TOWN OF HINESBURG

PLANNING COMMISION

July 25, 2007

Approved August 8, 2007

Commission Members Present: Jean Isham, Kay Ballard, George Bedard, Carrie Fenn, Fred Haulenbeek, Joe Iadanza, Johanna White.

Commission Members Absent: Joe Donegan, Nancy Norris.

Also Present: Alex Weinhagen (Director of Planning and Zoning), Karen Cornish (Recording Secretary), Katie Fieldsend, Gerry Livingston, Ken Brown, Jennifer Hunter, Carrie Harlow, Jonathan Kleinman, Susan Miners.

The meeting began at approximately 7:40 p.m.

Planning for public spaces and discussion of an official Town Map
** continued from the July 11^th meeting

Jean asked the Commission members to comment on how they felt about the adoption of an official town map. Joe felt it was a good tool. He suggested a focus on major features such as roads and a town green. Johanna favored a map with as much planning as was reasonably possible. Carrie liked a simpler version with a focus on the village core. She suggested a focus on important public infrastructure such as police/fire buildings and provisions for stormwater such as retention ponds. Fred felt a whole town map would be beneficial. He would like to see the large landowners involved in the process.

George feels starting with a town map in the village has merit as it can indicate major objectives. He felt some flexibility should be allowed for developers in how they deal with connecting roads. He cautioned that the South Burlington map, although useful to that town in securing land, took decades to create. He felt Hinesburg could deal with certain issues verbally without a map. He said the list of needs created last week is too long for the space in the village. He did not feel a large recreation area with facilities would fit close to the town center. Suggested the Bissonette property as a location for rec fields. As for an alternate or additional school property, he felt the Riggs property (now owned by the Bisonnettes) could have been an alternative. He said a better understanding of the properties we have to work with is needed.

Jean said she had some experience working with the SB map. The process for locating a business facility was made easier for developers because future roads had already been laid out. George said we have to understand the local terrains, in terms of wetlands, etc. to understand where we can put infrastructure.

Kay said she agreed with Joe, to keep such a map basic and concentrate on the needs of the town.

Jean asked how to proceed. Alex said this idea started with the May 23^rd public forum when a map was suggested and PC members agreed to start the mapping process. He said a simple first version could be created as a starting point, perhaps something to bring in front of the Select Board for their opinion. Fred reminded the group of the phasing concept talked about for the Village Growth Plan, that it was tied to the sewer upgrade. He said this gave the town time to work on and adopt a map.

George recommended starting with a list of critical items such as a new school and facilities around the school. He recounted previous planning efforts that involved the Riggs property and said those plans may be useful to review. Jean began a review of the list.

Jonathan Kleinman suggested reviewing a town vision statement, and then creating criteria the group could use to evaluate the list and rank items. Alex said ideas discussed at past forums could be reviewed to see which were common or repeated. Jean felt designating green spaces was a frequent comment. Alex felt through discussion, priority items would float to the top. Jean asked about the proposed fire and police building(s) expansion, whether that needed to be on the map; Alex said yes. Carrie felt the town plan would be useful in looking at what residents value.

Jean noted a multi-use, multi-generational building is mentioned in the Town Plan. Carrie said she spoke with Library Trustees about moving the library and they were amenable to the idea. Jean asked whether there would be enough space in the fire/police building for a library. Carrie said trustees liked a mix of the library with a community center but not with a school. Jean asked about the open lot in Commerce Park as a site for a community center. Alex raised the issue of financing, and suggested town land could be sold to fund the creation of a community center or the relocation of the library.

Kay thought elderly housing was important; Joe I. did not think it was critical. Kay felt it was a need that the community would support. Alex said it was difficult to envision the town becoming involved in such a development project.

Alex said a commission member should talk to the school board regarding projected enrollment. Joe I. wonders if a new school needed to be a town center if it could be located outside the village, arguing that bussing will be required for the majority of school children no matter where the location is. Alex felt it was good to locate the school in a populated area to ensure that at least some kids could walk. He felt the basic question was whether we need one. The Creekside development was discussed. George said statistically 60 new homes per year were needed in order to maintain the current school population; he said the 30 kids in Creekside are already counted toward that number. Alex said he was unsure Hinesburg’s growth potential. George said the middle school proposal that had been discussed years ago was conceived as a shared school with Charlotte.

Gerry Livingston asked how far the group focused into the future. George noted the 5-year Town Plan cycle, and also that the school had a similar planning cycle. Alex thinks of it as a 10-year cycle, with the vision for the next 25 years.

Alex said a band shell was being proposed by community members, possibly for the area near the Masons building. Carrie felt rec field locations needed to be determined. Joe I. thought fields on Gilman Road as George suggested may be a good idea. Susan Miners thought that location might be hard for kids to get to, making the creation of trails important. A discussion of how and when town and school rec fields were used took place. Alex said CVU is using their fields enough that the town has trouble accessing them. Fred compared fields to ice time at Cairns, stating it is all just about scheduling. Jean asked how to determine what acreage would be necessary to meet the project needs? Funding for purchasing green spaces and the cost of maintaining them was discussed. Alex said the Rec Department wanted just one full sized field. Joe thought it might be problematic to disperse fields, due to parking and logistically for parents who have multiple kids at different fields at the same time. Alex said if the village were walkable and safe, then dispersed green spaces would not be a problem, particularly those in residential and/or mixed-use areas. Fred and Joe both talked about small spaces for spontaneous use and larger spaces for organized events. Alex mentioned Callahan Park in South Burlington as an example of the size of park that could serve Hinesburg.

George Dameron said the Village Steering Committee had prioritized a town green. He said the town should run population numbers over the next 25 to 50 years, and put as many of the buildings and green spaces together as possible. Alex asked for comments on fields and whether a centralized green space was critical. Carrie felt there was a need for both casual rec areas and also a serious rec field. Joe felt centralized soccer fields work best. Ken Brown said even if it was not possible to do all the concentration the Town would like, as long as a walkable village existed, buildings can be separate.

Carrie feels the green belts are important to the community. Joe I. said the farmers market should be at the town green. Johanna said the parking at the current market is insufficient. The parcel behind Creekside was discussed, as a location for either a dog park or community gardens. Alex related the permitting issues regarding the wetlands there.

Jean asked how pocket parks would be maintained. Carrie envisions a PP as being adjacent to other infrastructure, public or private, such as a café. The group talked about existing spaces in town and agreed most would get more use if items such as picnic tables or benches were installed to make them more inviting. Locations included: the Mason building green area; the areas planned around the Greenstreet development; the Veterans memorial space adjacent to Good Times, and Kelly Fields. Joe reminded the group of the growth plan for the west and north sides of town. He suggested a park as a destination for trails leading to and from NRG.

The group talked about generally siting infrastructure, rather than specifically noting it on a map. Susan Miners agreed that a map could indicate both firm and flexible locations. Jean and Alex talked about the circled areas on the SB map as placeholders. George said the wetland issue in Commerce park is significant. There is a large piece of land that was unusable to NRG when they looked at the piece. That particular piece of property could not stand a lot of structure. He suggested using the buildable space for parking and leaving the rest for a green.

George D. felt Commerce Park is ideal as it is centrally located. Carrie asked if more elderly units could be built in Kelly’s Field. George thought the economics for such a project were not good. Kay thought Al Barber had commented on that area as not suitable for emergency vehicles. Alex said the Russell property was important as it was located between Lyman Road, the Center Road and Kelly’s Field. Alex still felt the town would not likely create elderly housing themselves.

Jean asked for comments on future roads. The Lavigne Hill Road connection was discussed, as was an alternate route through the Quinn property. The area behind and leading up to the Saputo Cheese Factory was discussed. Alex gave some background on discussions with Saputo regarding a connecting road there. Fred said that things could change with the factory, noting that, as a contingency, the road could be put in place should the business move someday.

Jean asked about sidewalks – ‘Alex said they should be assumed along new roads that were placed on the map. Off-road sidewalks or paths, as well as those along the green belt areas, should be put on the map.

Alex stated he would gather more info on future population, also info from school boards on future school enrollment. He would also get started on a rough draft of a map. The group discussed how to proceed. It was agreed that landowners affected by potential changes should be contacted before a second draft is presented to the public. Alex will put together a list of landowners and contact them personally.

Ken Brown asked about getting the assistance of an outside expert. Funding was discussed, as was the grant process and available grants for village growth center projects. Carrie felt the PC has already done much of what a professional planner would help us do. Joe would rather have resident’s feedback. Alex said he would consider getting administrative assistance for the project.

Minutes of the July 11^th Meeting

These were postponed and will be reviewed at the next meeting.

The next Planning Commission meeting is scheduled for August 8^th, 2007.

The meeting adjourned at approximately 10:15 p.m.

Respectfully Submitted:

Karen Cornish

Recording Secretary