commission agreed to make these changes, and to clarify that Development on a Private Right of Way approvals will continue to expire (per current regulations) unless they are tied to a subdivision approval.
Administrative review – Chapter 117 now formally enables administrative review for development permits if carefully defined in the regulations. Alex said our regulations currently enable the ZA to approve minor site plan amendments. Alex recommended expanding this to minor conditional use amendments, minor subdivision amendments, development on a private ROW approvals, and all sign approvals. George Munson said some expansion of administrative review would be helpful. The Commission agreed, and instructed Alex to get feedback from the ZA and the DRB.
Appeals information and interested party definition – Chapter 117 substantially altered who can appeal municipal permits and under what circumstances. The Commission determined that only minor regulation changes were necessary to reference this, and that staff should mostly focus on procedural changes and public outreach to inform people about these requirements.
Posting and Warning Requirements – Chapter 117 increased the level of posting and warning requirements for permits and public hearings. Alex said he and Peter will make sure our regulations account for this to the degree necessary.
Minutes of the January 19, 2005 Meeting:
Nancy MOVED to approve the January 19, 2005 meeting minutes. Fred SECONDED the motion. The motion PASSED 5-0.
Other Business &
Announcements:
Army Corps of Engineer “prior converted” wetland policy
change:
Alex explained that the Army Corps of Engineers recently changed its policy regarding development of wetlands with a “prior converted” designation from the Natural Resource Conservation Service (USDA). He said previously the Corps ruled that they had no jurisdiction over “prior converted” wetlands, regardless of whether these areas continue in agriculture or are converted to other uses (i.e., developed). They now claim jurisdiction over these wetlands if they are converted to a non-agricultural use. That means that “prior converted” wetland areas will need a Corps permit if they are to be developed. Alex said this will complicate planning for village expansion along the west side of Route 116. He said that a wetland delineation done for the Town in 1995 shows a lot of wetland in this area; however, the recent Grabowski project (on Lyman property behind fire station) delineated very little wetland in their proposed development area. George Bedard said we would likely need to do additional wetland delineation work.
Agenda items for February 16 meeting:
1) Review draft zoning language for chapter 117 revisions
2) Discuss various “housekeeping” regulation changes
George MOVED to adjourn. Nancy SECONDED the motion. The motion PASSED 5-0. The meeting adjourned at 9:40pm.
Respectfully Submitted,
___________________________________/____________
Alex Weinhagen, Town Planner Date