TOWN OF ARLINGTON
PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING
Minutes of Meeting – Thursday July 25, 2019
Members Present–John Williams, Charles Moore, Chris Heins, Garret Siegel, Michael Murno and Bill Henry (Land Use Administrator
Others Present: Keith Squires, and Donald Keelan
- PROCEEDINGS:
- The meeting was called to order at 7:00 pm by John Williams.
- The meeting minutes of June 27, 2019 were accepted as revised and approved.
- We digressed from the meeting agenda for expediency. The following Land Use Administrators report for July was presented by Bill Henry.
July Monthly Report:
The following zoning permits were issued:
#3192 – David Elwell, 186 Windy Knoll Road in the Rural District, new shed.
#3193 – Carolyn Blitz, 39 Ice Pond Road in the Village-Residential District, enclosed porch, new deck, new garage, and ramp. Requires boundary line adjustment with 81 Ice Pond Road.
#3195 – Catherine Comar, Second Chance Animal Shelter in the Rural District, new storage shed.
Zoning Permits pending:
#3188 – Town of Arlington, Rec Park, new benches and resurface
paths in the flood hazard area. Comments received from State. ZBA approval required.
#3190 – Robert Stockoff, 5038 River Road, movable 3 stall barn and hay shed in a flood hazard area in the rural district. State has approved. Land Use Administrator to approve as an agricultural use.
#3194 – Sandra Wood, 45 Battenkill Lane in the Village-Residential District, new shed. Variance required due to not meeting required setbacks.
#3196 – Michael Foley, 68 Overlook Terrace in the Rural District, mudroom addition.
Other activities:
241 Raven Rock Road – Notice of Violation issued for operating Aaron Septic and Drain, LLC without a “base of operations” permit. Complaint filed by Attorney Joe O’Dea with the Environmental Court, denied by resident. On 6/24/19 court extended one month for Davis to get an attorney.
133 East Arlington Rd. – State (Patrick Lowkes) issued Notice of Violation 01/31/19 for septic system, not received by resident, but was hand delivered by State 03/28/19. State has contacted resident and granted some time to secure grant money, but will turn over to legal if no progress by mid-summer. Keith stated that he wanted a firm deadline date given to the resident.
1398 Old West Rd., pursuing a parked truck trailer for permit requirement. Resident is planning to build a garage (permit issued by Al Godreau) and will remove truck trailer when complete. No progress to date, but met with resident and secured a commitment to remove trailer by September 30, 2019.
I am in discussions with the owner of a dilapidated house at 3104 RT 313 W. While there is agreement to tear it down and dispose of it, it is a financial burden to the owner. Owner is pursuing estimates.
I am investigating a complaint of smoke from a wood boiler installed in the past year at 137 Raspberry Hill. I met with the owner and neighbor and have supplied information on the make/model to the State (Dave Shepard, Agency of Air Quality) to work on a resolution.
With regard to the Inn at the Covered Bridge, the owner requested removal of the restrictions for renting because they are delaying the sale of the property.
End of Land Use Administrator’s Report.
- We discussed the Energy Plan and its inclusion into the By-Law. John Williams requested revisions to the following sections of the Energy Plan:
a. Under the heading Land Use Strategies, after the words surrounding areas in the second paragraph on Page 93 add “In order to maintain the water quality of Arlington water bodies, any additional sewage outflow that may affect these bodies needs to be reviewed and approved by the state as was done for the Arlington School District Sewage Treatment Plant.”
b. On Page 98, under Section 14.4 Wind, second paragraph, scratch “The Town of Arlington has determined that large”, and after the words “Not Currently Feasible Anywhere” add “due to the following limitations”.
c. On Page 99 scratch “Arlington has determined” and replace it with “As a result” and after the words “in the town”, add the words “at this time”. In the second paragraph after the words “This policy shall”, scratch the words “not preclude” and add the word “encourage”.
d. In Section 14.4 E Biomass, after the words “biomass for energy” in the first paragraph, add the words “however by-products of biomass combustion are known to have health risks greater than other combustible fuels.
- We agreed to approve the Energy Plan contingent upon adding the revisions noted above (a. through d.)
- Regarding the Hazardous Mitigation Plan, it was noted that the Select Board has already completed the plan and we should include references to it in the Town Plan.
- John Williams emailed Revision 8 of the Draft 2019 Land Use By-Law on 07/02/2019 for final review and approval by the Planning Commission in our 07/25/2019 meeting. Chris Heins made a motion to approve the By-Law revisions as most recently distributed and advance them in the adoption process; seconded by Charles Moore and unanimously approved. Upon completion of the By-Law by the Planning Commission, copies will be sent for review as follows:
1 copy to BCRC, 1 copy to the adjoining towns, 1 copy to the state, and 1 copy to the Arlington Select Board for their review.
- With Planning Commission approval of the Draft 2019 Land Use By-Law, Chairman John Williams plans to follow the remaining hearings procedures outlined in Plan and Bylaw Adoption Tools May, 2005 (updated March 2017) 24 V.S.A Chapter 117 §§ 4384,4385 and 4441-4447 as published by the Vermont Land Use Education and Training Cooperative for certification and approval.
The meeting was adjourned at 8:25 pm. The next regular meeting is scheduled for Thursday, August 22, 2019 at 7:00 pm.
Respectfully Submitted by: Michael J. Murno