Arlington Planning Commission
Minutes – 2/26/2026
Planning Commission member in attendance:
Jon Murray
Mary Anne Holmes
Jenna Tait
Sebastian Massey
Sunjit Chawla
Michael Murno
Garret Siegel
Also in attendance:
Cynthia Browning, Interim Town Administrator
A motion was made by Sebastian Massey to approve the minutes from the last APC meeting (January 22, 2026), seconded by Mary Anne Holmes. Approved unanimously.
No public Comments
Town Meeting Flyer:
The Planning Commission reviewed and made slight changes to the wording for a flyer produced by the BCRC promoting and inviting public participation in the forthcoming revision of the Arlington Town Plan. Garret promised to send the revisions to the BCRC so that it could be printed in time for Town Meeting.
Town Report:
Garret distributed a copy of the Planning Commission report that he prepared for the Arlington Town Report.
Housing Update: The “Road Rule” & Tier 3 areas
Act 181 set up the tier system – 1A, 1B, 2, 3 – that the BCRC has previously presented to the APC and for which we recommended the application for Tier 1B status to the Select Board in the late fall. One thing not previously discussed was the “Road Rule” created by the Act which will become effective July 1, 2026. This rule requires Act 250 environmental permits for constructing new private roads over 800 feet long or combined road/driveway lengths exceeding 2,000 feet. The Vermont League of Cities and Towns notes that “this creates a massive new jurisdictional trigger for Act 250 that could affect areas of Vermont that are currently light density neighborhoods and/or are transitional and planned for future growth.” Tier 3 regulates “habitat corridors” and particularly forested areas, but interestingly, this new area includes significant stretches of state highway and Class 2 roads, including areas where the state highway serves as Main Street in many towns. Garret noted that overall, while expanding the town centers, Act 181 when combined with the River Corridors legislation expands Act 250 controls at a time that we face a real housing crisis here in Vermont. Vermont Housing Commission, Alex Farrell, has noted that future Act 250-exempted areas in Tier 1 are projected to encompass 2% of Vermont total land area. The Road Rule and Tier 3 areas together would impede new housing development over more than 80% of the state.
There are currently legislative fixes being debated in Montpelier. Notably, Governor Scott has called for a full repeal of the “Road Rule.” He has additionally called for:
- Elimination of the requirement that municipalities enforce existing Act 250 permits in Tier 1A areas.
- Towns to be required to opt out of Tier 1B designations rather than opt into them.
- And pertinently for the town of Arlington, require municipal plans to adopt local housing targets or to document barriers to achieving local housing goals such as lack of developable area, significant flood hazard area, lack of water and sewer capacity as well as other impediments.
Since 2021 the state has invested $700 million of state and federal funds to housing initiatives with a net of 2,000 new housing units created. The state housing target is the creation of more than 30,000 new units by 2030.
The Year Ahead:
Obviously, the revision of the Town Plan will take time, perhaps necessitating an occasional special meeting of the APC in order to complete the revision. Jenna has mentioned that it would be good to review the wastewater situation in Arlington. It was agreed that the Commission might want to invite members of the Arlington Wastewater committee to present to the us.
Wastewater:
It was acknowledged that there is a need for expanded wastewater treatment in the centers of Arlington and of East Arlington. The quoted cost of wastewater expansion in town is roughly $20 million. The school water system has more capacity than it can distribute and has been targeted as the chief driver of wastewater expansion. There are many anecdotal examples of development that is in character of the town but is currently unattainable due to wastewater limitations and costs. More than 50% of applications for wastewater funding in Vermont are not currently funded, including the application made by the town of Arlington.
Town Plan Revision Update:
Garret noted that the census data needs to be updated in the new revision. There were 1285 housing units as of the 2010 census, which was the last data available at the time of our last revision. It was agreed that the revision would benefit from greater town participation. It was noted that the town of Sunderland had had a potluck event called Sunderland Shines, and it is potentially a good format to encourage people to participate in the town revision. Ideally, the APC would like to see participation from those with children in our schools, from those working in local business as well as participants in town governance. It was also suggested that some elements of the Arlington Area Renewal project might also contribute to expanding participation.
Additionally, goals for the plan revision discussed were walkability and the areas of town where this issue is of greatest concern. It was agreed that the corner of Route 313 and Route 7A is specifically to be noted. There is an existing and funded project to connect the school to the rec park via an extended sidewalk, but the issue of crossing over to the other side of Route 7A will remain paramount.
There was interest noted on whether public information exists about how many properties are owned in town by people versus LLC’s as well as how many businesses have started the process of inquiring about opening in town but ultimately decided not to. This last issue is very likely related to the wastewater issue.
Town Welcome Letter:
The idea of a town welcome letter to new habitants of Arlington was revisited. The idea is that this letter might be given by the Town Clerk to a new homeowner/business owner when they file paperwork related to their property transfer. The goal of the letter would be to serve as a primer on town permitting and requirements, on the structure of town government, on the resources that can be provided by the town Land Use Administrator (including information about Efficiency Vermont, Window Dressers & the BROC, etc.), on the town website (which will be updated and improved in 2026), on recreation guidance as well as on private property usage. Sunjit offered to try to flesh some of these ideas out.
Next meeting:
The next meeting of the APC will take place on March 26, 2026 at 7pm at town hall. An agenda for the meeting as well as a Zoom link to attend the meeting remotely will be posted to the town website. Todd Wilkins and Nicol What of the Arlington School Board have been invited to attend this meeting.
A motion was made to adjourn the meeting at 9:09 pm by Jenna Tait and was seconded by Jon Murray.