SOUTH HERO PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES June 20, 2018
Members present: D. Patterson (Chair); S. Gregg (Vice-Chair); B. Kerr
Member Absent: D. Roy
Public Present: Martha Taylor-Varney, ZA
7:03PM – D. Patterson called the meeting to order.
Changes to the Agenda
There were none.
Public Input
There was none.
Con’t Review of Draft Development Regulations – Articles 5 and 6
- Patterson submitted a draft of a new Section 503 within Article 5 (General Regulations) to clarify standards for driveways for a single-unit dwelling. No construction standards would be required for these driveways, but standards for driveways exceeding 400 and 800 feet are suggested for the health, safety, and welfare of the occupants of these dwellings. Submitted language under Article 6 (Development Standards) included a possible exemption by the DRB, on a case-by-case basis, from the requirement to upgrade an existing road to Town road standards, with an emphasis placed on the health, safety, and welfare of new dwelling units on proposed parcels. Doug commented that once the survey of the roads in town is complete, the DRB will have more information on which roads may need to be reviewed. In addition, the Board discussed whether the Town’s definition of a road should be the same as the State E911 definition (anything more than 2 dwellings or uses) and chose to maintain the current definition of 4 or more (per current definition found in Section 502).
Under proposed Section 704 (Home Occupations), the members discussed what the definition of a MINOR portion of a structure is. It was decided to limit it to 30%. Additional discussion concerned clarifying between the use of a dwelling and an accessory structure. B Kerr agreed to work on this section and present it at the next meeting.
There was additional discussion about the approval procedure and whether the Commission would prefer to present the updates as one document or to do it piecemeal. Doug agreed with Jonathan Shaw’s suggestion at the June 4th meeting to present the entire document at a public hearing and then take the temperature afterwards as to the response to the proposed changes.
Review of Minutes
- Gregg moved to approve the minutes from the June 4, 2018 Special Meeting; B. Kerr second. All in favor.
New/Old Business
The members asked Martha to look at the Act 250 permit for Island Racing to see if there are any conditions of approval related to noise or hours of operation.
Administrator’s Report
The first-Wednesday-in-July meeting (the 4th) is cancelled. The Commission’s next meeting will be July 18. Martha will be out of town for that meeting. S. Gregg agreed to take minutes for that meeting.
Con’t Review of Proposed Sign Ordinance
- There was discussion on the average life-span of a sign and how long it would take before all signs were required to meet the ordinance standards.
- Should here be an inventory of signs in town before the new ordinance goes into effect.
- Signs with the names of subdivision should be exempt from size limitations.
- How many sandwich board signs to allow? 2 per business?
- Sandy will look up the state statute related to political election signs to include in the ordinance, rather than just referencing it.
- What percentage of window space should be allowed for signs? No more than 30%?
- Internally-lit signs/church bulletin board signs – should have timers; should be lit from above.
- Any exempt signs must still meet the general standards. In the body of the Ordinance, ‘exempt signs’ should follow ‘general standards.’
*Continue discussion with “general standards” at the July 18 meeting.
9:03PM – S. Gregg moved to adjourn; B. Kerr second. All in favor.
Respectfully submitted,
Martha Taylor-Varney, ZA
Sign: ____________________________________________ Date: ____________________
For the Planning Commission
These minutes are unofficial until the next regularly-scheduled meeting. All motions were unanimous unless otherwise indicated.