MINUTES OF THE SHAFTSBURY, VT
PLANNING BOARD FOR TUESDAY, AUGUST 9, 2005
Present: William Jakubowski, Chair; Kevin Bubriski, Vice-Chair; Chris Williams; Andrew Knafel; Bill Pennebaker; Mark Young.
Others Present: Harvey Rutheiser; Audrey Rutheiser; Chris Heins; Patricia DeVito; Walter Merritt; Nancy Merritt; Chris Parker; Cliff Ward; Donna Ward; Mike Biddy; Bill Smith; Tom Dailey; Barry Richardson; Jon Endres; Rick Mattison; David Mance; Trevor Mance; Geraldine Ruege; Karen Mellinger, Select Board member.
Call to order: Mr. Jakubowski called the meeting to order at 7:37 pm.
Mr. Jakubowski started the meeting by referring to a previous meeting’s minutes in which he was not in attendance. He remarked that the board still had to have a final hearing on the proposed subdivision.
Old Business: #05 69 05S is the first order.
Mr. Knafel said that he had read the new ethics manual and also commented that he lived next door to Mr. White, who was not able to attend tonight’s meeting.
Mr. Endres approached the table and asked about the procedure for this evening, and also that he has made significant changes to the plans. Mr. Endres also asked for preliminary approval for the plans this evening so that he could proceed with the next step in the process. He commented that he has the whole list of what was requested by the board at the last meeting.
Mr. Pennebaker moved to reopen the hearing on the matter; Mr. Bubriski seconded. The motion passed unanimously.
Mr. Endres said that he eliminated yet another lot from the proposed development, and the number now stands at six lots. He then proceeded to hand out drafts of the plans to the board. Mr. Endres said that Mr. Pennebaker brought up the concern at the last meeting, which was that the minimum usable land on the property is to be equal to the minimum lot size. He couldn’t do it with seven lots, so he whittled it down to six. The other significant change was that he eliminated the cul-de-sac at the end and in its place, he put a T-shaped dead end, which he feels will work better in the development. Mr. Endres then stated the six concerns that were brought up at the last meeting. He also commented that the same drainage patterns in the original plans were to be kept with the revised plans.
Mr. Endres also said that he created a 1% slope on the property away from the road on the first 40 feet. He said that the property will remain virtually flat until the hill reaches the T-shaped dead end. He also expressed desired in presenting a legal document addressing the following: who owns the property, and what it is going to be used for. Mr. Endres said that he had written a proposal for the town to take over the land once all the lots were bought and filled. He also commented that the state had clear regulations as to the things one could and could not do with wetlands. He said that none of the lots could not be subdivided any further, not even on the main house, and commented that the owner of the property (Mr. White) will be responsible for the maintenance and upkeep for the development until the town could take over. Mr. Endres also stated that he had also taken into consideration Mr. Mance’s proposal about keeping the right-of-way out of the wetlands buffer. He also commented on the 50-foot no-cut zone on both sides of the ridge, as proposed by Mr. Pennebaker at the last meeting. The last one was that the wetland’s delineation can be certified. Mr. Endres also said that he had a certified delineation specialist who is ready to inspect the property.
Mr. Williams asked Mr. Endres if he was going to be presenting a homeowners’ agreement once the properties were sold; Mr. Endres said he was and was going to present a legal document pertaining to the agreement at the final hearing. He also asked about the grading on the driveway of lot 2. Mr. Endres said that the road is going to be a maximum of 25 feet.
Mr. Jakubowski said that he hoped that Mr. Endres met all the requirements for construction of the development. Mr. Young asked who was going to be responsible for maintenance of the trees on the property. Mr. Endres said that he could not answer the question at the moment, as he would have to find out what would happen first. Mr. Jakubowski also discussed the topic of the maintenance of seven maples on lot 1, and that he preferred to see the right-of-way widened because he did not want to see the maples on the edge of the road. Mr. Bubriski also talked about the wetland buffer and asked if it was going to be modified. Mr. Knafel’s feeling about it was that it doesn’t take much to put a new buffer in the back because the wetlands do change as time progresses. Mr. Endres commented that he added a triangle of land on lot 1 because he did not see the need for extra space on lot 2.
Christian Heins came forward and said that as a certified delineation specialist, he checked lot 3 and there are two wetlands associated there that are relegated to a low-elevation area that is characterized by low beaver meadows and a perpetual high-water table. He said the water table is associated with the character of the wetland. He said that the marshy wetland is defined by a topographic break in the land and it is easy to put flags on there to mark the land’s development.
Mr. Jakubowski then welcomed comments from the audience. At this time, Mr. Mance commented that he had brought up the issue of delineation at the last meeting. He asked about the first lot on the right (6) is about 83k square feet. He also seconded Mr. Knafel’s concern about the triangular-shaped piece of land on the right side of the road, and that it wasn’t really usable for the property. Mr. Richardson asked about the septic system of lot 6 being moved away from the well on his property. Mr. Endres said that he had moved the septic system away.
Mr. Smith asked about the buffer near the perimeter of the outside lots, and was concerned that it could change as time progresses. He also asked about a vegetation buffer on the property; Mr. Jakubowski said there was no vegetation buffer. Mr. Jakubowski asked the board about the 100-foot-wide vegetation buffer. Mr. Pennebaker said he could possibly see the owner clearing the buffer and developing it for garden space, and also commented that with the buffer gone, it could change the character of the property. Mr. Endres said that there were so many levels of redundancy on lot 2 that nobody would want to buy it when development is finished. Mr. Mance said that the board has not talked about any restrictions on clearance since the first meeting about the issue. Mr. Knafel said that if all the lots do get cleared, then about 70 to 80 percent of the trees on the property are going to come down. Mr. Endres proposed removing the row of maples on lot 1 so that the buffer could be kept and maintained. Mr. Pennebaker said that if the visual impact is a problem, and if the owner of lot 1 had an issue with it, then he would have to do something about it himself.
Mr. Williams made a motion staying that the 100-foot buffer be planted as proposed; Mr. Bubriski seconded. Motion passed 5-0-0.
A motion to close the preliminary hearing was made by Mr. Young, and seconded by Mr. Pennebaker. Motion passed 5-0-0.
The motion was then amended to include preliminary approval of the plans and to close the meeting. Motion passed 5-0-0. The date for the final hearing was set for the first meeting in September.
Mr. Jakubowski commented that at this time, the town is requesting $270,000 in grants to finish some sidewalk work being done in South Shaftsbury.
New Business:
#05 69 48 pertaining to the use of a place of worship at the former Quiet Horizons gift shop. The applicants were not present at the meeting.
Site plan for Clifford and Donna Ward at 557 Bennett Hill Road. Mr. Heins came forward at this time to assist with the proposal. Mr. Heins stated that after the Wards bought the house, an addition was built for an accessory apartment. In the existing four-bedroom house, they wish to dedicate two bedrooms for the use of bed and breakfast accommodations.
Mr. Jakubowski asked about the living area that was added on. Mrs. Ward said that it was the apartment for her parents. Mr. Mance asked about the proposal pertaining to the main house. Mr. Heins said that two bedrooms in the older part of the house would be dedicated to guests. He also said that they were proposing to replace the field behind the garage for purposes of modifying the property for guest parking. Mr. Mance also asked about changes to the landscaping for lighting; Mr. Heins said there were no plans.
Mr. Ward said that the business was going to be very seasonal because he and his wife go to Florida in November and do not return to Vermont until May. Mr. Mance said that the board was permitted, under Section 3.7.2.5, to get written comments from town services wherever applicable.
Mrs. Merritt asked how far away from the edge of the property are the leech fields. She also asked about the bedrooms and how many people they were going to accommodate. Mr. Heins said that they were planning to apply for a bed and breakfast license for only two rooms in the house.
Mr. Jakubowski said that the location map needed to be changed to reflect the revisions made to the property for the purpose of holding a bed and breakfast. Parking is behind the house and screened behind the house, with a provision made for handicapped space. Eight parking spaces plus the 3-car garage are to be included when the bed and breakfast is open. Mr. Jakubowski also asked if there is going to be an outdoors area for bed and breakfast use. Mrs. Ward said that only the patio would be used. Mr. Pennebaker asked if there is going to be any activity that might impinge on neighbors. Mr. Ward said there was not going to be.
Mr. Williams motioned that the issue be sent to the Zoning Board of Adjustment with their approval. Mr. Bubriski seconded. Motion passed 5-0-0.
Mr. Young moved to close the hearing; Mr. Bubriski seconded. Motion passed 5-0-0.
Mr. Mance stepped down from the board at this time.
Sketch plan for #05 69 58 concerning TAM, Inc. was the next issue on the agenda.
Mr. Mance and Trevor Mance came forward at this time and presented the board with sketch plans.
Mr. Mance said he would like to begin the process of looking at the site plan. The revised plan will include access from Airport Road, and an office building as one enters the premises. There will be a new transfer station site. The fuel tank will be moved to another location, and another building will be used for the maintenance of vehicles. An entrance on North Road will be used for truck access only. Office parking will be down on the lower level of the property, and the trees that exist on the north side of North Road will be kept. Mr. Knafel asked what was going to happen to the log yard. Mr. Mance said in about two years, the transfer station would be the first to go in, followed by the office and the garage. Mr. Mance said the doors in one of the buildings would be designed to be 4x8 on the west side so that cars could pull up and people could dispose of their trash easily. He proceeded to show the board the draft of the site plan to outline the location of the buildings. Mr. Knafel said that if the town were to utilize the business’ services, then access would be off of Airport Road.
Mr. Pennebaker asked if the doors in the transfer station would be at least 26 feet; T. Mance said that he had spoken with some construction consultants, who told him that 22 feet would be ideal. Mr. Williams said he was having a little trouble as to what is being proposed in the hearing. Mr. Mance said a 40 by 80 foot building for the garage; an office building in scale, about 30 by 40; and a transfer station were part of the proposals. He also said that he estimated 60% of more of waste is not going to be garbage, but rather recyclables, such as plastic bottles. Mr. Pennebaker asked if the amount of garbage was going to be sufficient for rail. Mr. Mance said that it would not, mainly for MSW. Mr. Jakubowski referred to the 4/26 minutes and asked if the issues brought up at that meeting were subject to conditional approval. Mr. Mance said that those issues were discussed and taken care of at that meeting.
Mr. Pennebaker said that he noticed the bank on the property was being cleared; T. Mance said that he has been busy this summer and cleared some of the vegetation on the property, but not much. Mr. Jakubowski then asked Mr. Zazzaro if this topic has been brought to zoning for a potential joint meeting. Mr. Knafel said that a site visit would most likely be needed. Mr. Jakubowski proposed that the site visit take place on the 23rd of August, at 6:30. Mr. Zazzaro said that he would put it in the agenda for the next meeting. Mr. Mance commented that they also had to test PH levels to see whether the levels are high or low, for safety precautions.
Mr. Jakubowski also commented that the original site plan stated that there was to be no chemicals left there once the property was developed, and that MSW was part of the chemicals that had to be removed. Mr. Biddy asked a question about the water (drainage issue) being directed away from the lot- i.e., what is the advisability of it? Mr. Mance said that the drainage issue was being handled by Secor, Inc. Mrs. Mellinger recommended that if the board have any questions about an issue such as this one, then they should send them to Mr. Metcalfe, the select board chair.
Mr. Bubriski asked about the overview on the bottom of page one. Mr. Mance said one of the reasons for the increase is that every transfer station has to pick up additional waste now that Burgess Brothers is closed. There is a real shortage of CND disposal capacity at the present time, according to Mr. Mance.
T. Mance stated that at the end of the day, the MSW must be cleaned off the floor of the transfer station, in accordance with state regulations. Mr. Bubriski asked Mr. Mance how one would know how much MSW would be off the floor; Mr. Mance said that all of the MSW on the floor goes on a trailer and it must be disposed within 48 hours. T. Mance said that all the waste has to get processed. He also stated that most of his load goes to county waste or to another facility in the Adirondacks. Mr. Pennebaker asked what divisions they are making between order and dust control. Mr. Mance said that since they are based in a closed building, there is odor involved. By having everything inside, Mr. Mance stated, they are controlling the odor. Dust control will be taken care of through water and calcium chloride. He also noted that he has been to the transfer station in Bennington and that there is not too much dust at that facility.
T. Mance noted that there wouldn’t be any spillage outside the building, due to a protective apron that he plans to put around it. Mr. Jakubowski said that there would be residential dropoff at the station; Mr. Mance said that there would be, but on a side of the building where it was to be paved. Mr. Pennebaker asked how dump trucks would be handled. Mr. Mance said he hadn’t anticipated it happening, but it is a potential possibility.
Mr. Bubriski also commented that there would be trucks coming into the facility on weekends with a load of CND- he said that would have to be controlled/policed so that nothing bad is dumped.
Mr. Rutheiser asked if the site plan for the facility to handle 15,000 tons of waste. He asked why the board would approve the site of the transfer station, when the town of Shaftsbury has not approved the tonnage. Mrs. Mellinger said the select board is under the impression that they should wait until Zoning and Planning can approve the plan. Her understanding was that planning would be looking at the volume because a transfer station like Trevor’s would be small in scale and low in volume.
Mr. Jakubowski said that when they looked at the issue many months ago, they noted that TAM is a private industry and has some of his business that is regulated by the state but not necessarily by the town. He said that it was designed to be solely a small-scale transfer station. Mrs. Mellinger asked if the volume proposed for the town is appropriate for the town. Mr. Jakubowski said that they have to deal with business.
Mr. Bubriski noted that he had attended a prior select board meeting and that he had received a list of potential problems, which Mrs. Mellinger referred to. He also said that he, as a planning board member, would like to see the select board work with the planning board. Mr. Williams commented that he would like to have the select board comment on what the scope of their powers were. Mr. Jakubowski said that the impacts (potential) would be effects on the residential zone, access to North Road, and the possibility of roads being closed to truck access.
Mr. Biddy asked if it was within the scope that the planning board had. Mr. Williams asked if they anticipated this being the final site plan. Mr. Mance said that there was a lot that they had to finalize the plan. T. Mance said that they anticipated working on this project for the next two to three years. Mr. Jakubowski asked what was going to happen to D&D Logs if they closed.
Mr. Biddy referred to the 9/27 zoning minutes and said he was under the impression that Trevor’s trucks were to be stored outside. He said that he was “assaulted” by the smell of garbage at one point in the summer and said that it was a nuisance to him. He told Trevor that he assumed the garbage trucks were stored inside. T. Mance commented that they work on the vehicles inside the garage, and that no permit ever said that they had to be stored inside. He also said that within a 4-bay garage, he could not store all of the trucks inside. T. Mance also said that he buried an exorbitant amount of trash at the landfill last weekend. Mr. Biddy also said that he had a few misgivings about the C&D being taken on the haulers and to the transfer station.
Mr. Jakubowski also noted that there are other transfer stations in the county and that they have similar problems. He told Mr. Mance that they would be lucky if they could have the whole plan approved within 6 months. Mr. Bubriski asked if there was any virtue on working with the temporary zoning bylaws pertaining to solid wastes.
Mr. Pennebaker moved to close the sketch plan review. Mr. Bubriski seconded. Motion passed 5-0-0.
Zoning Administrator’s Report:
Mr. Zazzaro talked to Dailey’s, Inc. about a building on Airport Road (old state police barracks)…he said that it was going back to being a single-family residence. Mr. Knafel noted that there is a paintball facility that backs up Clearbrook Farm, and that the business has expanded to weeknights. He also commented that noise levels have increased since the paintball business expanded their hours.
Minutes:
Mr. Mance moved to approve the minutes of 6/28; seconded by Mr. Williams. Motion passed 5-0-0.
Mr. Pennebaker moved to approve the minutes of 7/12; seconded by Mr. Young. Motion passed 5-0-0.
Mr. Mance moved to approve the minutes of 7/26; seconded by Mr. Knafel. Motion passed 5-0-0.
Mr. Knafel moved to adjourn the meeting; seconded by Mr. Williams. Motion passed 5-0-0.
Meeting adjourned at 10:52 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Paolo S. Rosales
Recording Secretary