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April 5, 2023 PC Minutes

PC minutes, Planning Commission

SOUTH HERO PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES                                       April 5, 2023

 

Members Present: Sandy Gregg (Chair); George Harwood; Don Bedard

Members Absent: Dave Roy; Michele Gammal

Others Present: Tim Maxham; Nancy Tracy (via Zoom); Joan Falcao (via Zoom); Emily Klofft (NRPC); Martha Taylor-Varney (ZA).

 

6:00PM – S. Gregg opened the meeting.  There was a quorum of the Board present.

 

Changes to the Agenda

  1. Gregg added Sidewalk Scoping Study updates to Old Business.

 

Public Comment

There was none.

 

Town Plan

Emily Klofft of Northwest Regional Planning presented the first full draft of the final document. A second draft, with edits from the Commission members, will be presented at a special meeting on Thursday, April 14 (6PM at the Town Office), after which it cannot be edited until after the scheduled Planning Commission public hearing on May 17.  The Commission members can continue to review the document after 4/13 but cannot edit the document itself until after public comment on May 17.  On April 17, the draft must be sent to the Planning Commission Chairs of abutting towns to South Hero [Grand Isle; Milton; Colchester], to NRPC, and the Vermont Department of Housing and Community Development.

Emily told the Commission that minor additions were made in the Natural Resources and Land Use section, including clarification of language re Emerald Ash Borer, adding a reference to forestry (related to State planning goals), and additional language under Historic and Archeological Resources.

All maps are now in the Plan, although some still need final updates.  Topic codes are identified on the left side of each page by a colored column.  S. Gregg asked that the topics in the table of contents be color coded to match those.  There was additional discussion on how to clarify ‘conserved land’ on the Land Use map, so it wasn’t confused with the Conservation Zoning District, and adding more references to Vibrant Villages (earlier identified as one of the themes of the Town Plan). Under the Housing section, the Commission asked that chart 5.1, regarding whether short-term rentals should be regulated needs, needs ‘Source: Town Plan Survey’ added.

The next meeting to finalize the draft before presenting it at the May 17 Public Hearing will be warned as a special meeting on Thursday, April 13 at 6PM at the Town Office after which the PC will transmit early Draft Town Plan to the Selectboard in preparation for the May 17 Planning Commission public hearing.  S. Gregg asked the members to send her edits to the document by Monday, April 10.  Additional language on airstrips and heliports is needed in the Land Use section.  Should numbers be added to each line in the Implementation section?  The Commission discussed whether a housing assessment committee is needed to analyze what types of housing exist, what is needed, and where.  Can they get some of this information from the Listers?

The Planning Commission’s public hearing will be May 17.  The document will be presented to the public by the Selectboard at the Selectboard at their meeting on May 22, at which time the Selectboard will consider suggestions f or adding amendments.  The Selectboard’s public hearing on the 2023 Town Plan is tentatively scheduled for June 26th.  An August 1, 2023 Town vote to decide whether to adopt the Plan is anticipated.

 

Old Business

  1. ARPA – The Selectboard has scheduled a special meeting for May 1 to hold a public hearing on the ARPA Committee’s recommendations for the Town’s ARPA funds.
  2. Wastewater Planning and Assessment Committee – Harwood reported that the Committee has learned that a large Northern Borders grant may be available for next year but is not guaranteed after that. Although there is no current plan in place yet, the committee has discussed whether it is feasible to apply this year.  Discussion included submitting a letter of intent and asking the Selectboard for a new mandate.  Tim Maxham stated that there were still too many unknowns, and it was putting the cart before the horse. He wants to know the potential capacity of future systems and the geographic areas that will be affected.  He is concerned about the loss of the future uses of ag land.  G. Harwood stated that 5 possible sites have been identified and that test pits are scheduled for this spring.
  3. VTrans Sidewalk Scoping Study – A consultant selection committee of S. Gregg, M. Gammal, Greta Brunswick (NRPC), and Martha-Taylor Varney have ranked 4 of VTrans’ pre-approved consultants and sent those to Greta Brunswick at NRPC. The study will include RT 2 in both villages and South St., from RT 2 to the school.  A Steering Committee needs to be formed to overview the project.  Suggested configuration of the steering committee is 2 PC members (Michele Gammal and Don Bedard), 3 Rec Commission members (Dylan Degree, Guy McGuire, and Jessica Jackson?), and 1 Selectboard member (Chuck Hulse?). Potential members will be contacted to see if they are interested.

 

New Business

  1. Gregg reported that another Community Cheers and Cheese has been tentatively scheduled for Monday, June 26 from 4 to 6PM at the Old Meeting House.

 

Meeting Minutes

  1. Harwood moved to approve the minutes from the March 15, 2023 meeting; D. Bedard second. All in favor.
  2. Harwood moved to approve the minutes from the March 23, 2023 special meeting; S. Gregg second. All in favor.
  3. Bedard moved to accept the minutes from the March 29, 2023 special meeting; S. Gregg second. All in favor.

Administrator’s Report

  1. Zoning 101 will begin on Thursday, April 27, 2023 at 6PM at the Town Office. The meeting will be help in person in the Boardroom and will also be filmed by LCATV.  There will be no Zoom option for these meetings.
  2. Martha told the Commission about FEMA’s Flood Resilience Communities Fund that will be available for floodplain restoration, helping to create large=scale flood resilience focused projects, and to support buyouts when a property may not be eligible for a FEMA buyout. The Commission was interested in whether private property owners were eligible for this fund.  Martha will contact Stephanie Smith, State Hazard Mitigation Officer, to find out.
  3. Guy Maguire of South Hero Land Trust contacted Molly Varner about adding the Town Garage property to the Keeler Bay Action Plan. The new salt shed will remove the current salt/sand pile from the garage parking lot, which will help mitigate runoff into the ditch on the east boundary of the lot, which eventually drains to Keeler Bay.  Gregg suggested that Martha speak to M. Gammal about this, as she is a member of that committee.
  4. There was additional discussion on whether a Planning Commission can have Alternate members. Previous member Fred Bartle resigned from the Commission when he was going to be away for about a year because VLCT told us that no Alternates are allowed for Planning Commissions.  The state-wide ZA’s List serve quoted statute that appeared to contradict that.  Martha will look into this further.

 

Next Meeting

The next meeting will be a special meeting on Thursday, April 13, 2023 at 6PM to final ize the draft of the Town Plan with NRPC.

 

Adjournment

8PM – G. Harwood moved to adjourn; D. Bedard second.  All in favor.

 

Respectfully submitted,

Martha Taylor-Varney, ZA

 

 

Signed: ___________________________________________ Date: _____________________

For the Planning Commission

 

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