TOWN OF ARLINGTON
PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING
Minutes of Meeting – Thursday August 22, 2024
Members Present: Garret Siegel, Sebastian Massey, Charles Moore, Elliott Nachwalter, Sunjit Chawla (Zoom), Michael Murno
Other Attendees: Joan Nash (Land Use Administrator), Nick Zaiac (initially)
Attendees from the Public: Jeff Gould, Meredith Gould, Alex Ernst, Cynthia Eisenstein, Christian Heins, Bill Henry, Tim Wiechmann, Bronwyn Wiechmann
Attendance Formats: Town Hall, Zoom Video Conferencing or Phone
The meeting was called to order at 7:01 pm by Chairman Garret Siegel.
Public Comments unrelated to the proceedings – None
Before we got into the business of the meeting, Nick Zaiac announced that he is working with BCRC on Hazardous Mitigation and if anyone on the Planning Commission wants to be involved, they should contact him as soon as possible.
A motion to accept the minutes of our July meeting was made by Sebastian Massey, seconded by Charles Moore. Motion carried.
Garret introduced the first order of business as the Gould property where a pavilion has been constructed in the floodway without a permit. The owner is seeking a permit after the fact. Jeff Gould stated that he was unaware a permit was necessary. As there were other structures in close proximity to the river, he assumed it would be allowed. Garret stated that those structures were probably grandfathered in, since they were constructed before the current Bylaw. The current Bylaw prohibits any construction in the floodway to protect downstream facilities and properties from damage resulting from dangerous floating debris caused by severe storms. Garret further referred to various sections of the current Bylaw which specifically prohibits such construction, namely Section 4.3.10. Michael Murno and Joan Nash pointed out that severe storms have been much more frequent lately than in the past, making the chance for such property damage more likely. A motion to deny approval of the construction was made by Elliot Nachwalter, seconded by Sebastian Massey. Motion carried.
Garret told Jeff Gould that the appeal process is open to him, and he is welcome to appeal. Regarding the time period to remove the construction from the floodway, he should coordinate with the Land Use Administrator, Joan Nash, for a timely removal.
Next, we moved to Lands of 1934 Plymouth, Inc. 5403 Vermont Route 7A. Christian Heins presented on behalf of the owners and stated they were told by their contractor that no permits were required, hence the patio was constructed without a permit. As a result, the applicant seeks site plan approval after the fact. The wetland has been delineated by an expert, Mance Engineering Partners, P.C., and is shown on the site plan. A portion of the constructed patio lies within the wetland buffer, and the dumpster was erected in the wetland buffer. As a result, remediation is required. The dumpster has been relocated, and 2400 square feet of disturbed area will be remediated at the previous dumpster location. Another 1400 square feet will be remediated north of the parking area for the patio remediation.
Garret Seigel moved to conditionally approve the site plan contingent upon ZBA approval and Act 250 Permit approval, seconded by Sebastian Massey. Motion carried.
As there was no new business, Michael Murno made a motion to adjourn, seconded by Charles Moore. The meeting was adjourned at 8:00 pm.
Our next meeting is scheduled for September 26, 2024.
Respectfully submitted:
Michael J. Murno
Land Use Administrator’s Report for APC
Date range: 7/12/2024 – 8/20/24
Permits issued:
Date Parcel ID Zone Last Name, First Name Address Permit# Type
2024-07-09 01-01-45.000 R Lebiecki, Thomas 92 Walnut Court 3423 New Residence
replaces permit 3380
2024-06-25 10-01-13.000 R Exler, Carolyn 206 Farm Road 3426 New Residence
2024-07-18 06-02-11.000 R Karen Stuart Roaring Branch Cabins 3424 Demolition
2024-07-30 13-02-02.000 R Lukason, Mike & Molly 117 Maple Hill Rd 3428 New Residence
Pending Permits:
Date Parcel ID Zone Last Name, First Name Address Permit# Type
2024-03-28 13-01-15.000 R Cello, Paul 972 Butternut Gutter 3403 Remodel/ addition
2024-06-04 30-3-13.000 R Shulman, Paula 2843 VT Route 313W Boundary Adj
2024-06-13 01-71-11.000 VR Arlington Village Center 3708 VT Route 7A 3427 Change of Use
2024-06-11 21-02-21.000 VR Wirrki, Olavi 102 Ice Pond Rd Boundary Line Adj
2024-06-27 22-1-06.001 R Rossito, Jessica 107 Colbrook Cr Remodel/Additions
2024-07-09 00-31-08.000 R Bertucelli, Louis 3319 River Road Boundary Line Adj
2024-08-13 22-1-06.001 R Rossito, Jessica 107 Colbrook Cr Remodel/Additions
Permits Pending APC: None
2024-05-23 01-01-50.000 R Gould Jeffrey 5226 River Road 3416 Structure in Floodway
After-the-fact
2024-07-30 06-03-25.000 CRR 1934 Plymouth, Inc. 5403 VT Route 7A 3425 Patio in wetland buffer
Tim Weichmann
Permits Pending ZBA: None
Violations:
3358 KIMBERLY BARNES 3383 VT Route 313 West R 03-3-02
3/8/23: Certified letter NOV received. 4/3/23: Select Board letter upheld LUA violation 5/11/23: Sent letter recognizing that the commercial production appears to have ceased, Barnes is also selling equipment. We can cease fines if Barnes signs the memo of understanding. 6/20/23: No contact from Barnes. Drove by 6/15 to see a very large pile of split wood. 8/18/23: Large dump truck next to piles of wood. Clearly not for household use. 9/30/23: Continue to see wood piles with splitter, dump truck. Active firewood production. 10/24/23: Continue to see wood piles with splitter, dump truck. Active firewood production. 11/30/23 Less production 12/31/23: Small volume production. 1/11/24: Merrill Bent requested documentation to pursue violation with environmental court. Lien placed on property for $58,600 in fines for 3/16/23 – 1/2/24. 2/29 No Change. 3/12/24 Lien discharged as requested by Nick. The lien may be replaced following the Environmental Court hearing. 6/4/24 – No change. Neighbor inquiry as to what the town is doing about their violation. 7/5/24 Saw online advertising for firewood listing address in violation. 8/12/24 Continuing to process wood including large trucks full of split wood leaving yard.
GOULD, JEFFERY & MERIDITH 5226 River Road 2024-05-23 01-01-50 R
4/30/24 Citizen report about building materials such as posts laying down by the Battenkill 20 – 30’ away. 5/2/24 Letter of Inquiry mailed to owners.5/9/24 Call with property owner who received the Letter of Inquiry. At this point a pavilion has been built and I gave a verbal cease and desist and in an email. Basically, the construction is done except for the roof.5/15/24 Owners working on permit. Requested an onsite visit to review the property.5/16/24 Owners cancelled the onsite visit due to family illness. Several calls and emails back and forth re application.5/20/24 Formal NOV received by Gould 5/23/24 Fee and application received. 5/28/24 Application sent to ANR for review.
6/10/24 Received follow-up questions from ANR. Followed up with answers on 6/18/24. 7/9/24 No word from ANR yet. Owner asking. 7/18/24 Kyle Medash of ANR approved of the way the pavilion is secured and states “The pavilion would presumably meet all of the accessory structure requirements (anchoring, flood resistant materials, no utilities, no permanent fixtures) if it were within the SFHA He does however stick up for the Arlington bylaws re: no structures in the floodway, and he doesn’t want this to set a precedent as it will make it difficult for the town to uphold our regulations.
BATTENKILL RV, LLC 48 Camping on the Battenkill Rd 06-03-12.000 R/CRR
5/23/24 Contacted by Mike Healy on behalf of owners of Battenkill RV LLC, Modern American Campgrounds. A discovery when the property was purchased that there were permits for 96 campsites and there are actually 111 camp sites. While this is a violation the property owners are bringing it to our attention and want to obtain permits for the additional sites and be in compliance with our bylaws. 5/30/24 Conversations re application process, ANR approval, hearings, site maps, etc… 6/4/24 Received first drafts of application and site plan. Responded with request for changes and edits. 6/6/24 Mike acknowledged the requested edits/ changes and will work on these. 7/11/24 Many emails and calls, along with research the past month. Gave direction on site plan needs and also follow-up with ANR. Nick Zaiac also spoke with them re: site plan needs. 7/30/24 Meredith Maskell contacted regarding the public water supply operating permit issued WSID 8108, and question of how many wells are on site, as well Kim Lutchko contacted re ACT 250.
BRONYWYN (Tim Weichmann) 5403 VT Route 7A 06-03-25 CRR
6/11/24 Contacted by Chris Heins who is assisting in getting Act250 and compliancy issues. There is a large patio area of stamped concrete that is not permitted and is in the wetland buffer. Chris is already working with ANR / Act 250 to resolve. The patio is not in the floodway. Needs sign permit. 7/9/24 Garret forwarded me the judicial opinion on Act 250. I was surprised to see that the mobile home is slated to be replaced with a tiny home. This had not been mentioned previously. 8/7/24 Received updated site plan from Chris Heins to correct abutting landowner names, and APC meeting warnings sent out.
Certificate of Compliance issued:
Date Parcel ID Zone Last Name, First Name Address Permit# Type
2024-07-18 12-02-09 R McInnes, John & Laura 243 Hollerith Rd 3414 Deck/porch
Certificate of Compliance Pending:
Date Parcel ID Zone Last Name, First Name Address Permit#
2024-07-09 06-04-02.000 R Rochette, John & Susan 287 Spring Brook Rd 3397
Zoning Compliance Letters Issued:
Date Parcel ID Zone Last Name, First Name Address
2024-07-25 20-2-12.1 VR East Arlington Movies, LLC 1154 East Arlington Rd
General Inquiries:
Date Parcel ID Zone Last Name, First Name Address Inquiries
2024-07-16 02-01-29.000 R Pratico, Jeremy 639 Sandgate Rd Inquiry regarding adjoining
parcel 12-1-19 to see if a residence could be built on it.
2024-07-16 09-02-45.000 R Givenni, Michael 1533 Warm Brook Rd Replacement of tiny home
2024-08-08 13-2-28.000 R Bilka, Eugene 37 Cemetery Road Mobile home
2024-08-08 01-1-03 & 03.1 R Law, Arlene 6634 RT 313W Research
2024-08-13 20-2-12.1 VR E.Arlington Movies LLC 1154 East Arlington Rd Research
2024-08-15 12-03-01.000 R Deyo James E. 1027 VT Route 313W Research
Complaints:
Date Parcel ID Zone Last Name, First Name Address Complaint
2024-08-15 02-01-24.000 R Greene, Thomas 876 Sandgate Road Incessant noise from loggers