TOWN OF HINESBURG

PLANNING COMMISSION

May 28, 2008

Approved June 11, 2008

Commission Members Present: Jean Isham, Kay Ballard, George Bedard, Carrie Fenn, Fred Haulenbeek, Will Patten.

Commission Members Absent: Rodman Cory, Joe Iadanza, Johanna White.

Also Present: Alex Weinhagen (Director of Planning and Zoning), Karen Cornish (Recording Secretary), Mike Burke, Josh Castonguay, Eric Lemery, Tim Casey, Lynn Gardner.

Bringing 3-phase power to the Industrial 1 zoning district (South Hinesburg)

Tim Casey, owner of Hinesburg Sand and Gravel, discussed the power demands of his business. He said he generates all the electricity needed to run the plant using diesel fuel-powered generators. He said they are considering alternatives to the generators, for this operation and also for the industrial-zoned property owned to the south (the former elk ranch); neither location has 3-phase power, putting them at a disadvantage in terms of attracting new businesses to the area. Lynn Gardener, owner of Clifford Lumber and the industrial park to the north, said they are at the same disadvantage, without 3-phase power. Alex said the Planning Commission had recently reviewed a proposal that would have expanded the industrial zoning district, but decided against it as that district is already very large. He added although there was room available in the district, it lacked critical power.

Mike Burke, Josh Castonguay and Eric Lemery were introduced as representatives of Green Mountain Power. Mike gave a brief explanation of 3-phase power and said currently there is not enough demand to justify the expense of running it down to the area under discussion. He said they are currently running a third phase to Gilman Road and eventually see a new feed heading down into that area to pick up parts of Hinesburg and Starksboro.

He described one philosophy of the Public Service Board (an entity with oversight in certain public utility matters) as “development pays for development”, referring to Public Service Board rule 5.600. He said based on the current and projected needs in Hinesburg that 3-phase power would probably be run to the industrial area within 3-4 years anyway. He said while they can’t implement it now, the cross arms and poles are there, with only the addition of 1 wire required. There was some discussion of what it would take to bring 3-phase from Gilman Road to the industrial district; Tim Casey said a separate issue was supply.

Josh confirmed it was a two-fold problem for the industrial district, no 3-phase line and an increasingly strained supply of power. He said GMP was crunched in Hinesburg, particularly with high usage from a few commercial operations and also a new, large development. He said they have done a study of alternatives, looking at other options to get a new source for Hinesburg, such as running a new feeder from Charlotte. The preferred solution is to run a 34K sub transmission line from a substation off Richmond Road to a new substation sited behind Saputo. John Trefry asked if the line could be run down North Road (to the Industrial district) instead. Josh said as one large commercial operation uses the majority of power in Hinesburg, a new substation would be better sited near that business. Lynn Gardener asked if GMP was considering a substation there because of the main transmission lines. Josh said they had hoped to tap into that line but then it did not pan out. He said the site, although aesthetically challenging, was the best location to serve commercial operation(s) near the village center. Aesthetics of substation facilities were discussed; Josh said a 34KV substation from the ground to the top of the lighting rod would be about 30 feet; 20 feet of structure and 10 feet of rods. Carrie asked where a similar substation could be viewed. Josh said although the station on Ferry Road in Charlotte is an older facility with a smaller footprint, it is comparable in height.

Josh described the timeline for building a substation, stating it would realistically take about 3 years before 3-phase power could be supplied. He also described their capital planning process, noting this new substation would allow them to back up to a Ferrisburg location. Lynn asked if they could run 3-phase up from Starksboro. Mike said they were starting to see voltage issues there and that the feed would be almost as long as in Hinesburg. He said current voltage use for Hinesburg was around 1.5 MVA, compared with the 14 MVA a new substation could provide. He said although not all that power would be available to the town of Hinesburg, power can be shifted around.

Alex said the key issue is not how or where to run 3-phase, but dealing with the source issue. He noted the recent village rezoning efforts; Josh said having support from towns is very beneficial in moving the proposal for a new substation along. He said the biggest question GMP always has to answer is why the power is needed, as rates are usually raised to cover the expense. Will asked if there was evidence that power availability drove economic viability. Josh cited the Mount Snow ski operation as an example of a company taking steps to make more power available for their operations, and also said South Burlington’s Technology Park is using ample power supply as a marketing tool.

Josh said a new substation would also increase power reliability. He noted that would be important to a microchip processing operation, for example. Jean asked about capacity for residential development. Josh said any new development (not including those projects already under ACT 250 review) would push the limits of current capacity. Fred noted the proposal to enlarge the village district in part by promoting high density development from here to Ballards. The group talked about various ongoing construction projects and the history of locating substations.

Josh said GMP needs many details about a potential site before a substation is approved. He said a sub station has to be completely designed and ready to present to the Public Service Board. He said the proposal for a new substation would be filed by the end of this year. He expected GMP to be involved with the PSB for one year before plan approval. If other permits were in place, he said GMP could start construction in 2010. He noted that any planning information received from the town of Hinesburg would be helpful. He said land acquisition is always difficult and described various issues involved with securing a site (existing lines, easements, tree-clearing rights, etc.) He said they need about 1 acre for a facility. Jon Trefry asked if the treatment facility site was suitable. Josh said that is currently their preferred site.

Alex asked if GMP worked with any regional economic development entities. Mike said unless a certain developer has gotten that assistance behind the scenes, he has not seen that. Lynn said the cost of extending the line compared to what it cost to generate your own power was a huge difference (it is more expensive to extend the line).

Josh discussed a new solar program effective July 1^st that will pay for power generated by their customers (net metering). Will asked if incremental money paid by GMP was spread across rate payers. Josh said yes because it’s cheaper to buy that power than power that had to be purchased at peak times.

Tim Casey talked about a program that let customers reduce their demand cost. Josh discussed the economics of this. Tim said it is hard for his company even if GMP provided me power, noting a technical aspect of running a generator that caused more pollution if it were not run at or near capacity. The group discussed various methods of heating, electric appliances and energy costs.

Josh said his company would contact the town to discuss the land for a new substation. George said there are 3 acres near the Ordway Farm that are out of the conservation easement on the larger farm (as a future house site). A town discussion to re-site the CSWD transfer station to the same location (behind the sewer plant) was discussed. Jean asked if there was room for both facilities at the site. Jeanne Wilson said the substation would be sited on the western side of the property; the transfer station would be on 9 acres on the eastern side, but the question would be how to extend a road to it.

Jon said the Select Board would like to hear more from GMP before they go ahead with plans for a transfer station. Josh said he would send an assessment to the Board, and keep in touch with Alex or Rocky. Net metering and various energy sources/technologies were discussed.

Capital Budget/Plan Review with Jeanne Wilson (Town Administrator)

Jeanne Wilson said the Select Board reviewed this plan at their May 19^th meeting. They are looking for input for any changes or additions of items over a $5000 threshold. The plan looks ahead 5-years, includes information about maintenance and purchases and is used to plan bond scheduling.

Jeanne said the SB discussed impact fees, for example, particularly for their Buildings and Facilities budget. She noted the plan had listed out individual parks but the SB thought there should be one category for parks, not an itemization of expenses for individual parks. Alex gave these guidelines for how impact fees can be used:

- They can be used to fund capital improvements to which the development company being charged with the fee has some relationship.

- An impact fee for a recreational facility used town-wide could be charged to all development companies regardless of their location or relationship to it.

- Fees can’t be charged for maintenance and upkeep.

- Impact fees work on the theory that new development is creating a need for something. In the example of a fire truck purchase, only the percentage of the cost that would relate to that neighborhood population could be charged to that developer. 100% of the cost of a traffic light could be charged to a developer if that light is required to serve a new development.

- Fees are good for debt service; if a school is built or expanded, debt will have been incurred; impact fees may be collected over 30 years and applied to the debt.

- Fees collected for new projects need to be spent within 5-7 years or the developer has the right to request the money back.

Carrie asked about collecting fees for a stormwater facility if a new development created impacts downstream. Alex said yes, but added fees can only help pay for items that are in the town’s budget and plan. The budget document has to come first, and then the town has to assess what pieces of that could apply. He said fees are collected in neighboring towns (Williston, South Burlington, Richmond, Essex Junction). Fees in those towns vary, from $1800 to $9000 for a residential single family home.

Jeanne said impact fee calculations are complex. She said the town considered using them about 15 years ago but due to complexity, decided it was not worth it. Alex said recent pubic feedback regarding public projects has been to say that new families or businesses should have to pay for them. Jeanne noted that the water/wastewater upgrade is not in the plan, but in the general fund. She explained hook-up and allocation fees have been raised to start essentially levying impact fees for new development.

Carrie suggested that a stormwater utility was needed to ensure water quality. Will suggested putting money into broadband infrastructure or capability, and also wider roads to accommodate bikes. Jean said something could be added about public transportation, park and rides, and bus terminals. Will suggested a daycare/senior care combined facility in town. Jeanne said community center has been added.

Jeanne said new roads were listed in the Highway budget; Jeanne said the Center Road (Lantmans to Hart and Mead) was in the plan but not the West Road (Shelburne Falls Road to Charlotte Road), although those roads seemed less critical with the addition of the traffic lights. Fred said the need of a stormwater utility had been discussed in the PC as a way of managing water that would accumulate from impervious surfaces (roads, roofs), with retention ponds along the west side. Jeanne said she thought the town would eventually take over stormwater management and funds could be added to the buildings and facilities budget to study that, not only for the NW quadrant but a master plan for the town.

Alex asked about recreational fields. Jeanne said the SB raised the budget for item 17. Alex mentioned there was money in the planning and zoning budget to look at the official map, beginning July 1^st. Will suggested providing town wide Wi-Fi service, as a way to serve home occupations and local businesses.

Jeanne noted tree planting is not included in the budget as it does not meet the $5K threshold. She said item 18 covers the development of a police /fire station co-location plan, with additional budget money for design and construction actual costs in the police and fire budgets. A community center was discussed. Alex said the consultant hired for the official map planning would pull all entities together and start talking about a center, in terms of what is needed and how to make it work. The new Winooski facility was discussed. Carrie gave an update on task force efforts, noting they have focused on using existing spaces better as an interim solution; they have not pursued any grant funding for a new building.

The town library was discussed, whether moving it from its present location back into the village center was desirable. Carrie noted the library trustees feel they need a lot of parking. The white building at HCS was discussed as a possible facility, as it has already been renovated to anticipate a library move there.

Sidewalks and multi-use paths were discussed. Alex said a lot would be added related to any new development and it would be for much of them but not all. He said the town would have to pay for a multi-use path along Route 116. The group discussed sidewalk locations and what areas are missing sidewalks. Jeanne said the Village Steering Committee did a prioritization list and looked at missing links.

Alex described the process of enacting impact fees. He said a plan needed to be finalized and adopted by the town. To do this, basic public hearings would be held. He said imposing impact fees does not require a change to zoning. Jeanne said impact fees are adopted like ordinances. Fred suggested exempting affordable housing from fees, to try to keep base costs down and also add a further incentive to developers.

Fire, police and first response were discussed. Conservation efforts were discussed. Alex said although impact fees had to be related to the area of development, an argument could be made that the town needs to preserve more land because there would be more people here that want to enjoy it. George said much town land now has conservation easements on it making it unusable. He thought more long-term damage had been done to the community than good with those efforts. Jean said conservation efforts have garnered widespread public support.

Other Business

George MOVED to approve the May 14, 2008 meeting minutes as written. Will SECONDED the motion. The motion PASSED 6-0.

The next Planning Commission meeting is scheduled for June 11, 2008.

The meeting adjourned at approximately 10:10 pm.

Respectfully Submitted:

Karen Cornish