Arlington Planning Commission
Minutes – 6/25/2026
Planning Commission members in attendance:
Sebastian Massey
Mary Anne Holmes
Michael Murno
Jenna Tait
Joan Nash (APC alternate)
Also in attendance: Lorraine Croft; Cynthia Browning, Town Administrator & APC alternate; Nick Zaiac, BCRC; Scott Grimm-Lyon, BCRC.
A motion was made by Michael Murno to approve the minutes from the last APC meeting (May 28, 2026), seconded by Cynthia Browning. Approved unanimously.
No Public Comments
New Business: Lorraine Croft of 1593 Warm Brook Road presented an application for a variance to expand a nonconforming structure in the Rural District. An existing two-story house is only 7 feet from the rear property line instead of the required 35-foot setback. Ms. Croft plans to replace this house with a slightly larger one-story prefabricated structure that would also be 7 feet from the rear property line. Using the same site is dictated by utilities and the septic system location. Dimensions and locations of other structures on the parcel can be seen on the sketch plan in the application.
The Commission noted that additional information must be added to the sketch plan when the application is presented to the Zoning Board of Adjustment. The area of the parcel, the heights and areas of all structures, the distance to other buildings on neighboring parcels if less than 200 feet, and the distance to a nearby pond all need to be shown. Ms. Croft has gathered the information and will add it.
Ms. Tait made a motion to approve the site plan for the ZBA, conditional on the incorporation of the additional information into the permit application. Mr. Massey seconded the application. The motion passed unanimously.
Arlington Town Plan Revision:
Mr. Grimm-Lyon and Mr. Zaiac of the BCRC presented materials related to the project of revising the Arlington Town Plan. There was a review of the timeline and tasks for the overall execution of the project, the desired structure and content of the new version of the plan as well as the survey to be distributed to the public.
The Commission determined that the framework for the revision of the town plan will be the fourth option presented by the BCRC: thematic with major introduction. It was agreed that in revised plan all maps and tables will be presented at the end of each chapter and that photographs will only be used to illustrate particular points.
There followed an extended review of the survey questions, with discussion and editing of many of the questions, and consideration of outreach methods.
Act 181 update:
The governor signed the S325 into law thereby modifying Act 181. Here is what the Vermont League of Cities and Towns noted are the key changes to Act 181 through the passage of S325:
- Repeal the road rule
- Repeal Tier 3
- Extend to 2028 temporary Act 250 exemptions for housing.
- Change the process for amending regional plans so that minor amendments would not require public hearings, nonminor amendments would require only a 15-day notice period before a public hearing, and Tier 1B status requests could be adopted through a regional plan amendment or separately.
- Direct the LURB to contract with the State Natural Resources Council, in consultation with the Land Access Opportunity Board, to develop a public engagement plan to study and report on the risks of losing critical natural resources not already well protected by current land use policy, including agricultural soils, forest blocks, habitat connectors of statewide significance, and headwaters; and equitable, efficient, and effective regulatory or non-regulatory tools to protect these critical natural resources.
- New reporting for the Land Use Review Board for Act 250 jurisdiction over commercial activities on farms and their effects on prime agricultural soils, and the effects of Act 250 in limiting sprawl for retail and commercial activity outside of village centers.
- Create a Joint Legislative Environmental Oversight Committee comprised of three Representatives and two Senators to oversee the Land Use Review Board, the implementation of Act 181, Act 250 permitting, and Agency of Natural Resources and their permitting processes.
- Require that the future land use areas in the regional plan be consistent with the goals established in enumerated “smart growth principles”.
Act 73 Update: After agreeing not to pursue forced mergers as reported last month, the governor signed H955, which further defines Act 73, into law. H955 creates seven Cooperative Educational Service Areas (CESAs) to coordinate regional services. It encourages voluntary mergers and advocates that neighboring school districts start study committees to discuss ways to consolidate starting in October 2026. Mergers that are agreed upon by these committees will go to voters in 2028. What remains murky is what happens when no mergers are agreed upon, and the text seems to imply that from that point forwards something resembling forced mergers may come into play. That last is something that bears watching. The legislation also accelerates the timeline for implementation of the new education funding formula as well as additional spending controls to moderate future cost growth. These were essentially concessions made to the governor to get him to drop the push for forced mergers.
Garret wrote in a note to the Planning Commission that he had an interesting conversation with Senator Bongartz at a public meeting regarding Vermont Wetland Mapping Updates hosted by the BCCD at the Arlington Commons on June 16th. Bongartz said that he had inserted language into H955 that he believes specifically spares Arlington High School from closing as it keeps Arlington as a separate school district. This suggestion requires some follow up. The Planning Commission may want to consider having him come and talk about this assertion at a future Planning Commission meeting.
The next meeting of the APC will take place on July 23rd at 7pm at Town Hall. The agenda and Zoom link to the meeting will be posted to the town website as usual for those who cannot attend in person.
A motion was made to adjourn the meeting at 9:09 pm by Michael Murno and was seconded by Mary Anne Holmes.