Hinesburg Village Steering Committee

Meeting Minutes – February 28, 2008

Members present: Brian Busier, George Dameron, acting secretary; Rolf Kielman, chair; Aaron Kimball, Karla Munson, Dona Walker

Not present: Donna Constantineau

Also present: Catherine Goldsmith

1. The minutes of December 11, 2007 and January 14, 2008 were approved.

2. The committee discussed with Catherine Goldsmith her proposal, which she will present at Town Meeting, to complete the sidewalk segment on Commerce Street between the new bank building and where the sidewalk begins east of the bank. CG will ask to amend the town budget by $10,000 to complete the sidewalk. After much discussion, the VSC agreed to re-affirm its sidewalk priority list (sent to the Select Board in 2006) and to advocate the completion of the sidewalk fabric throughout the village.

3. The committee discussed its recommendation to move the monuments to Town Hall. BB will speak with Jeanne about how the Silver Street road improvements will affect the current monument site. Members of the committee also received a copy of the letter sent to Rocky Martin, Brad Wainer, and Peg Cioffi (the Hinesburg Veterans’ Monument Committee) by the Select Board requesting their feedback on the possibility that the monuments be moved to a future town green/police and fire facility at the northern end of the village.

4. Village Growth Area Zoning and Subdivision Regulation Changes (as proposed by the Planning Commission and sent to the Select Board on January 9, 2008) discussed.

Village Area Design Standards (pages 32-34). VSC discussed the text and decided to recommend the following:

   –Add to rubric numbers 1 and 2 (page 33): recommend a period of time (number of years) rather than an exact date

   –Add to rubric number 3 (page 33): “Facades facing Route 116 and other village roads shall be parallel to the street those facades face.”

   –Add/modify from rubric number 4, line 5: “ . . . Table 1, the proposed structure shall be set back from Route 116 within 10 feet as the neighboring principal structure with the shortest setback.”

   –Eliminate from rubric number 4: the last sentence (“In no event . . . required.”).

   –Approved rubric number 5.

   –The VSC wondered why there was no mention of landscaping standards.

   –The VSC also had a question about the section, “Northern Gateway Area Design Guidelines and Access Management” (p. 33), wondering whether there was a phasing plan for the gateway. The VSC will seek clarification from Alex Weinhagen, town planner.

   –Energy and Green Building Standards

   –The VSC wonders who will be overseeing this. The LEED scorecard is very onerous.

5. KM reported on “United We Ride”. The news is all good. It is up and going; all it needs now are riders.

6. Agenda for April 14 will include the report by Michael Stefanowicz, History and Religious Studies major from Saint Michael’s College.

Respectfully submitted,

George Dameron (acting secretary)