TOWN OF ARLINGTON
PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING
Minutes of Meeting – Thursday October 27, 2022
Members Present: Garret Siegel, John Williams, Sebastian Massey, Tom Williams, Elliot Nachwalter, Jane Jenkins, Michael Murno Joan Nash (Land Use Administrator) and Nick Zaiac (Town Administrator).
Attendance Formats: Town Hall, Zoom Video Conferencing or Phone
Other Attendees: Cat Bryars (BCRC), Cynthia Eisenstein, Kirsten Dahlgren, Bill Henry, Alexander Ernst, William Mc Cabe.
The meeting was called to order at 7:00 by Chairman Garret Siegel.
The minutes of the September meeting were approved unanimously as revised.
Public Comments Unrelated to the Agenda
There were no public comments.
New Business
- The site plan submitted by Kirsten Dahlgren for a base of operations at 4022 VT Route 313, Lot ID 02-1-06 for Big, Big LLC was reviewed and discussed. Prior to the review and discussion Garret Siegel recused himself.
John William noted that the site plan did not indicate that none of the base operations would be taking place in the floodway or the flood hazard zone. Michael Murno requested that the property lines be indicated on the plan as well as the adjacent owner as required in the Bylaw. Tom Williams asked for Kirsten to explain the activities of the business and how it will operate. Kirsten explained that all contact will be made on-line through the company’s website. All arrangements are done through on-line correspondence, including booking the date, and time and place of the planned activity. All equipment will be taken from barn/garage storage area, where the equipment is kept when not in use. On the day of the activity, Kristen explained the equipment would be taken to a prearranged off-site location in New York agreed upon during the booking process. At the end of the activity, Big, Big, LLC would return to the prearranged off-site location, pick up the equipment and store the equipment in the barn/garage. No equipment would be left outdoors when not in use and no costumers would ever frequent the base of operations site.
Bill Henry said he had a problem with the base of operations being located at that
specific location, and as he understands it, the Bylaw defines a base of operations as being reserved for professional services as described on Page 63. John Williams asked if the company has insurance; Kirsten answered in the affirmative. Garret asked if the floodplain was verified. The floodplain was taken from the Town’s flood maps and John Williams said that the Land Use Administrator should provide the current flood boundaries relative to the buildings. Elliot Nachwalter stated that if we allow this site plan to be approved we will be changing the nature of the area. It was noted that the ZBA determines the validity of the permit.
John Williams made a motion to approve the site plan contingent upon the following:
- The plan must indicate that equipment storage will be maintained in Barn/Garage #2, and any other existing storage building.
- The plan must indicate that there will be no storage of equipment relative to the business outside of the buildings.
- The Town shall provide the standard Town software map showing the flood plains, property lines and owners names on adjacent properties.
- Property lines and owners names on adjacent properties must be clearly indicated on the site plan.
Seconded by Sebastian Massey. Four (4) yeas, Two (2) Nays. One (1) Abstention. Motion approved by majority.
- The Arlington Planning Commission warmly welcomed Jane Jenkins as a new member.
Old Business
The Arlington Planning Commission acknowledged and congratulated Cat Bryars in her appointment as Director of Shire Housing.
Next we resumed discussions regarding revisions to the Bylaw. Cat Bryars presented to the Commission the proposed Table of Contents with the remaining sections to be revised, highlighted in yellow. As Janet Hurley will replace Cat, she will be assisting with the remaining sections.
Cat suggested we focus on Article 3 Zoning Districts edits, saving the Zoning District details to future review. John Williams asked if we could continue to operate through emails. Nick Zaiac stated that we would have to assign sub committees to do so, which adds a complication to the process.
With regard to Section 3.1.1 (2), it was agreed the term Overlay Districts be defined. In Section 3.1.2 Official Zoning Map, John Williams would like to see the maps within the Bylaw. Cat explained that changes in zoning would be a difficult, as maps requiring changes that were included in the Bylaw, would constitute changes to the Bylaw itself triggering a whole revision process of updating the Bylaw. It was agreed to keep the maps on the Town’s website and indicate the Town’s URL address in Section 3.1.2
Section 3.1.3 Interpretation of Boundaries, Land Underwater, it was agreed to define the term “thread” of the river.
In Section 3.1.4 Multiple Uses or Principle Structures on a Lot, Line (3), it was agreed to delete the word “inclusive” and insert the word “exclusive” in its place.
There was extensive discussion regarding Section 3.1.5 Review of Materially Similar Uses. The discussion included references to oversight and review of the LUA’s decisions/recommendations to getting reports of LUA decisions/recommendations. In the end, it was generally decided to empower the LUA with determining whether an unidentified land use is materially similar to an existing land use as described in this section. However, the APC requires a report of the decision/recommendation and reserves the right of appeal upon a different conclusion.
Section 3.1.6 (2) Application of Dimensional Standards, it was decided to remove the specific roof pitch of 5:12 from the text.
As a final note: The APC Thanked Cat Bryars resoundingly for her outstanding work and patience in directing the revisions to Arlington’s Bylaw and wished her well in her new position.
The next APC meeting will be held on December 15 at 7:00 pm.
As there was no further business, Michael Murno made a motion to adjourn; seconded by John Williams. Motion carried and the meeting adjourned at 9:44 pm.
Respectfully Submitted By Michael Murno