September 25, 2019 DRB Minutes | Town of Town of South Hero

SOUTH HERO DEVELOPMENT REVIEW BOARD September 25, 2019

Members Present: Tim Maxham (Chair); Doug Patterson (Vice Chair); Jim Brightwell (alternate); Ross Brown, Nate Hayward; Gareth Hunt; Liza Kilcoyne

Others Present: Martha Taylor-Varney (Zoning Administrator)

Members Absent: Sherry Corbin;

Public Present: Buermann, Jay; Gammal, Michele; Gammal, Mike; Peterman, Richard; Santor, Michael; Santor, Sara

Call to Order: The meeting was called to order by T. Maxham at 7:00 p.m.

Changes to Agenda: None.

Public Input: None.

Hearing: 20-05-WH066 Matthew and Sarah Santor 2-lot Subdivision Final Plan

Maxham opened the hearing at 7:04 p.m.

Notice & Oath

Patterson read the hearing warning. T. Maxham administered the oath to the attending members of the public for both hearings.

Appearing on behalf of the applicant:

Mike & Sara Santor

Hearing Notes

Mike Santor said that water and electrical easements had been added to the site plan per request of the Board. Although VEC had performed a site visit, the final path for the new electric line and cable service have not been determined. Correct landowner information had been updated for lots to the west and a conditional construction easement for the drainage culvert had been added.

Taylor-Varney said that all items requested in the previous hearing had been updated to the final plat.
Taylor-Varney said the applicant has 6 months to record the final plat and asked if the applicant would have sufficient time to resolve issues such as where the electric service will come in. She said that the Board will condition the approval on update of final plan.
Brown made a motion to accept final plat as Exhibit 1. The motion was seconded by N. Hayward and carried by acclamation.
Maxham closed the hearing at 7:14.

Hearing: Continuation of 19-72-RT456 Keeler Bay Campground and Marina Conditional Use/Site Plan Review to relocate and increase number of marina docks

Maxham opened the hearing at 7:18 p.m.

Appearing on behalf of the applicant:

Jay Buermann, Michelle and Mike Gammal.

Hearing Notes

Maxham announced that the Board had conducted a site visit this past Saturday. The purpose of the site visit was a visual inspection of the property. Questions that may have been discussed must be repeated in the hearing for the benefit of all to hear.

Mike Gammal said that J. Buermann completed a site plan that included setbacks from the lake, lighting, and other requested items. The new site plan includes lighting on driveways between water and in the parking area. All lighting will match what will be installed on the docks. The proposed lighting consists of solar-powered, downward-facing LEDs with motion and light sensors. A cut sheet with lighting specs has been submitted. Mike Gammal said that he is proposing a 35’ to 38’ spread between the lights.

Mike Gammal said that there is a 28’ minimum setback from the property boundary for the 32-stall parking lot next to the Velasquez property.

Maxham asked what the water depth was at the proposed old and new locations of the dock trees. Mike Gammal said that the new location has a foot to a foot and a half additional depth.
Brightwell asked where the existing septic was on the site plan. Mike Gammal described several existing septic areas, which he said were not shown on the site plan.
Hayward asked how storm water is to be conveyed from parking to the discharge areas. J. Buermann said that they will have to apply for a State storm water permit as the impervious area will be more than an acre. J. Buermann said that in his estimation the discharge areas depicted were sufficient but he had not yet done the calculations. The State permit requires that all runoff is captured, run through pretreatment along parking lot, and then piped to discharge areas. He hopes to accommodate runoff from all of the impervious areas into the southerly discharge area.
Maxham explained to the audience that although the Board does not have jurisdiction over runoff, the Board had requested that the applicant bring their engineer J. Buermann to the hearing to answer any questions that may be raised by the community regarding runoff in particular.
Hayward asked if there would be a swale on the edge of the 32-car parking lot adjacent to Velasquez. J. Buermann said that there would not just be a swale, but that runoff from the parking area would be captured and directed to the discharge area.
Patterson asked if the applicant would be grading the parking area. J. Buermann said yes. D. Patterson asked whether the cut would affect the adjacent Montani residence. J. Buermann said that there was sufficient room for grading and that detail would be captured on the storm water design.
Maxham asked Mike Gammal to go through the details of construction of the ramps and docks. Mike Gammal said that the existing lake access structures consisted of 4’ x 12” pressure-treated wood decks that lead to pressure-treated wood stairs, that in turn lead down to a concrete block landing. From there an aluminum ramp leads to the dock. The existing structures will be removed and the shoreline will be restored, including filling in the existing ramp. The new ramp will be on an existing cut on the shoreline.
Maxham asked if any trees will be removed. Mike Gammal said that they are permitted by Shoreland to cut brush, but not trees. He said that he is planning to leave the existing vegetation as a natural barrier between the parking and the Velasquez property.
Maxham asked what will be done about the low overhead telephone line that crosses the proposed driveway. Mike Gammal said that he had been in communication with the telephone company, but did not have a firm plan at this time. He acknowledged that the height of the phone line would have to be addressed.
Maxham asked what the hours of operation will be. After discussion, Mike Gammal said that he was not asking for anything different than what had previously been granted. The Board agreed that the applicant could return in the future if hours of operation should change.
Buermann said that he had also added a sign location to the site plan. T. Maxham said that with the advent of the new sign ordinance, while the Board no longer had jurisdiction over the sign, the location was required on the site plan. Mike Gammal said that the sign would be the same design as the current sign.
Hayward asked about the reduced size of the food truck parking shown on the site plan. Mike Gammal said that it had been made smaller to leave room for a replacement wastewater system should it ever be needed, and that the size shown would be adequate for the proposed food truck.
Patterson asked if there was to be any screening between the parking area and Mr. Velasquez’ lot. Mike Gammal said that the existing vegetation obscured the view, but that if there were any concerns down the road he would be happy to address it. Michele Gammal said that it was rare that people were there at night.
Maxham asked for comments from the public. There were none.
Taylor-Varney asked if the applicant was planning to expand all at once. Mike Gammal said that he would expand as needed.
Maxham asked if the applicant had discussed a visual barrier with Mr. Velasquez. M. Gammal said no, other than any discussion at previous hearings.
Hunt made a motion to enter the site plan as Exhibit #2. The motion was seconded by R. Brown and carried by acclamation.
Kilcoyne made a motion to enter the lighting proposal as Exhibit #3. The motion was seconded by N. Hayward and carried by acclamation.
Hunt made a motion to accept the site plan as complete. The motion was seconded by R. Brown and carried by acclamation.
Maxham closed the hearing at 8:06.

Request by M. Bartle to Change Location of Dumpster at the Proposed Brew Pub.

Taylor-Varney reported that she had consulted with the Vermont League of Cities and Towns (VLCT) regarding how to handle a minor change to a previously approved application. VLCT replied that unless the Town bylaws have different provisions the change should be treated as a new application and warned. M. Taylor-Varney said that she would consult with the Selectboard to set a fee that would hopefully be smaller than that for a completely new application.

Review of Minutes

Kilcoynee moved to accept the minutes of minutes of September 11^th as presented. R. Brown seconded, and the motion passed by acclamation.

Administrator’s Report

The Administrator’s Report was delivered by Martha Taylor-Varney (Zoning Administrator).

Upcoming Schedule

October 9: (1) sketch plan and 3-lot minor subdivision for Bond for a parcel at the intersection of Martin Road and South Street. (2) sketch plan for 3-lot subdivision for Wright. A site visit is scheduled for October 5^th at 8:00 a.m.

October 23: (1) Wright final plat. (2) Variance request on Richards Road. (3) Change for dumpster location at the brew pub.

November 13: Continuation of R.L. Vallee conditional use and site plan hearing.

November 27: Nothing on schedule.

Brown made a motion to cancel the November 27^th meeting given its proximity to Thanksgiving. The motion was seconded by L. Kilcoyne and approved by acclamation.

December 11: 2-lot subdivision on West Shore road.

Adjournment

Brown moved to adjourn the business meeting. The motion was seconded by G. Hunt and carried by acclamation at 8:45 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

James G. Brightwell

Clerk for S. Hero Development Review Board

Signed: ____________________________________________ Date: __________________

For the Development Review Board

These minutes are unofficial until approved at the next regularly-scheduled meeting. All motions were unanimous unless otherwise indicated.