Selectboard decision sets bad precedent in Charlotte

To the Editor:

Zoning regulations are an important part of town planning. They are indispensable to Charlotte’s ongoing efforts to balance growth and development with the preservation of its natural beauty, agricultural heritage and unique sense of community. Each zoning district comes with specific bylaws to protect the character of the area and its natural resources. But what happens if residents aren’t happy when they are not allowed to do as they please?

A case in point is a controversial camp replacement application on Thompson’s Point this year. (“Selectboard approves Thompson’s Point project,” Sept. 21, 2023)

Charlotte News

Selectboard approves Thompson’s Point project

• Liberty Darr | Staff Writer

The applicants proposed to replace their old camp with a new structure more than twice its original size and in a new footprint. The location was problematic, consisting of a steep hillside covered with old growth tree species, predominantly cedar and hemlock. This part of Thompson’s Point contains a rare natural community called a limestone bluff cedar-pine forest that can only be found along Lake Champlain in Vermont. It is considered highly threatened and a conservation priority in the state.

All land on Thompson’s Point is owned by the town and leased to the camp holders. Without consideration of the ecological damage this construction would cause, the applicants had elaborate plans drawn up, managed to get approval to cut a large number of trees and obtained a state permit for shoreland protection. But their application was denied by the Charlotte Development Review Board due to non-compliance with several Charlotte land use regulations. Undeterred, they hired a lawyer and appealed to the Environmental Division of the Vermont Supreme Court.

Although both the development review board and the Charlotte Conservation Commission requested from the selectboard to be included in the deliberations and had been told that they would be, they were ignored entirely. Instead, the applicants’ lawyer and the town attorney hashed out a deal that would give full approval for the reconstruction of the camp.

Neither municipal board was ever notified before this so-called stipulated judgment order was presented to the selectboard, which in executive session decided to accept it as is. The entire process had been kept completely obscured from interested parties. After repeated protests by the conservation commission and development review board, the selectboard opted to have another hearing on the issue for a possible reconsideration. A lengthy and contentious meeting ensued.

A development review board member took issue with the way the selectboard conducted the appeals process by not allowing the review board to have any representation. Members of the Charlotte Conservation Commission argued their well-researched concerns regarding development on the steep and fragile hillside, which would likely become destabilized from the excessive tree removal and violate several land use regulations, in full support of the Charlotte Development Review Board’s application denial.

In the end, the selectboard voted three to two to not reconsider their decision to accept the stipulated judgment order, which will now allow the applicants to go ahead with their camp reconstruction without any changes once the Environmental Court approves it.

Unfortunately, the selectboard’s decision to overrule indisputable land use regulations sets a bad precedent. We don’t yet know what ramifications that decision will have for our town in the future and that should concern us all. Charlotters deserve a town government that takes town planning seriously and values and supports the contributions of its volunteer boards.

Claudia Mucklow

Charlotte