TOWN OF HINESBURG

DEVELOPMENT REVIEW BOARD MINUTES

 

June 17, 2008

Approved July 1, 2008

 

DRB Members Present:  Tom McGlenn, Lisa Godfrey, Richard (Dick) Jordan, George Munson, Dennis Place, Zoë Wainer.

 

DRB Members Absent:  Ted Bloomhardt, Greg Waples.

 

Also Present:  Alex Weinhagen (Director of Zoning and Planning), Peter Erb (Zoning Administrator), Karen Cornish (Recording Secretary), Harriet and Gary Mace, Ken and Jane Douglas, Tim Cornish, Andrea Morgante, John Kiedaisch, John Nevius, Lori Wilson, George Palmer, Carrie Fenn, Johanna White, David Fenn, Michael Jacobs, Dale Wernhoff, Nancy Lee Ross, Nancy Norris, Jay Robinson.

 

The meeting began at approximately 7:30 p.m.

 

Minutes of the June 3, 2008 Meeting:

Zoë MOVED to approve the meeting minutes as amended.  George SECONDED the motion.  The motion PASSED 6–0.

 

Sketch Plan Review – 4-lot, 3-house Subdivision/PRD (as revised) – Gilman Road – Applicant:  Hinesburg Land Trust

** continued from the May 6th and June 3rd meetings.

Lisa recused herself from the board at this time.  John Kiedaisch presented a new sketch plan with only three new building lots instead of the four building lots in the previous version.  He said of the two small lots originally planned along the southern border, one would be eliminated entirely; the other would be moved to the north near the existing town ROW intersection with Gilman Road, just south of the Chevrier barn.  The northern-most lot (1C) would stay in the same place.  The western-most lot (1A) would essentially stay the same, with the building envelope pushed further to the west, closer to the forest edge.

 

John said the access point for lot 1B would be the existing farm access and would be shared with 1) the town for access to the Town Forest and 2) the Chevrier family to provide access to the barn on that property.  John noted that the Chevrier lot currently has a ROW to the barn from this farm access.  Tim Cornish and Ken and Jane Douglas both said they felt the new plan was a big improvement over the first plan.  George Munson agreed.  Tom asked if the project was still viable with one fewer lot.  John said although the project financial situation would become tighter but would remain viable.  Dennis asked whether Lot 1A could be accessed via the town forest access.  John and Andrea Morgante said no, that they did not wish to encourage traffic toward the town forest beyond the parking lot.

 

Peter said he and Alex did a site visit to look at the deer yard adjacent to the project.  Peter said that although some coniferous forest was present west of the property, there was a largely deciduous and mixed deciduous coniferous area immediately adjacent to the proposed lot 1A building area.  Andrea noted that the HLT’s original proposal (for the lot 1A building envelope to be away from the forest edge) was based on a recommendation from the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department staff after a joint site visit by HLT and VT F&W.

 

Tom MOVED to close the public hearing and direct staff to draft an approval decision.  George SECONDED the motion.  The motion PASSED 5-0, with Lisa recused.  Lisa rejoined the board at this time (7:50).

 

Conditional Use Permit – Expansion of a pre-existing non-complying structure – Southwest Shore Road – Applicants: Gary and Harriet Mace

Gary Mace said he wished to extend an existing porch 5 feet to the side, adding a roof and also screening in the entire porch.  He said he would remove some of the small packed-down driveway as a lot coverage trade off for adding the front porch.  Zoë agreed that was a good tradeoff.  George asked about a building permit; Peter said one is not necessary as the addition is too small.  Lisa asked how far the house was from the lake; Gary said approximately 32 feet.  Tom asked if any other changes would be made to the exterior; Gary said no other than the possibility of removing a single window under the new roof if it was necessary.  Gary said all new materials would match the existing materials.

 

Zoë MOVED to close the public meeting and approve the draft decision as written (approval).  George SECONDED the motion.  The motion PASSED 6-0.

 

Sketch Plan Review – 1-Lot, 13-Unit Subdivision/PRD – Route 116 – Applicants:  Alan and Nancy Norris

George recused himself from the board at this time (8:00 p.m.)  Nancy Norris said developing the south end of the village as a way to help slow northbound traffic has been discussed in the Town Plan and at recent Planning Commission meetings.  She said she and Alan had two main goals for the project, to build affordable housing and housing that is energy efficient.  She said multi-family buildings can meet both of those goals.  She said mixed-size housing also helps break up buildings for aesthetic reasons.  She feels the project has an appropriate density for the area and compared lot sizes to the South Farm development across Route 116 (she said 13 units on 3 acres would be less dense than South Farm).  She said plans are preliminary and do not include engineering details.  She said they wished to obtain town sewer capability.  Alex confirmed the sewer service area ended at the stream to the south of the proposed development.

 

Tom asked about the sidewalk extension mentioned in the staff report.  Nancy said they did not agree with extending a sidewalk north to connect to the school, as they felt it would unfairly burden their project financially, especially if the town used land south of her proposed development for recreational purposes as has been recently discussed.  She explained the dotted line on the map following along Route 116 is a preliminary indication of a sidewalk they would include in their project.  She said the interior of the development would have sidewalks along the road ROW.  The report describes a spur leading from the end of that ROW to connect with the project sidewalk and continue on to the school.  She felt the portion of sidewalk indicated on the proposal represents a large portion of what could be a town-related access in the future.  She said while the sidewalk stops at the last home ends at the stream setback, it may connect to the interior road.  Peter asked about 3-phase power; Alex said it was not on that side of the road.  Tom thought ending the sidewalk at the access road, with a more natural ending would be best.

 

John Nevius, an adjoining landowner, said the project as proposed does not fit current ag zoning.  He asked if this project needed the new village zoning regulations (currently under discussion by the Select Board) in place to be allowable.  Alex said as a PRD, this plan would be possible in the agricultural zone, that new zoning is not needed.  John asked about compatibility; he said his own 2-acre lot and these lots of less than ¼ acre each would not be compatible.  The residences north of Friendship Lane and across Route 116 were discussed as being the closest multi-family homes in the area.  George Palmer, a Friendship Lane resident, does not wish to have houses sited in their view.  Lori Wilson, a Friendship Lane resident, agreed.  She noted that the recent vote on the sewer upgrade was voted down and asked how this proposal could obtain permission for sewer service if service was at capacity.  Alex explained the current facility has some capacity left, that capacity is recalculated annually based on the flow coming from the Saputo plant.  He said the town is near capacity but some is left.  Lori thought 13 homes would be too much for that fluctuating capacity.  Mike Jacobs, a Friendship Lane resident, said he was surprised at the high density, felt it does not fit into the area and opposed buildings being directly in his view of the fields and mountains, particularly the 3 and 4-plex buildings. He also noted the lower elevation in the area and thought building there would be difficult.  He suggested building three to four single family homes on the proposed 3 acre area, with additional buildings to the south of the stream.

 

David Fenn, a South Farm resident, said he was interested in the energy efficiency component in the project.  Nancy said all buildings would be energy-star rated.  David said the location is ideal for solar, that the orientation of home sites should maximize solar potential.  Nancy said the larger buildings as sited would appear smaller as viewed from Friendship Lane.  Alex said water would be on the town water system.  David asked about flood hazard concerns, citing concerns with housing on low sites.  Mike Jacobs asked if basements were planned for the buildings; Nancy said designs were not firm but basements were not likely.  Alex added there were no plans for underground parking.

 

Dale Wernhoff, an adjoining landowner to the south, said the area to the south of the stream is constantly under water but added that because the Bissonette land directly south of his property is being converted to wetlands, the area seems to be drying out a bit.  Tom asked about flooding around Dale’s house.  Dale said water has been very high around and very close to his house but that it does dissipate eventually.  He thinks it will only get better as nearby land goes reverts to wetlands.  He said his basement is dry, but probably because it was built on-grade, with land then brought up around the house.

 

Dick asked about the building sizes, whether they were footprints or envelopes; Nancy said footprints.  Alex confirmed the duplexes were larger as 1800 sq. feet units with garages and the 4-plex units were smaller.  Nancy described layouts of 3 and 4-unit buildings, that the garage is more integrated into those buildings instead of being on the side.  Nancy said they would not be rental units.  Dale said he liked the units that the Norris’s had built on Silver Street.  Affordable housing was discussed.  Dale asked if there was anything special that had to be done to have the road cross the stream; Lisa asked about its location in general.  Nancy said the road created an intersection with Buck Hill; Alex said an access further north would be difficult topographically.  Access off Route 116 was discussed.  Johanna White, a South Farm resident, clarified that their houses were on ½ acre lots.

 

A site walk was discussed.  Zoë asked that building footprints be marked.  Lori Wilson asked if building(s) height could be noted.  Alex said no building designs were available at this time; that balloons could be set at 35-foot maximum.  Tom MOVED to continue the public hearing to July 1st, with a site visit to take place at 6:00 pm*, with footprint and maximum elevations marked and flagging of the center line of the road in place.  Zoë SECONDED the motion.  The motion passed 5-0.  *NOTE: the site visit has changed to July 1st, 7:00 pm, starting at Buck Hill Road.

 

Tom said they could visit the other neighborhoods in the area, to get a sense of the proposed development as seen from those areas.  Dick asked about the mix of buildings, why they were situated as they were.  Nancy said visually they wanted a variety near the road.  Dale supported the idea of mixed buildings, that it would help avoid a look of generic housing.  George rejoined the board at this time (8:45).

 

Minor Revision to a final subdivision plat – Magee Hill Road – Applicants:  Jay and Carol Robinson

Jay Robinson explained three requests for changes to a final subdivision plat, as follows:

 

1. On the original plat, a straight line had been drawn to indicate the power line to the existing house.  It actually goes up the driveway and then off to an angle to the pole.  He said the power company wants a 20-foot ROW.  He said the building location would stay the same; he is asking to change only the building envelope line so that the power line does not have to be dug up and moved.  Peter said the envelope would be extended further to the east.

 

2. Regarding garage placement, the original building envelope came in 25 feet from the side.  He wants to put the garage in tight against the hedge and noted a 1-story 600-sq. foot structure could be up to a 10 foot boundary.

 

3. Regarding extending the boundaries of the lot to the driveway, Jay explained he wished to get rid of an ROW issues between lots.  The hill is steep in the lower part but level out where the boundary pin is.  He would like to make this change to allow for putting a workshop at a more level spot.

 

Peter said he saw no issues with the changes as proposed.  Zoë MOVED to close the public hearing and approve the draft as amended (approval).  Lisa SECONDED the motion.  The motion PASSED 6-0. 

 

The board went into deliberative session at this time (8:55 pm).

 

Other Business:

Bedard 8-lot subdivision

Zoë moved to approve as amended.  George SECONDED the motion.  The motion passed 5-2, with Lisa and Greg voting no and Ted voting yes (Ted and Greg voting in absentia); Dick did not participate in voting.

 

Pellet/Brown conditional use permit

George moved to approve the decision as amended.  Dennis SECONDED the motion.  The motion passed 5-0; Dick did not participate in voting.

 

The meeting adjourned at 9:40 p.m.

 

Respectfully Submitted:

Karen Cornish

Recording Secretary