Planning Commission Minutes 11-18-2021

Planning Commission Minutes 11-18-2021

TOWN OF RUTLAND PLANNING COMMISSION

MEETING MINUTES

 

DATE: November 18^th, 2021

LOCATION: Town Hall and a publicly accessible conference line

OPEN MEETING 6:30 P.M.

 

Commission Members Present: Chair Barbara Pulling, Howard Burgess, Sherman Hunter, Andy McKane, Mary Beth Poli, and Norman Cohen. All members in attendance are voting members for this meeting.

Members of the Public Present:  None

Approval of the Agenda:

Mr. Cohen moved to approve the agenda. Mr. McKane seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously.

New Business: Discussion on 2023 Budget Needs

1. Very little has been spent this year, with the only expense being commission payroll.
2. The line for legal services was increased in anticipation of review work needed for draft ordinances.
3. McKane moved to approve the draft budget as presented. Mr. Burgess seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously.

Old Business: Report from the last Selectboard Meeting

1. Pulling and Ms. Poli attended the meeting to ask the board to make a final decision on adding an item to the March ballot to establish a conservation commission. The request was denied by the board.
2. Reviewed the list of new ordinances to start work on and which to consider as a priority. This includes noise, livestock and building permits. Discussed current ones to review. Those are public assembly, public nuisance, ATV, and permit tracking.
3. Discussed having a small group of members start working on these and then report to the entire Commission. The Public Nuisance Ordinance may be able to be updated to address several of the concerns.
4. The preference would be to have the small group look at model policies and existing polices from other municipalities to see if they can easily be adapted to what we are looking to accomplish.
5. Discussed the importance of effective enforcement steps.
6. Statutory authority without zoning will be an important guide.
7. The first ordinance to be worked on will focus on building permits.
8. McKane and Mr. Cohen volunteered to start working on this project.

Old Business: Review Snowstone Ruling on one-acre development

1. Discussed how this ruling could affect town development.
2. Our Town Counsel advised that a strict review of the project should be done to verify project area, and not take the word of the applicant.
3. Discussed how zoning could help our town with this issue and its unknown consequences.
4. The last time the topic of zoning was on the ballot was 2010. It received support from a majority of town voters.

Old Business: Pocket Park update

1. The archeological survey for GMP as part of their relicensing is still underway. It is nearly complete.
2. A letter with the results, which are not anticipated to be significant, should be received as part of our process and kept on file for future projects.
3. The Selectboard will need to have a discussion with members of GMP soon to discuss the land use details.
4. The Chief of Police had some suggestions for safety and security ideas for the park area.

Announcements

1. Information and notices from the Thomas Family and Act 250 were received. There is no action to be taken at this time.
2. VELCO has started some work on their site on Post Road.
3. A wind turbine project is being proposed on Grandpas Knob in Castleton. Rutland Town was mentioned as a town which would have a visual impact.
   1. There are 6 towns in total with visual impacts.
   2. Discussed if the Commission would like the developer to come and give a presentation. It was decided an invitation will be extended.
4. Discussed the meeting scheduled for December 9^th. This meeting will be postponed until December 16^th. The meeting following that will be January 6^th and the regular meeting schedule will be based on that new date.

Approval of Minutes October 28^th, 2021:

Mr. Burgess moved to approve the minutes. Mr. Hunter seconded the motion. After some clerical changes were made Mr. Burgess moved to approve the minutes as amended. Mr. Hunter seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously.

Adjournment:

Mr. Hunter moved to adjourn. Mr. Burgess seconded the motion. The meeting adjourned at 7:57 PM.

Respectfully submitted, Bill Sweet

 

______________________________________

Barbara Pulling

Rutland Town Planning Commission Chair