MINUTES OF THE SHAFTSBURY PLANNING BOARD
FEBRUARY 12, 2008
COLE HALL
SHAFTSBURY, VERMONT
Board Present: Chris Williams, Craig Bruder, Bob Carter, Bill Pennebaker
Others Present: Susan Swasta (Recording Secretary)
1. Call Meeting to Order:
Chairman Chris Williams called the meeting to order at 7:02 PM.
2. Minutes:
January 22, 2008 Minutes
Bob Carter made motion to approve minutes. Craig Bruder seconded.
Motion carried 4-0-0.
3. New Business:
A. Election of Chairman:
Chairman Williams stated that last night they had passed an important hurdle with the Select Board's approval of the zoning bylaw revision and map changes. The gravel pit study has been completed. He said that those were the two objectives he had had in mind when he took on the Planning Commission chairmanship.
As they start Town Plan revision, he would like to step down as chair. Chairman Williams asked if anyone would take over. Craig Bruder said that he would.
Bob Carter nominated Craig Bruder as Planning Commission chairman. Bill Pennebaker seconded.
Chairman Williams stated that he will complete the zoning bylaw editing. He said that the Town Plan includes maps and other documents that are not on the Town web site. They need to request that Zoning Administrator Tony Zazzaro get all the Town Plan documents together.
Craig Bruder was elected Planning Commission Chairman by a vote of 3-0-1. (Mr. Bruder abstained.)
Chairman Williams said that Jim Henderson of the Bennington County Regional Commission (BCRC) advised him to apply for a municipal planning grant in the fall. This would pay for BCRC to do all of the background work on census, labor statistics, maps. etc. for the Town Plan revision. In the meantime, they can do the preliminary work on the revision.
B. Review the Building Permit Application:
Chairman Williams said that Mr. Zazzaro told him that the Development Review Board (DRB) has signed off on the forms and the Planning Commission should take a look at them. They are not final.
Mr. Pennebaker noted a reference to Zoning Board of Adjustment that should be changed to Development Review Board (DRB). He also said that DRB should be defined. Several other misspellings and minor errors were pointed out.
Chairman Williams asked whether the fee structure is logical, since permit application cost is the same for all buildings of the same size, whether the building is a pole barn or a McMansion. There was discussion on this, and on whether the cost of the project should be included on the form. Chairman Williams suggested getting rid of it, He said that Mr. Zazzaro told him it is still included because permit cost used to be based on cost of project. Mr. Pennebaker felt that the information might be useful to the listers.
There was further discussion of how projects of the same size may involve very different levels of building complexity and cost, and whether this should be included in the fee structure. The difference between a complex industrial building and a simple warehouse, or between a house and a pole barn, were given as examples. It was decided to send the form back to the DRB with these questions on fee structure.
B. Review the Subdivision Permit Application:
Chairman Williams asked why subdivision regulations are not included in the zoning bylaw. He said that the Planning Commission needs to become familiar with the subdivision regulations.
Mr. Bruder pointed out first and second page references to the Planning Commission that need to be changed. There was discussion of the fee structure, and no one was sure whether or not the $150 plus $150 applies only to major subdivisions.
Mr. Bruder stated that PUD and PRD need to be defined. Chairman Williams noted that a lot of the application is written in jargon that would not be familiar to homeowners. Chairman Williams said he will report their suggested changes and their questions back to Mr. Zazzaro.
C. Review the Subdivision Bylaws:
It was decided to postpone discussion of the subdivision bylaws until they get to that part of the Town Plan revision process.
4. Old Business:
A. Town Plan
Chairman Williams stated that in section 2.4 the reference to unlined landfill should be removed, and that "in the Town" should be struck in the next sentence. It was agreed that this paragraph needs to be changed to reflect the presence of the Town and private transfer stations.
Chairman Williams said that the language of the next paragraph needs to be changed, and all agreed. Mr. Pennebaker said reference should be made to the ordinance making open burning illegal.
The Board moved on to discussion of sections 2.5 and 2.6. In discussion of adequate housing, Chairman Williams stated for disclosure that he is president of the Board of Trustees of Regional Affordable Housing, which would likely build any affordable housing in Shaftsbury. He said that because of anti-discrimination statutes "residents" should be changed to "people." It was also agreed to change "adequate" to "affordable" and to strike "work to."
In section 2.8 it was agreed to change "residents" to "all." Board members discussed adding a new goal on energy efficiency, and decided that it should be 2.10, and the present 2.10 will become 2.11. Mr. Pennebaker suggested several wording changes in 2.10: striking "the" in "the children," "people" instead of persons, striking "of the Town", and "seniors" instead of "senior's"
Chairman Williams stated that revision of section 3 requires census data, so the consultants will work on this. He stated that section 4, on Town history, has not changed. Mr. Bruder noted that in paragraph five it should be "the 1870's." In paragraph nine Mr. Pennebaker suggested changing William E. Dailey Company to "Peckham Industries, formerly the William E. Dailey Company."
Mr. Bruder said that in section 5, on physical characteristics, nothing really struck him as wrong. There was a brief discussion of the nature and location of archaeological sites. Chairman Williams suggested inserting language on nonpoint source pollution to the section on streams. They can call on Josh Gorman of the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation for this. Mr. Bruder pointed out typos in the sections on wetlands and groundwater, and grammatical problems in the paragraph on water systems.
Mr. Bruder said he saw no problems with the air quality section. There was a brief discussion of the wilderness forest designation, which does not impact Shaftsbury. Under section 7, Agricultural Lands, there was discussion of the paragraph that refers to preservation of agricultural lands by encouraging development of village centers. Board members discussed water availability in the village center and the problem of low density sprawl taking agricultural land.
4. Other Business:
A. Election of Vice Chairman
Mr. Bruder nominated Chris Williams as Planning Commission Vice Chairman. Bill Pennebaker seconded. Motion carried 4-0-0.
Mr. Bruder noted that the Town web site needs updating. He agreed to email Select Board Chairman Wynn Metcalfe about this.
Chairman Williams said that they need to get back to zoning map changes for the railroad and the new Peckham property right away. He will email Mr. Zazzaro on this. He suggested sending registered letter to abutting property owners.
Meeting adjourned at 8:56 PM.
Respectfully Submitted,
Susan M. Swasta