Planning Commission edits Form Based Code proposal

At its meeting on June 25, the Planning Commission devoted some three hours to making careful edits to the Form Based Code proposal designed to clarify definitions and fine tune some provisions. Commissioner Ann Hogan and Town Planner Dean Pierce had prepared a 40 page document outlining potential problem areas which the commission used as the basis for their discussion. Commissioner Dick Elkins floated a new idea for creating a plaza district on the west side of Shelburne Road just north of The Automaster for a pedestrian oriented retail shopping area which would also include residential units.

Commissioner Kate Lalley refined the proposal by suggesting that the mixed use district which would allow those features be extended southward from its present proposed boundaries to incorporate the concept. The other commissioners agreed. Pierce will now incorporate all of these changes into a final document that will be officially considered at their next meeting on July 9 when a public hearing on the proposal will be warned for Aug. 13.

Commissioner Jaime Heins had asked that the Planning Commission review portions of the State’s Comprehensive Energy Plan (CEP) regarding solar energy. The CEP is being revised and a number of public hearings on the plan have been scheduled. Commission Chair Ron Bouchard asked members to submit their comments to Heins who would draft the letter. Both Heins and Bouchard would then present those comments at the hearing scheduled for July 16 in Middlebury. The letter will focus on strengthening the role of towns in weighing in on where solar and perhaps wind energy generating installations could be sited. The current CEP calls for Vermont to get 90 percent of its energy through renewable sources by 2050, a goal which met with skepticism and concern from most commissioners. Lalley pointed out that energy obtained through Hydro Quebec would not count toward that goal.

Bouchard also asked Commissioners Dan Burks and Mark Brooks to work on a proposed revision of the definitions of “hotel” and “motel” in light of the controversy surrounding Harbor Place.

The next meeting of the Planning Commission will be held on Thursday, July 9 at 7pm in the Municipal Center. The adoption of the Form Based Code proposal will be the main item on the agenda.