SOUTH HERO DEVELOPMENT REVIEW BOARD MINUTES December 13, 2017
Members present: T. Maxham, D. Patterson, G. Hunt, N. Hayward, L. Kilcoyne, S. Corbin, R. Krebs, J. Brightwell
Public present: Linda Fishell, Ken Fishell, Sandra McAllister, Scott McAllister, Jeff Seguin, Martha Taylor-Varney (ZA)
7:00PM – T. Maxham opened the meeting; DRB members introduced themselves.
Changes to the Agenda
There were none.
7:02 — Continued Site Plan Review – Ross Brown (18-33-PF001)
This is a continuation of the November 8, 2017 review. There was a site visit on November 11, 2017. Ross told the Board that the damaged culvert at the Landon Rd. access will be replaced with a larger 15” culvert; and a 15” culvert will be added to the Peters Farm Rd. access.
Sherry Corbin said the proposed structure was oriented to Peter’s Farm Rd. instead of Landon Rd. and was concerned that there may be confusion for those using GPS or Google maps as to where the entrance is to the restaurant parking. She asked if the DRB had jurisdiction over what the address of the parcel could be. Ross answered that signage will direct cars to the entrance off Landon Rd. and that he will not change the address to Landon Rd. Liza Kilcoyne also felt the building was oriented to Peters Farm Rd. and asked if the main door could face toward the Landon Rd. entrance. Ross said the slope of the standing seam roof would result in snow sliding off the roof onto the entrance and he preferred to keep the main entrance where it was. She was also concerned that the parking was not oriented to the main entrance.
Tim Maxham recommended signage to direct cars to the Landon Rd. entrance. Ross said the Peters Farm Rd. access had been sited to avoid an access directly across from the Seguin home. Ross intention is to keep traffic off Landon Rd. and to keep the kitchen in the southwest side of the structure. He wants to maintain screening on Peters Farm Rd. Any signage there will be have downward lighting.
Doug Patterson asked about the restaurant’s outdoor smokers – where will they be located? What size are they? Ross said there will be a 500-gallon smoker and outside pizza oven located by the west corner of the structure, immediately outside the kitchen, and adjacent to a wooded area (they will be placed over the site of the septic tanks). They are designed to be low-smoke due to the temperature of about 250 degrees and produce much less smoke than a wood-fired furnace.
In response to Bob Kreb’s question about screening, Ross stated that a dense planting of elderberry bushes will provide enough screening. He said he will also be planting apple trees between the elderberry bushes along Peters Farm Rd. and the parking area.
Ross stated that the lighting will be 150W LED and he offered to install additional 48” to 52” bollards for additional lighting. The exterior of the structure will be wood siding that will be allowed to darken naturally, rather than the red painted exterior in the photo supplied with the application materials. All electricity from the road will be underground; there will be an “exit only” sign on the Peters Farm Rd. access; there will be a sign in the parking area pointing toward the entrance to the restaurant. The double doors on the southwest side of the structure will access both the kitchen and stairs to the apartment/storage/office upstairs. Ross is expecting approval of his Act 250 application.
Jeff Seguin (neighbor) stated that previous truck traffic on Peters Farm Rd. had torn up the road and asked if truck traffic will be directed to the Landon Rd. entrance. Ross said that it would. Mr. Seguin asked if parking for tenants of the apartment would be limited to 2 vehicles; Ross said yes.
7:31 PM – T. Maxham closed the hearing.
7:36 — Request for Variance – Fishell (18-38-SB033)
The warning was read, introductions made, and interested persons sworn in. Ross Brown re-joined the Board to review this application.
Linda Fishell (Applicant) explained to the Board that in the process of stabilizing the camp structure with steel I-beams, they had to remove 2 attached sheds with a deck of the same depth between on the north (road) side of the camp. The sheds and existing deck spanned the entire width of the structure. She is requesting to replace the entire space with a deck that will be expanded to 8 feet in depth, plus a 4’x4’ set of stairs centered on the north face. The deck will have a railing. The expanded size will allow for a more reasonable use rather than the previous 4-ft. depth.
None of the 50-ft. wide lot is compliant to the side setbacks. The structure is compliant to the road (north) side, and the location of the proposed construction is outside the lake setback.
Abutting property owners on the east and west sides of the camp have emailed letters of support for the proposed addition.
Sherry Corbin asked that the dimensions to the side boundaries be added to the site plan that was submitted with the application. Distances were included in the ZA’s staff report.
7:47 PM – T. Maxham closed the hearing.
Review of Minutes
- Patterson moved to accept the minutes of the November 8, 2017 DRB meeting; N. Hayward second. All in favor.
Public Input
There was none.
Administrator’s Report
- The Selectboard has re-appointed Doug and Gareth to full 3-year terms on the Board. Martha has received letters of interest from both Jim Brightwell and Bob Krebs for re-appointment to 1-year terms as Alternates, and will recommend that the Selectboard agree.
- There will be no other DRB meetings this month. The next meeting will be January 10, 2018 at which there is one hearing currently scheduled.
- The Board will re-organize at the January 10 meeting to elect a Chair, Vice or Co-Chair, and Clerk.
There was additional discussion on a future clerk for the Board, variances vs. waivers, Village Center designations, and Act 250.
8:17 PM – R. Brown moved to adjourn and move to deliberative; S. Corbin second. All in favor.
Respectfully submitted,
Martha Taylor-Varney, ZA
Signed: _____________________________________ Date: ________________________
For the DRB
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These minutes are unofficial until approved at the next regularly-scheduled meeting. All motions were unanimous unless otherwise indicated.